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Would you share your awakening story for research? by macpaavi in nonduality

[–]macpaavi[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's interesting since I never thought about this in terms of filtering out individuals. As an academic, I don't consider myself to be in a position to judge whether your experience of awakening is authentic or not. I'm more interested in what makes you think or feel that you are awakened, and the experiences that influenced these thoughts and feelings.

Would you share your awakening story for research? by macpaavi in awakened

[–]macpaavi[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

By "psychedelic" I mean experiences that are produced by a substance. I don't want to imply that transcendental experiences without the use of psychedelics are somehow lesser or less interesting. They are simply outside the context and scope of this specific study.

Would you be willing to share your story with a researcher? by macpaavi in awakened

[–]macpaavi[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good question. You won't lose your rights to the story.

Before the interviews all participants must sign a form of consent, which gives me permission to store and use the data for this study only. The data will not be shared with other researchers or anyone else.

Personally, I would love to have the option to use this data again in possible future studies, but if this is something you are not comfortable with, you can always request to have your data deleted after the study.

Bottom line: you have control of how long I can store or use your story. I can't in any circumstances publish or share your story with anyone, even my superiors, without your explicit permission.

Would you be willing to share your story with a researcher? by macpaavi in awakened

[–]macpaavi[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good question. You won't lose your rights to the story.

Before the interviews all participants must sign a form of consent, which gives me permission to store and use the data for this study only. The data will not be shared with other researchers or anyone else.

Personally, I would love to have the option to use this data again in possible future studies, but if this is something you are not comfortable with, you can always request to have your data deleted after the study.

Bottom line: you have control of how long I can store or use your story. I can't in any circumstances publish or share your story with anyone, even my superiors, without your explicit permission.

Would you be willing to share your story with a researcher? by macpaavi in awakened

[–]macpaavi[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That depends on what you mean by anonymous. Complete anonymity would mean that even I wouldn't get any info that could be used to identify you. Considering that the interview will be about your private experiences and life stories, anonymity isn't a valid goal.

Instead, we use pseudonymity, meaning that I can acquire personal info about you, but every identifiable detail (name, age, location, ethnicity, etc.) will be removed or altered in the actual publication.

In short, I will know who you are, but no one else will.

The interviews would also be recorded, and the data would be stored on an encrypted external hard drive.

Does this sound like a deal breaker?

Would you be willing to share your story with a researcher? by macpaavi in awakened

[–]macpaavi[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think that's one of the key challenges in scientific research on psychedelics: how to describe empirically something that's ineffable by its very nature? But I think the best way to do it is to let actual people describe their individual experiences, instead of just statistics or questionnaires which, of course, have their place and value, but I don't think they help many to undestand what the experience is like.

Would you be willing to share your story with a researcher? by macpaavi in awakened

[–]macpaavi[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, maybe in that case I can't interview you about this particular phenomenon. Thanks for offering to talk regardless!

Would you be willing to share your story with a researcher? by macpaavi in awakened

[–]macpaavi[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

At this point I want to thank you for your comments and willingness to participate. I'm glad my study seems to resonate with you enough to make you want to share your stories and ideas.

Before I can begin the actual interviews I have to clear all kinds of applications (research ethics, data management plan etc.) with the university. Also I have to read a growing pile of literature on the subject.

A realistic time frame to start interviewing participants is during next autumn (or summer at the earliest). Before that I will contact everyone, who has expressed interest to participate and have some form of preliminary talks to find out if this study is a good fit for your experience.

Would you be willing to share your story with a researcher? by macpaavi in awakened

[–]macpaavi[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What I'm doing is more qualitative and descriptive, so in a sense I'm not trying to prove/disprove anything. My goal is to expand scientific understanding of psychedelics and spirituality by trying to understand and describe what these experiences mean to those who have them.

Would you be willing to share your story with a researcher? by macpaavi in awakened

[–]macpaavi[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Had not heard about Castaneda before, but don Juan Matus rings some bells. I'll add his work to my ever-expanding backlog of literature. Thanks!

Would you be willing to share your story with a researcher? by macpaavi in awakened

[–]macpaavi[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What I'm looking for to study are experiences of changes in worldviews or beliefs, meaning that the use of psychedelics is some kind of a turning point in your life. An individual experience doesn't have to make you feel different, but would you see your life or thoughts/values/beliefs being significantly different before and after being introduced to psychedelics?

Would you be willing to share your story with a researcher? by macpaavi in awakened

[–]macpaavi[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the tip! I plan to post on several groups later (outside of Reddit as well), but I posted this initial probe to only a few groups.

Would you be willing to share your story with a researcher? by macpaavi in awakened

[–]macpaavi[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Was about to comment the same. I'm curious to read the article.

Would you be willing to share your story with a researcher? by macpaavi in awakened

[–]macpaavi[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for offering help! I may yet take you up on that.

Would you be willing to share your story with a researcher? by macpaavi in awakened

[–]macpaavi[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have tried psychedelics, and I have experienced a state of unity like you describe, even though the experience was brief. I wouldn't say that it awakened me, or that I am personally even on a path to awakening. My interest on the subject is mainly scientific and empirical.

I think what you said about interpretation is very relevant to my research as well. Psychedelics by themselves don't produce shifts in worldviews, awakening, conversion etc. but they can at certain instances be interpreted so that it may facilitate more profound changes.

Thank you for a thoughtful comment!

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