Books by Anna Lutkajtis
An Exploration of the Hidden Side of Meditation
The Dark Side of Dharma explores some of the pos... more An Exploration of the Hidden Side of Meditation
The Dark Side of Dharma explores some of the possible undesirable side effects – also known as ‘adverse effects’ - of meditation and mindfulness. Researcher Anna Lutkajtis investigates why these effects, which are well-known in spiritual and religious traditions, have been ignored in contemporary secular contexts, such as Western psychology.
Lutkajtis’ research reveals that while meditation is commonly portrayed as a practice that is overwhelmingly positive, a growing number of research studies and anecdotal reports suggest that meditation can also have negative effects. Some meditators believe that these adverse effects are a normal part of the contemplative path and a welcome sign of progress. For others, such effects are completely unexpected and can be psychologically harmful.
In religious traditions like Buddhism, difficulties associated with meditation are acknowledged and are usually viewed as milestones on the path to enlightenment or the result of an unbalanced practice. In such traditional contexts, meditation teachers are equipped to deal with adverse effects if and when they arise. However, in the modern West, meditation adverse effects have been overlooked, under-researched, and generally misunderstood.
Given the current popularity of meditation, Lutkajtis argues that it is important to understand why meditation adverse effects have been ignored in contemporary secular settings.
ANNA LUTKAJTIS is a postgraduate researcher from Sydney, Australia.
Her research focuses on mysticism, psychedelics, and the relationship between mental health, religion and spirituality.
Papers by Anna Lutkajtis
Journal of Psychedelic Studies, 2023
This article reports on integration challenges that were experienced by nine individuals who atte... more This article reports on integration challenges that were experienced by nine individuals who attended a three-day legal psilocybin truffle retreat in the Netherlands. The study employed a qualitative phenomenological approach, using semi-structured interviews to gain an understanding of participants' (n 5 30) psilocybin experiences and their after-effects. While the study did not actively seek to measure integration issues or unexpected side effects, nine out of thirty participants (30%) spontaneously reported a post-experience integration challenge. These challenges included: mood fluctuations, 'postecstatic blues', disconnection from community, re-experiencing symptoms, spiritual bypass and perceived lack of support. Integration challenges were transient; they occurred immediately after the psilocybin experience (once the main psychedelic effects had worn off) and in the days and weeks following the retreat, and resolved with time. Integration challenges were also correlated with positive after-effects including long-term remission of significant health conditions. The experiences related in this article align with existing literature that describes the 'spiritual emergency' phenomenon; that is, the potential challenges that can arise after ecstatic experiences and how these challenges may be integral to the transformative potential of such experiences. We discuss the implications for psychedelic integration and harm reduction practices and for future psychedelic research.
International Journal for the Study of New Religions, 2021
Recently there has been a surge of renewed interest in the psychedelic compound psilocybin. In pa... more Recently there has been a surge of renewed interest in the psychedelic compound psilocybin. In particular, psilocybin is being studied in clinical settings as a potential breakthrough treatment for depression. Alongside this growing therapeutic interest, there has been a rise in the religious use of psilocybin, as evidenced by the creation of a number of psilocybin mushroom churches in the United States. While the dominant popular discourse surrounding psilocybin is currently clinical, psilocybin churches offer an alternative form of meaning making regarding the psychedelic experience. Specifically, this article argues that psilocybin churches enable their followers to participate in a dynamic social process of sacred sensemaking, whereby psilocybin mushrooms are considered to be a sacrament, church members follow a ritual-based psychopharmacological practice, and the psychedelic experience is interpreted in terms of a direct encounter with the divine. Different psilocybin churches have unique approaches, ritual practices and cosmologies, nonetheless this article suggests that they may be united by this common process of 'sacred sensemaking'.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies, 2021
This article reports on the experiences of four healthy individuals who attended a legal psilocyb... more This article reports on the experiences of four healthy individuals who attended a legal psilocybin truffle retreat in the Netherlands. The study employed a qualitative phenomenological approach, using semi-structured interviews to gain an understanding of participants' psilocybin experiences and their after-effects. The experiential themes that emerged from these case studies closely match themes that have been identified in previous studies of psilocybin, including variability of the experience, the presence of mystical-type features, significant changes to subjective sense of self, and a generalized sense of connectedness. Participants framed their narrative accounts around moments of key insight, and these insights were related to a sense of connection: to self, others, and to a broader relational ontology. Embodiment, currently an understudied topic in psychedelic research, also emerged as a theme. The case studies presented here provide preliminary evidence to suggest that for healthy individuals in a well-controlled and supportive retreat setting, a high dose of psilocybin can lead to enduring positive after-effects that last up to twelve months.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies, 2020
Research suggests that the clinical and therapeutic effects of psychedelics are related to their ... more Research suggests that the clinical and therapeutic effects of psychedelics are related to their ability to induce a mystical-type experience. One particularly interesting feature of the psychedelic mystical experience is the entity encounter-people who take psychedelics sometimes describe meetings with seemingly autonomous entities which appear to possess intelligence and agency. While there has been little empirical research into psychedelic entity phenomena, qualitative studies and anecdotal reports suggest that entity encounters can have profound and lasting positive after-effects. Based on the existing data, this article argues that there is value in exploring the therapeutic potential of psychedelic entity encounters. Specifically, it proposes three possible ways that entity encounters might mediate the therapeutic effect of the psychedelic mystical experience.
Fieldwork in Religion, 2019
Psilocybin containing mushrooms have been used in indigenous healing ceremonies in Mesoamerica si... more Psilocybin containing mushrooms have been used in indigenous healing ceremonies in Mesoamerica since at least the sixteenth century. However, the sacramental use of mushrooms was only discovered by Westerners in the early to mid-twentieth century. Most notably, the meeting between amateur mycologist Robert Gordon Wasson and Mazatec curandera María Sabina in 1955 resulted in the widespread popularisation of ingesting 'magic mushrooms' in the West. To Sabina and the Mazatec people, psilocybin mushrooms were sacred and only to be used for healing. However, Western 'hippies' viewed mushrooms as psychedelic drugs which they consumed with little regard for cultural sensitivities, rendering the mushrooms desacralised. This article argues that the desacralisation of psilocybin mushrooms constitutes a form of spiritual abuse that has had far-reaching and long-lasting consequences at individual, local, and global levels. Further, acknowledging and understanding the desacralisation of psilocybin mushrooms as spiritual abuse has important implications for restorative justice and the understanding of psilocybin as a sacred medicine.
Literature & Aesthetics, 2019
In contemporary Western meditation-based convert Buddhist lineages, the term ‘dark night’ has be... more In contemporary Western meditation-based convert Buddhist lineages, the term ‘dark night’ has been adopted in order to describe a variety of meditation-related difficulties. While the term dark night is not a Buddhist term - rather it is an abbreviated form of the expression ‘dark night of the soul’ and derives from Christian mysticism - it has recently been appropriated in postmodern Buddhist discourses. The Buddhist dark night is referred to in a range of media, including popular news articles, discussion forums, blogs, podcasts, and texts and meditation manuals written by well-known contemporary meditation teachers. Despite the proliferation of the phrase, there has been much confusion regarding what the term dark night actually refers to in a Buddhist postmodern context. Given that the study of meditation-related difficulties is becoming an area of interest in both the sciences and the humanities, I argue that it is important to delineate the term dark night in Buddhist postmodernism. Hence, I have utilised discourse analysis in order to examine several primary sources that refer to the Buddhist postmodern dark night. Based on this analysis, I argue that there are three dominant discourses regarding the dark night in Buddhist postmodernism: 1) the ‘dukkha nana’ discourse; 2) the ‘insight gone wrong’ discourse; and 3) the meditation ‘adverse effects’ discourse. While these discourses appear, on the surface, to be quite different, they are linked by a common theme; that is, an attempt to differentiate between Buddhist meditation-related difficulties and Western psychopathology.
Journal for the Academic Study of Religion, 2019
The current popularity of ‘secular’ meditation has been due in large part to its promotion in the... more The current popularity of ‘secular’ meditation has been due in large part to its promotion in the mainstream Western media. In 1975 Time magazine ran a cover featuring an image of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the founder of Transcendental Meditation (TM) along with the headline: ‘Meditation: The Answer to All Your Problems?’ Ever since, stories about meditation have captured the attention of a Western audience receptive to narratives around spirituality, healing, self-help and wellness. The view of meditation that is portrayed by the Western media is, however, radically simplified and incomplete. Specifically, it is an overwhelmingly positive view, which at its most extreme, promotes meditation as a type of panacea or cure-all and ignores some of the potential adverse effects associated with meditation practice. Why has there been such an overwhelmingly positive portrayal of meditation in the media? This article examines some of the factors that have contributed to this view: the use of popular meditation tropes, poor scientist-journalist communication, celebrity influence and the commodification of meditation. It argues that all of these factors have combined to create a popular, but inaccurate, media portrayal of meditation as a simple and side-effect free solution for a variety of common problems.
Journal for the Academic Study of Religion, 2018
In contemporary Western society, meditation techniques that were previously taught within the con... more In contemporary Western society, meditation techniques that were previously taught within the context of Eastern religious traditions are now increasingly being practiced in secular settings. While the boundary between the secular and the religious is blurred, popular meditation techniques such as Transcendental Meditation, Vipassana and mindfulness are generally promoted as being derived from Eastern religions, but inherently non-religious, aligned with Western psychology, and suitable for a general audience. Over approximately forty years, thousands of research studies suggest that there are many psychological and physiological benefits associated with these forms of meditation; however, a small but growing literature indicates there could also be adverse effects. In Eastern religious traditions, difficulties associated with meditation are acknowledged, and are usually understood to be milestones on the path to enlightenment, the result of improper practice, or due to individual differences. However, in a Western secular context, negative effects associated with meditation have largely been overlooked. This article argues that this is in part due to the fact that in contemporary Western society the goal of meditation has shifted from enlightenment to symptom relief and personal transformation, leading to the assumption that meditation is harmless and ‘good for everyone.’
Conference Presentations by Anna Lutkajtis
A Tyringham Initiative Symposium, 2022
What Connects Psychedelic, Mystical, Alien Abduction and Near Death Experiences (NDEs)
Dr Pascal... more What Connects Psychedelic, Mystical, Alien Abduction and Near Death Experiences (NDEs)
Dr Pascal Michael, Anna Lutkajtis, Dr Charlotte Martial
It often seems that there is a commonality that unites ‘anomalous experiences’, from the mystical epiphany to bizarre ‘alien abduction’ accounts and Near Death Experiences (NDEs). Three world-leading researchers in this area come together to unpack these phenomena.
The Australian Association for the Study of Religion, 2019
Psilocybin containing mushrooms have been used in indigenous healing ceremonies in Mesoamerica si... more Psilocybin containing mushrooms have been used in indigenous healing ceremonies in Mesoamerica since at least the 16th century. However the sacramental use of mushrooms was only discovered by Westerners in the early to mid-twentieth century. Most notably, the meeting between amateur mycologist R. Gordon Wasson and Mazatec curandera María Sabina in 1955 resulted in the widespread popularisation of ‘magic mushrooms’ in the West. To Sabina and the Mazatec people, psilocybin mushrooms were sacred and only to be used for healing. However, Western ‘hippies’ viewed mushrooms as psychedelic drugs which they consumed with little regard for cultural sensitivities, rendering the mushrooms desacralised. This article argues that the desacralisation of psilocybin mushrooms constitutes a form of spiritual abuse that has had far-reaching and long-lasting consequences at individual, local and global levels. Further, acknowledging and understanding the desacralisation of psilocybin mushrooms as spiritual abuse has important implications for restorative justice and the understanding of psilocybin as a sacred medicine.
The Australian Association for the Study of Religion / New Zealand Association for the Study of R... more The Australian Association for the Study of Religion / New Zealand Association for the Study of Religion Conference, University of Notre Dame Australia, Sydney, 7-8 December 2017.
Talks by Anna Lutkajtis
Research Seminar Studies in Religion at The University of Sydney, 15 September, 2020
We are currently in the midst of what has been described as a ‘psychedelic renaissance’ – a new e... more We are currently in the midst of what has been described as a ‘psychedelic renaissance’ – a new era of psychedelic research. In particular, there has been a renewed interest in the psychedelic compound psilocybin, which is the psychoactive ingredient found in magic mushrooms. Recent studies have demonstrated that psilocybin may have a promising role to play in the treatment of a number of mental health conditions, particularly depression and anxiety. Intriguingly, in clinical trials, the positive effects of psilocybin seem to be positively correlated with a psilocybin occasioned mystical experience. That is, people who have a mystical experience tend to have better therapeutic outcomes. Currently most psychedelic research is in the form of quantitative studies and clinical trials and focuses on treatment outcomes – there is very little research that looks at the phenomenology of the actual psilocybin mystical experience and how this experience might facilitate positive health outcomes. Given the rapid changes happening in the field of psilocybin and mental health, more research into the psilocybin mystical experience is needed. My PhD project addresses this gap in the research. I am conducting a qualitative study that examines both the phenomenology of the psilocybin mystical experience and the various meanings that people attribute to the experience.
Research Seminar Studies in Religion at The University of Sydney, 16 October, 2018
In contemporary Western society, meditation practices that were previously taught within the cont... more In contemporary Western society, meditation practices that were previously taught within the context of Eastern religious traditions are now increasingly being practiced in secular settings. The popularity of so-called ‘secular’ meditation has been due in large part to its acceptance within the scientific and medical communities and resultant incorporation into Western therapeutic culture and clinical practice. Over approximately the past forty years, thousands of research studies suggest that there are many psychological and physiological benefits associated with meditation, however, a small but growing literature indicates there could also be adverse effects. In the Eastern religious traditions, difficulties associated with meditation are acknowledged, and are usually understood to be either milestones on the path to enlightenment, the result of improper practice or due to individual differences. Additionally, in these traditions, meditation teachers are equipped to deal with complications that may arise. However, in a Western secular context, negative effects associated with meditation have largely been overlooked or ignored in both the academic literature and in the popular media. This paper argues that this is largely because of three factors related to the secularisation process. First, in contemporary Western society the goal of meditation has shifted from enlightenment to symptom relief, leading to the assumption that meditation is harmless and ‘good for everyone’; second, secular meditation has been decontextualized and divorced from the traditional religious literature and contemplative practitioners who could shed light on possible difficulties associated with meditation; and third, the image of meditation in popular media has been manipulated to fit contemporary consumer demands for a secular Westernised therapeutic technique that can be commodified.
Thesis Chapters by Anna Lutkajtis
Masters Thesis, 2019
In contemporary Western society, meditation practices that were previously taught within the cont... more In contemporary Western society, meditation practices that were previously taught within the context of Eastern religious traditions are now increasingly being practiced in secular settings. The popularity of so-called ‘secular’ meditation has been due in large part to its acceptance within the scientific and medical communities and resultant incorporation into Western therapeutic culture and clinical practice. Over approximately the past forty years, thousands of research studies suggest that there are many psychological and physiological benefits associated with meditation, however, a small but growing literature indicates there could also be adverse effects. In the Eastern religious traditions, difficulties associated with meditation are acknowledged, and are usually understood to be either milestones on the path to enlightenment, the result of improper practice or due to individual differences. Additionally, in these traditions, meditation teachers are equipped to deal with complications that may arise. However, in a Western secular context, negative effects associated with meditation have largely been overlooked or ignored in both the academic literature and in the popular media. This thesis argues that this is largely because of three factors related to the secularisation process. First, in contemporary Western society the goal of meditation has shifted from enlightenment to symptom relief, leading to the assumption that meditation is harmless and ‘good for everyone’; second, secular meditation has been decontextualized and divorced from the traditional religious literature and contemplative practitioners who could shed light on possible difficulties associated with meditation; and third, the image of meditation in popular media has been manipulated to fit contemporary consumer demands for a secular Westernised therapeutic technique that can be commodified.
Book Reviews by Anna Lutkajtis
Fieldwork in Religion, 2022
Throughout history, people have reported seeing strange phenomena in the skies. Modern interest i... more Throughout history, people have reported seeing strange phenomena in the skies. Modern interest in Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) traditionally dates to 1947, when American aviator Kenneth Arnold reported seeing a number of flying disc-shaped objects near Mount Rainier, Washington. Academic scholarship linking UFOs with religion commenced around the same time and attracts scholars from a wide variety of interdisciplinary fields. The Handbook of UFO Religions, edited by Benjamin Zeller, is the latest contribution to the academic study of ufology and religion. The book, which consists of over five hundred pages, comprises an introduction and twenty-four chapters, divided into five parts. In the introduction, Zeller orients the reader by highlighting some of the key patterns that emerge in UFO scholarship and which unite the eclectic chapters in the current volume. Reoccurring themes include scientism, millennialism, occultism (in particular, the role of Theosophy) and synergies with popular culture. Following this is an excellent chapter by W. Michael Ashcraft which summarizes the first seventy-five years of academic research.
Fieldwork in Religion, 2022
In Mindapps, Thomas B. Roberts proposes a new paradigm for studying non-ordinary states. Drawing ... more In Mindapps, Thomas B. Roberts proposes a new paradigm for studying non-ordinary states. Drawing an analogy with technology, Roberts posits that just as we can create apps for our electronic devices, we can also construct ‘mindapps’ for our brain/mind. Mindapps are defined as “an underrecognized class of biotechnologies” (such as psychedelics, meditation, yoga, breathwork, hypnosis etc.) which lead to a variety of altered states of consciousness (34). Roberts’ particular focus is on psychedelics - he was a founding member of MAPS and has published prolifically in the area - and hence Mindapps takes psychedelics as its primary example. Roberts argues that so far, in the modern West, psychedelics have been mainly seen as adjuncts to therapy and spiritual development, however they are also “ideagens” – substances that are able to generate new and original ways of thinking (19).
Fieldwork in Religion, 2022
DMT Entity Encounters is the result of a four-day symposium which was held at Tyringham Hall in E... more DMT Entity Encounters is the result of a four-day symposium which was held at Tyringham Hall in England in 2017. At the event, twenty scholars and experts from a variety of disciplines (including anthropology, clinical psychology, neuroscience, physics, theology, philosophy and religion studies) gathered to discuss the entity encounter experience; a phenomenon whereby people report meetings with seemingly autonomous non-human entities which appear to possess intelligence and agency, and are commonly described as spirits, aliens, angels, elves (among other terms). Such encounters can occur spontaneously, as the result of spiritual practices, and after ingesting psychedelic substances. This book, which is an edited collection of presentations and discussions from the symposium, focuses mainly on 'entheogenic' entity encounter experiences; specifically, meetings with sentient others which occur when under the influence of the psychedelic compound DMT (dimethyltryptamine). Editor David Luke notes in the preface that "half of all high dose users" who take DMT (as ayahuasca or in pure form) report visions of other worlds and meetings with sentient non-human entities (xiii). As such, DMT research provides a fertile ground for the study of such experiences.
Journal for the Academic Study of Religion, 2022
There is a growing recognition that spirituality and health are interconnected, and that this rel... more There is a growing recognition that spirituality and health are interconnected, and that this relationship is complex. However, there is still a lack of research exploring the multifaceted concept of ‘wellbeing’ and how it is linked to spirituality. Spirituality and Wellbeing attempts to address this gap in the literature by bringing together a range of multidisciplinary perspectives on the subject. The book consists of an introduction, and ten chapters divided into four sections. In Section One (‘Setting the Scene’), Chapter One, Everton de Oliveira Maraldi discusses the “dark side” of spirituality (specifically, meditation adverse effects) - an area that has been historically neglected in modern psychological studies, which tend to only focus on the positive effects of spiritual beliefs and practices (20). In Chapter Two, Chris Roe examines clinical parapsychology, another area that has been relegated to the fringe of mainstream psychology. Roe considers how clinicians might work with patients who have experienced challenging anomalous phenomena. He argues that due to the “great taboo” associated with such experiences, most people are reticent to report having had them, despite the fact that they are relatively common and that disclosure can be beneficial to wellbeing (45). It is encouraging to see these somewhat controversial topics addressed in the first chapters of the book, rather than as an afterthought.
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Books by Anna Lutkajtis
The Dark Side of Dharma explores some of the possible undesirable side effects – also known as ‘adverse effects’ - of meditation and mindfulness. Researcher Anna Lutkajtis investigates why these effects, which are well-known in spiritual and religious traditions, have been ignored in contemporary secular contexts, such as Western psychology.
Lutkajtis’ research reveals that while meditation is commonly portrayed as a practice that is overwhelmingly positive, a growing number of research studies and anecdotal reports suggest that meditation can also have negative effects. Some meditators believe that these adverse effects are a normal part of the contemplative path and a welcome sign of progress. For others, such effects are completely unexpected and can be psychologically harmful.
In religious traditions like Buddhism, difficulties associated with meditation are acknowledged and are usually viewed as milestones on the path to enlightenment or the result of an unbalanced practice. In such traditional contexts, meditation teachers are equipped to deal with adverse effects if and when they arise. However, in the modern West, meditation adverse effects have been overlooked, under-researched, and generally misunderstood.
Given the current popularity of meditation, Lutkajtis argues that it is important to understand why meditation adverse effects have been ignored in contemporary secular settings.
ANNA LUTKAJTIS is a postgraduate researcher from Sydney, Australia.
Her research focuses on mysticism, psychedelics, and the relationship between mental health, religion and spirituality.
Papers by Anna Lutkajtis
Conference Presentations by Anna Lutkajtis
Dr Pascal Michael, Anna Lutkajtis, Dr Charlotte Martial
It often seems that there is a commonality that unites ‘anomalous experiences’, from the mystical epiphany to bizarre ‘alien abduction’ accounts and Near Death Experiences (NDEs). Three world-leading researchers in this area come together to unpack these phenomena.
Talks by Anna Lutkajtis
Thesis Chapters by Anna Lutkajtis
Book Reviews by Anna Lutkajtis
The Dark Side of Dharma explores some of the possible undesirable side effects – also known as ‘adverse effects’ - of meditation and mindfulness. Researcher Anna Lutkajtis investigates why these effects, which are well-known in spiritual and religious traditions, have been ignored in contemporary secular contexts, such as Western psychology.
Lutkajtis’ research reveals that while meditation is commonly portrayed as a practice that is overwhelmingly positive, a growing number of research studies and anecdotal reports suggest that meditation can also have negative effects. Some meditators believe that these adverse effects are a normal part of the contemplative path and a welcome sign of progress. For others, such effects are completely unexpected and can be psychologically harmful.
In religious traditions like Buddhism, difficulties associated with meditation are acknowledged and are usually viewed as milestones on the path to enlightenment or the result of an unbalanced practice. In such traditional contexts, meditation teachers are equipped to deal with adverse effects if and when they arise. However, in the modern West, meditation adverse effects have been overlooked, under-researched, and generally misunderstood.
Given the current popularity of meditation, Lutkajtis argues that it is important to understand why meditation adverse effects have been ignored in contemporary secular settings.
ANNA LUTKAJTIS is a postgraduate researcher from Sydney, Australia.
Her research focuses on mysticism, psychedelics, and the relationship between mental health, religion and spirituality.
Dr Pascal Michael, Anna Lutkajtis, Dr Charlotte Martial
It often seems that there is a commonality that unites ‘anomalous experiences’, from the mystical epiphany to bizarre ‘alien abduction’ accounts and Near Death Experiences (NDEs). Three world-leading researchers in this area come together to unpack these phenomena.
All these questions are going to be explored in this Psychedelic Café episode of Adventures Through The Mind.