Religious beliefs and mystical experiences can be found in human societies across the globe and throughout history. Self-transcendence (ST)—a state characterized by the loss of boundaries between self and others and a feeling of connectedness to everything—is a primary feature of such spiritual experiences. However, little is known about the brain’s role in this uniquely human and often profound state. One possibility is that self-transcendence emerges, in part, from altered body awareness caused by reduced activity in the brain areas that integrate sensory information to create a singular sense of self. This grounding of self-transcendence in the body is also suggested by Buddhist texts and the reports of meditators, as both report a falling away of the physical sense of the body in intense states of concentration. We tested this possibility in a study of externally-induced ST (via magnetic stimulation of the brain) and internally-induced ST (via focused-attention practice in expert meditators). Preliminary analyses proved inconclusive with respect to our primary hypothesis, as neither the brain stimulation nor the meditation were of sufficient intensity/duration to induce substantive shifts in ST. However, we did find evidence that a focused-attention practice can induce changes in body awareness. Further, whether meditators showed improved or impaired awareness appears related to the quality of their practice, as indexed by physiological and self-report measures. Our data suggest that although awareness of the physical self may be diminished during meditation, the act of having recently meditated may enhance this perceptual acuity afterward.
