Does Psychological Flexibility Correlate with Mystical Experiences: A Machine Learning Approach Including State of Surrender, Near-Death Experiences, and Psilocybin Consumption

Mystical experiences appear to be most strongly associated with “State of Surrender” and certain aspects of psychological flexibility, rather than with psychedelic use or near-death experiences themselves

This new study found that mystical experiences were most strongly associated with a person’s capacity for “state of surrender” - the ability to let go, accept experiences, and reduce psychological resistance along with key aspects of psychological flexibility such as experiential acceptance, cognitive defusion, and present-moment awareness. Using a machine-learning elastic net regression model, the researchers showed that these psychological traits predicted mystical experiences more strongly than either psilocybin use or near-death experiences, both of which lost significance once flexibility variables were included. The findings suggest that mystical experiences may depend less on external triggers and more on an individual’s openness, mindfulness, and willingness to surrender to experience.

“Mystical experiences are characterized by a profound sense of interconnectedness and transcendence of ordinary reality. These experiences can facilitate feelings of connectedness with oneself and others and have been documented as leading to significant positive changes in thoughts, emotions, and behavior. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the extent to which the four mindfulness facets of psychological flexibility (i.e., experiential acceptance, present-moment awareness, cognitive defusion, and self-as-context) were associated with self-reported mystical experiences while controlling for established covariates.

Using a sample of 150 individuals recruited online, a regularized regression with an elastic net—a computationally efficient machine learning algorithm—was used to model the relationships among mystical experiences, State of Surrender, frequency of psychedelic use, near-death experiences, and facets of psychological flexibility. State of Surrender, experiential acceptance, cognitive defusion, and present-moment awareness emerged as the most robust predictors of mystical experiences. Collectively, these findings underscore the role of psychological processes, including surrender-related processes and facets of psychological flexibility, in predicting mystical experiences”

Briggs, D.; Sease, T.B.; Menou, R.; Perkins, D.R. Does Psychological Flexibility Correlate with Mystical Experiences: A Machine Learning Approach Including State of Surrender, Near-Death Experiences, and Psilocybin Consumption. Behav. Sci. 2026, 16, 686. Read Paper

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