What are the Psychological implications of Believing that Everything is One?
The belief that everything in the universe is one, an ideology that is often induced by psychedelics, is shared with many cultures, and philosophical, religious, spiritual, and scientific traditions. Despite this, the psychological implications of this belief have been rarely studied in the scientific setting. In a series of studies researchers found the believe in oneness to be strongly associated with feeling greater connection and concern for people, animals, and the environment, and in being particularly concerned for people and things beyond one’s immediate circle of friends and family. Additionally, it has been shown that the belief in oneness is positively correlated with a feeling a deeper connection with the cosmos.
In psychedelic research, individuals who report higher feelings of oneness during their psychedelic experience are the same ones who are shown to receive the most psychological benefits of the experience. This suggests that this quality of the psychedelic experience may be be central to their healing properties.