Sipping the virtual elixir: An autoethnographic close reading of Ayahuasca Kosmik Journey, a self-transcendent virtual experience

Abstract

Self-transcendent experiences are often an integral component of ancient cultural practices that use psychedelic substances during spiritual ceremonies, such as ayahuasca ceremonies. Yet, ayahuasca contains dimethyltryptamine (DMT), which is illegal in many countries. Due to its illegality, ayahuasca experiences are scarce despite potential benefits of increased quality of life and reduced psychopathology. Virtual reality (VR) can provide a safe and legal glimpse of psychedelic experiences, such as an ayahuasca ceremony. These experiences may in turn evoke self-transcendent emotions without hallucinogenic substances, extending the power of art and technology to stimulate self-transcendence. To explore the potential, limits and experiential qualities that immersive experience design can afford for cyberdelic experiences, we conducted an autoethnographic close reading analysis of Atlas V’s Ayahuasca Kosmik Journey. Autoethnography allowed us to study complex and personal experiences while close reading connected those experiences to the design of the artefact. This allowed us to gain insights into the connections between design and experience and critically analyse the experience. The resulting reflection unveiled prominent psychological lenses in our subjective experience, including agency, embodiment, discomfort and self-transcendent emotions. Our analysis explicates the paramount role of spatiality, the sensorium and theme with embodied interaction for the self-transcendent effects of vastness, the role of contrast in narrative transitions and how meaning is rooted in previous experiences. Our analysis unveils the potential and the limitations of immersive technology to emulate self-transcendent experiences through extending our senses and transcending the self.