Facilitating non-dual awareness through virtual reality out-of-body experiences

Non-dual awareness (NDA) is a contemplative state characterized by the dissolution of the subject-object distinction, and associated with equanimity, clarity, and self-transcendence. Despite its documented psychological and well-being benefits and its key role in contemplative traditions, access to NDA typically requires advanced meditation proficiency. To lower this barrier, we designed a virtual reality (VR) experience that leverages VR-induced out-of-body experiences (OBEs) as an immersive metaphor to facilitate access to NDA. We hypothesized that a strong sense of embodiment in the avatar body, coupled with susceptibility to the VR-OBE illusion, would weaken self-referential perception and promote NDA. To test this, we conducted two within-subject studies involving a total of 18 participants, each meditating twice in VR. The experimental condition included a VR-OBE, while the control condition omitted the OBE component. Neural activity was recorded using EEG, and subjective experiences were assessed via validated questionnaires. Results showed that a stronger sense of ownership during the disembodiment phase correlated with self-transcendence ratings. Participants with a stronger embodiment and greater susceptibility to OBEs also exhibited higher NDA-related scores in the experimental condition. EEG data revealed increased delta and gamma band activity during the disembodiment. These findings suggest that VR can serve as a contemplative technology to facilitate NDA, and point to the potential of VR as a means for accessing states or insights traditionally associated with prolonged meditation practice.