How Virtual Reality Transformed My Ordinary Reality
Several months ago I had an opportunity to participate in a group virtual reality experience with three other people who work in the end-of-life field by the California-based health startup aNUma. At that time I was only familiar with VR as a tool for gaming and had no idea it could have an application in the work many of us do concerning dying and death.
But I was introduced to research published in Nature.com[1] showing that group VR can induce “self-transcendent experiences” similar to the effects of moderate-dose psychedelics. Multiple studies[2] have shown that guided psilocybin therapy can decrease depression and anxiety in patients with life-limiting cancer diagnoses,[3] and if VR can produce similar results it might be a viable alternative, without the side effects and stigma associated with psychedelics. So I was interested to see what effects VR might have for me and my colleagues who were joining in this experience.
We came together in virtual reality from different parts of the country as strangers who share a common interest in end-of-life work. In our VR space we were each represented as puffs of smoke, so that’s how we first became acquainted. But we quickly bonded in this experience that is free of identifiers and biases, breathing together and visualizing our hearts opening and connecting. After two sessions I felt I “knew” each of the other participants better than some of my closest friends.
In addition, through the breathing exercises I experienced a profound shift in awareness. I felt myself merging with the stars visible in our virtual night sky and saw my own heart expand to infinity with love that then radiated out to all of creation. While I have had similar transcendent experiences at times during meditation, this expansion beyond my sense of self was effortless and lasting.
Since my experiment with group VR through aNUma I can continue to travel back to that space in my mind and be filled once again with an unending feeling of love. I have discovered the universe within my ordinary reality and it has changed everything for me. I cannot forget that I am made of stars and an energy that is vast, far larger than any difficulties that come my way in this small physical space.
But I haven’t actually “traveled” anywhere. My eyes have just been opened to what has always, already been true. And I can finally see that I am part of everything and everything is part of me. Indeed I can see far beyond the anxiety and depression that have hovered over my ordinary limited awareness and I will be forever grateful.
[2] Griffiths, R.R., Johnson, M.W., Carducci, M.A., Umbricht, A., Richards, W.A., Richards, B.D., … & Klinedinst, M.A. (2016)
[3] Grob, C.S., Danforth, A.L., Chopra, G.S., Hagerty, M., McKay, C.R., Halberstadt, A.L., & Greer, G.R. (2011). Pilot study of psilocybin treatment for anxiety in patients with advanced-stage cancer. Archives of General Psychiatry, 68(1), 71–78.
