Psychonautics (from the Greek   ["soul", "spirit" or "mind"] and ["sailor" or "navigator"] — "a sailor of the soul") refers both to a methodology for describing and explaining the subjective effects of altered states of consciousness, including those induced by meditation or mind-altering substances, and to a research paradigm in which the researcher voluntarily immerses himself or herself into an altered mental state in order to explore the accompanying experiences.

Psychonautics (from the Greek   ["soul", "spirit" or "mind"] and ["sailor" or "navigator"] — "a sailor of the soul") refers both to a methodology for describing and explaining the subjective effects of altered states of consciousness, including those induced by meditation or mind-altering substances, and to a research paradigm in which the researcher voluntarily immerses himself or herself into an altered mental state in order to explore the accompanying experiences.