David Luke is a senior lecturer for psychology at the University of Greenwich in the United Kingdom. His research has centred on transpersonal experiences, anomalous phenomena and altered states of consciousness, particularly with regard to psychoactive substances, at the border between laboratory method and subjective experience.
- Luke’s research spans psychedelics, dream ESP, precognition, remote observation detection and twin telepathy.
- A Greenwich dream precognition study found stronger scoring at 3 am, when melatonin levels are highest, than at 8 am.
- In fieldwork with DMT users, parapsychological testing reportedly produced higher psi scoring under DMT than in an ordinary state.
Contents
Life and Career
David Luke’s interest in altered states of consciousness began in childhood and deepened during his school years. As he described in a 2014 interview with parapsychologist Carlos Alvarado, as a truanting schoolboy he would often loiter in second-hand bookshops and give himself a more self-directed education by consuming editions of the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research. Fascinated with the subject matter, Luke joined the Society for Psychical Research before pursuing a formal university education.
Luke obtained a First in psychology at the University of Westminster, followed by a PhD from Northampton University that included parapsychological research. In 2008, he joined the department of psychology, social work and counselling at the University of Greenwich, where he is course coordinator for psychology of exceptional human experience and for the undergraduate programme.
Between 2009 and 2011, Luke served as President of the Parapsychological Association. He received both an Early Career Research Excellence Award in 2011 and the faculty’s first Inspirational Teaching Award in 2016 from the University of Greenwich. Luke was Honorary Senior Lecturer at Imperial College London from 2019 to 2023, and Lecturer and programme leader for the professional certificate in Psychedelics, Altered States and Transpersonal Psychology at the Alef Trust from 2021 to 2025. In late 2025 Luke was promoted to Professor of the recently established the Psychedelic and Exceptional Experience Lab (PEEL) within the Centre for Mental Health at Greenwich. He is also a Perrott-Warwick Senior Researcher, administered by Trinity College, Cambridge, and directs the Lucid Dream Precognition Project. Luke is also the director of Breaking Convention, a biennial conference of leading academics in psychedelic research.
Luke is the director of Breaking Convention, an annual conference of leading academics in psychedelic research. He edits high profile anthologies of works related to psychedelics and exceptional human experiences.1Luke (2017).
Luke has published more than 100 academic papers and thirteen books in these areas, including Otherworlds: Psychedelics and Exceptional Human Experience (2017) and co-editor of DMT Dialogues: Encounters with the Spirit Molecule (2018).
Psychology of Psychedelics
Luke’s current focus is on understanding the psychological foundations of the psychedelic experience. In one study, the effects of microdosing (ingesting tiny non-psychoactive amounts to try to improve mood and cognitive function) LSD was tested in a double-blinded placebo controlled protocol.2Luke (2018). The results indicated no effect on subjective measures (perception, concentration, mentation) but did increase time dilation (the perception of time stretching out) compared to placebos.
A review of studies investigating drug use and synaesthesia (the phenomenon of blending the senses, such as to ‘hear’ colours and ‘smell’ sounds) found a strong correlation with chemicals that excited the serotonin system such as LSD, psilocybin and 2C-B.3Luke & Terhune (2013). Methodological weaknesses discouraged strong conclusions, however.
Northampton Research
For his PhD thesis, Luke studied the judging of dream ESP transcripts, finding that groups more often correctly identified targets than individuals judging alone, although not to a statistically significant level.4Luke (2002).
Luke also investigated the relationship between belief in luck and psi scoring, finding clear correlations with belief in luck and also other psychological measures such as perceived personal luckiness, belief in psi, belief in the paranormal and erotic sensitivity (the targets were of an erotic nature).5Luke (2008).
In other research, a questionnaire was circulated among regular drug users who reported mystical and unusual experiences arising from particular substances: for example, ketamine with out of body experiences, marijuana with telepathy and DMT with ‘entity encounters’. No relationship was found between psi experiences (telepathy, clairvoyance and precognition) and drug type, possibly because this was obscured by high level drug use among the subjects.6Luke (2012).
Greenwich Research
Circadian Rhythms
An early initiative at the University of Greenwich was to investigate circadian rhythms on ESP performance, in particular the possible role of melatonin, which is known to fluctuate throughout the day. The study tested for precognition among ten participants across ten nights at 3am (when melatonin levels are highest) and 8am (when melatonin levels are lowest). Dream precognition performance was significantly better at 3 am than 8 am when melatonin levels were highest (p = 0.031). Personality measures were taken but none correlated with precognition performance.7Luke & Zychowicz (2014).
Geomagnetic Activity and Meditation
A four-year study investigated the possible influence of local geomagnetic field fluctuations and meditation experience on psi performance among 26 experienced meditators at the Samye Ling Tibetan Centre in Scotland. Overall performance for males’ psi scores were significantly negative (p = .02); females scored at chance. No relationship was found with meditation experience. The participants with the highest temporal lobe activity (as estimated by a questionnaire) showed the strongest geomagnetic/psi relationship (p = .06). The disappointing results were thought to relate to untypically low solar and geomagnetic activity during the study period, the lowest in a century. 8Roney-Dougal et al. (2014).
Covert Needs-based Precognition
Luke and associates carried out a series of successful experiments exploring Stanford’s psi-mediated instrumental response (PMIR) model, which proposes that psi is an evolutionarily adaptive function serving the needs of the organism at an unconscious level. They gave subjecs an automated precognition task, some being asked afterwards to carry out either a further, unpleasant or pleasant, task. The findings tended to support the PMIR model. Overall precognition scoring across these experiments was highly significant (p = 0.001). Additionally, there was a strong overall correlation between psi scoring and sheep-goat effect (p = 0.0013).9Luke & Zychowicz (2014); Luke & Morin (2014).
Surveillance Detection
Luke with PhD student Ross Friday ran three studies10Friday (2019). investigating the sense of being stared at – a line of research introduced by Rupert Sheldrake.
In the first study, 112 participants underwent four conditions: being watched remotely through a one-way mirror; being listened to remotely through a microphone; being watched and listened to remotely; or not being remotely monitored. Participants’ ability to detect being watched and/or listened to was measured using three approaches: self-reporting, fluctuations in skin conductance levels and behavioural measures. Results indicated that skin conductance fluctuations and self-reports were not sensitive measures of remote attention. However, the behavioural measure (a Stroop task) produced four significant results (two of them at the p = 0.001 level) from six condition comparisons – an extremely significant overall result.
The second study was mostly a replication of the first. Participant self-reports were significantly influenced in the remote watching and listening condition (p = 0.05). Electrodermal activity, unlike the first study, produced four significant results from six condition comparisons. This improvement in psi-scoring could have been the result of a modification in which participants underwent a Stroop task during their electrodermal measurements, which possibly cultivated a sense of caring agency over their psi performance. The behavioural condition (again, a Stroop test) produced disappointing results – unlike the first study – with only one condition giving a significant outcome (p = 0.038). Although the second study produced a range of significant effects, there was little replication of the results of the first study.
The third study employed an ecologically valid design in which 100 students were either remotely watched and listened to, or not observed – the choice being determined randomly – whilst they walked along a path in the university grounds. The path went through an area designated as ‘safe’ and an area designated as ‘dangerous’. At the end of the path, walkers were asked if they thought they were being observed or not. There was no indication of remote observation detection in safe areas but a significant effect (p = 0.048) in dangerous areas, giving support to evolutionary models of psi detection.
Psychodelomancy
Luke has coined the term ‘psychedelomancy’, meaning to use psychedelics to improve psi ability. In a broad series of investigations a number of different psychedelics have been examined.11Luke (2017).
Ayahuasca
Testing indigenous tribes in Ecuador for precognition, Luke found the Ayahuasca, which contains the active ingredient DMT (dimethyltryptamine), was ineffective at increasing scores above the pre-dosage baseline. He speculates this might be because the artificial nature of the experiment (for example, the use of a laptop to generate targets) caused anxiety among the tribesmen.
San Pedro Cactus
Luke repeated the experiment using San Pedro Cactus, but found difficulty recruiting twenty volunteers, so acted as the sole subject, recording his mentation before a target was randomly selected and presented together with three decoys. After 20 trials the overall scoring was significant (p = 0.032) including some striking hits.
LSD
In an LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) study involving academics, Luke obtained precognition scoring significantly below chance. He speculated that sceptical attitudes prevalent in that group might have caused them to miss more targets than chance would predict.
DMT
Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is a plant-based psychedelic known to produce hallucinogenic experiences of other worlds. These are often intensely visual and fractal in nature and seemingly inhabited by entities including so-called ‘machine elves’ and insectoid creatures. Mainstream neuroscience regards these experiences as purely biological in nature. However, an open-minded investigation of the ontological nature of the DMT experience is an area of active academic interest for a few neuroscientists. Meetings instigated by Luke led to the publication in 2018 of DMT Dialogues: Encounters with the Spirit Molecule with contributions from experts in neuroscience, anthropology, psychology and religious studies.
Encouraged by the DMT convening, Luke, with PhD student Pascal Immanuel Michael ran a field study involving experienced DMT users undergoing semi-structured interviews immediately after a smoking DMT in their homes. The results of these psychological investigations were published in Frontiers in Psychology in 2021 and 2023.
Luke also ran parapsychological experiments by testing for precognition in two conditions: under the influence of DMT and no DMT, as a control. Tests with twenty volunteers in each condition showed that DMT gave significantly higher psi scoring than an ordinary state of consciousness (p = 0.048).12Personal communication, 24 February 2020.
Luke is continuing his explorations of the veracity of the DMT state by exploring shared experiences.
Transpersonal Ecodelia
In a 2023 survey study co-authored with Irvine and colleagues, Luke investigated psychedelically induced biophilia – the enhancement of feelings of connection to, and care for, the natural world following psychedelic use.13Irvine et al. (2023). The survey found that a substantial proportion of psychedelic users reported increased feelings of species connectedness and ecological concern following their experiences, with psilocybin and ayahuasca producing the most pronounced effects. The findings suggest that psychedelics may have implications not only for personal wellbeing but for environmental attitudes and behaviour, an area Luke had previously explored in his contribution to Jack Hunter’s edited volume Greening the Paranormal (2019).
Post-Psychedelic Difficulties
Recognising that the growing clinical and recreational interest in psychedelics brings with it risks as well as benefits, Luke co-authored a 2024 study with Robinson and colleagues examining the range of difficulties experienced by users following psychedelic use.14Robinson et al. (2024). An online survey of 159 participants who reported extended difficulties found these varied considerably in duration and severity, from mild perceptual disturbances to more persistent existential and psychological distress. The study also identified coping strategies that participants found helpful. The findings are relevant to harm reduction efforts as psychedelics move closer to clinical approval in several countries.
Ontological Shock
A 2025 qualitative study led by Argyri and co-authored by Luke examined a related phenomenon: ‘ontological shock’, the profound destabilisation of a person’s sense of reality following particularly intense or unexpected psychedelic experiences.15Argyri et al. (2025). Interview data from participants who had experienced this kind of existential disruption was analysed thematically. Participants described difficulty integrating experiences that challenged their fundamental beliefs about consciousness, reality and personal identity. The paper is notable for treating these experiences not purely as adverse events to be managed but as potentially transformative, if demanding, encounters with the limits of ordinary cognition.
Twin Telepathy
A report published in 202216Brusewitz et al. (2022). (originally presented in 2016)17Brusewitz et al. (2016). with Annekatrin Puhle and Göran Brusewitz describes a high-quality investigation into twin telepathy. In the experimental setup, one twin (the ‘receiver’), was connected to equipment for measuring electrodermal activity (EDA); the other twin (the ‘transmitter’), was placed in a distant room to avoid any possibility of ordinary contact. The transmitter twin was then exposed to a surprise stimulus – such as having a hand thrust in a bucket of ice-water or being exposed to a loud bang – on five occasions (trials), each chosen randomly at moments within a thirty-second window period. A hit was achieved if the EDA equipment detected when the distant twin was subjected to a surprise, and was taken to be support for telepathy. Eighteen hits were achieved in 91 trials where mean chance expectancy was 11.4 (p = 0.043), which is statistically significant. Questionnaire data indicated that degree of attachment between twins was not significantly related to psi-hitting, although this negative finding was most likely driven by high levels of attachment throughout the entire group of twins.
Selected Works
Books
Otherworlds: Psychedelics and Exceptional Human Experience (2017; 2nd ed. 2019). London: Muswell Hill Press / Aeon Books.
DMT Dialogues: Encounters with the Spirit Molecule (2018, ed. with R. Spowers). Rochester, Vermont, USA: Park Street Press.
Talking with the Spirits: Ethnographies from Between the Worlds (2014, ed. with J. Hunter). Daily Grail Publishing.
Journal Articles
Discarnate entities and dimethyltryptamine (DMT): Psychopharmacology, phenomenology and ontology (2011). Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 75, 26-42. [Abstract.]
Psychoactive substances and paranormal phenomena: A comprehensive review (2012). International Journal of Transpersonal Studies 31/1, 97-156. [Downloadable PDF.]
Comparison of outcomes with nonintentional and intentional precognition tasks (2014, with K. Zychowicz). Journal of Parapsychology 78/2, 223-34. University of Greenwich. [Abstract.]
Three studies of the relationship amongst twins between physiological connectedness and attachment (2022, with G. Brusewitz, A. Parker, & A. Puhle). Journal of Parapsychology 86/1, 25-26. Academia.edu. [Downloadable PDF.]
Transpersonal ecodelia: Surveying psychedelically induced biophilia (2023, with A. Irvine, F. Harrid, S. Gandy, & R. Watts). Psychoactives 2, 174-93. MDPI. [Full text.]
Psi Encyclopedia Articles
For a list of articles Luke has written for the PE, see his Contributor page.
Michael Duggan
Works Cited
Argyri, E.K., Evans, J., Luke, D., Michael, P., Michelle, K., Rohani-Shukla, C., Suseelan, S., Prideaux, E., McAlpine, R., & Murphy-Beiner, A. (2025). Navigating groundlessness: An interview study on dealing with ontological shock and existential distress following psychedelic experiences. PLoS One 20/12, art. e0322501. [Full text.]
Brusewitz, G., Parker, A., Luke, D., Friday, R., & Puhle, A. (2016). An exploratory study of physiological connectedness among twins in relation to attachment. Proceedings of the Joint 35th Annual Meeting of the Society for Scientific Exploration and 59th Annual Convention of the Parapsychological Association, Boulder, Colorado, USA.
Brusewitz, G., Luke, D., Parker, A., & Puhle, A. (2022). Three studies of the relationship amongst twins between physiological connectedness and attachment. Journal of Parapsychology 86/1, 25-26. Academia.edu. [Downloadable PDF.]
Friday, R. (2019). Individual differences in psychosocial and neurological predictors of surveillance detection via extrasensory means. Final report for Bial Grant 139/14. [Unpublished manuscript.]
Irvine, A., Luke, D., Harrild, F., Gandy, S., & Watts, R. (2023). Transpersonal ecodelia: Surveying psychedelically induced biophilia. Psychoactives 2, 174-93. MDPI. [Full text.]
Luke, D. (2011). Experiential reclamation and first-person parapsychology. Journal of Parapsychology 75/2, 185-200. University of Greenwich. [Abstract.]
Luke, D. (2011). Discarnate entities and dimethyltryptamine (DMT): Psychopharmacology, phenomenology and ontology. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 75, 26-42. University of Greenwich. [Abstract.]
Luke, D. (2012). Psychoactive substances and paranormal phenomena: A comprehensive review. International Journal of Transpersonal Studies 31/1, 97-156. Academia.edu. [Full text.]
Luke, D. (2013). Editorial: Ecopsychology and the psychedelic experience. European Journal of Ecopsychology 4, 1-8. University of Greenwich. [Abstract.]
Luke, D. (2017). Otherworlds: Psychedelics and Exceptional Human Experience. London & New York: Muswell Hill Press. University of Greenwich. [Abstract.]
Luke, D. & Morin, S. (2014). Exploration of the validity and utility of a reward contingency in a non-intentional forced-choice precognition task. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 78, 207-18. University of Greenwich. [Abstract.]
Luke, D., Sherwood, S., & Delanoy, D. (2008). Psi may look like luck: Perceived luckiness and beliefs about luck in relation to precognition. Conference: 51st Annual Parapsychological Association Convention, Winchester, UK. ResearchGate. [Request PDF.]
Luke, D., & Spowers, R. (eds.) (2018). DMT Dialogues: Encounters with the Spirit Molecule. Rochester, Vermont, USA: Park Street Press. University of Greenwich. [Abstract.]
Luke, D., & Terhune, D.B. (2013). The induction of synaesthesia with chemical agents: A systematic review. Frontiers in Psychology (17 October). [Full text.]
Luke, D., Terhune, D.[B.], & Friday, R. (2012). Psychedelic synaesthesia: Evidence for a serotonergic role in synaesthesia. Seeing and Perceiving 25, 74. Academia.edu. [Downloadable PDF.]
Luke, D., & Zychowicz, K. (2014). Working the graveyard shift at the witching hour: Further exploration of dreams, psi and circadian rhythms. International Journal of Dream Research 7/2, 105-12. [Abstract.]
Luke, D., & Zychowicz, K. (2014). Comparison of outcomes with non-intentional and intentional precognition tasks. Journal of Parapsychology 78/2, 223-34. Academia.edu. [Full text.]
Luke, D., Zychowicz, K., Richterova, O., Tjurina, I., & Polonnikova, J. (2012). A sideways look at the neurobiology of psi: Precognition and circadian rhythms. NeuroQuantology 10/3, 580-90. Academia.edu. [Full text.]
Michael, P. Luke, D., & Robinson, O. (2021). An encounter with the other: A thematic analysis of accounts of DMT experiences from a naturalistic field study. Frontiers in Psychology 12, art. 720717. Academia.edu. [Full text.]
Michael, P., Luke, D., & Robinson, O. (2023). An encounter with the self: A thematic and content analysis of the DMT experience from a naturalistic field study. Frontiers in Psychology 14, art. 1083356. [Full text.]
Roe, C., Sherwood, S., Luke, D., & Farrell, L.M. (2002). An exploratory investigation of GESP using consensus judging and dynamic targets. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 66.
Robinson, O.C., Evans, J., McAlpine, R., Argyri, E., & Luke, D. (2024). An investigation into the varieties of extended difficulties following psychedelic drug use: Duration, severity and helpful coping strategies. Journal of Psychedelic Studies 9/2. [Full text.]
Roney-Dougal, S.M., Ryan, A., & Luke, D. (2013). The relationship between local geomagnetic activity, meditation and psi. Part I: Literature review and theoretical model. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 77, 72-88. University of Greenwich. [Abstract.]
Roney-Dougal, S.M., Ryan, A., & Luke, D. (2014). The relationship between local geomagnetic activity, Tibetan Buddhist meditation and psychic awareness. Journal of Parapsychology 78/2, 235-54. University of Greenwich. [Abstract.]