Psychonautics (from the Greek ψυχή (psychē "soul/spirit/mind") and ναύτης (naútēs "sailor/navigator") – a sailor of the mind/soul)[1] 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 him/herself into an altered state by means of such techniques, as a means to explore human experience and existence.