Abstract
This paper addresses a methodological disparity between meditation research and research involving psychoactive substances. Studies of meditation routinely apply established criteria to distinguish expert practitioners from novices, while research with psychoactive substances screens for safety rather than classifying expertise. We analyze current benchmarking practice in meditation research, examine the limitations of participant selection in psychoactive substance research, and propose a multidimensional framework for psychonaut benchmarking that integrates quantitative exposure metrics, functional capacity assessment, phenomenological sophistication, typological profiling, and standardized competency evaluation. Drawing on parallels between the two domains, and incorporating a new competency instrument, the General Psychonautic Competence Assessment (GPCA), together with a proposed typological profiling component, the Psychonaut Profile Identification Assessment (PPIA), we aim to improve participant classification in research on non-ordinary states of consciousness. Both instruments are presented as proposals for collaborative development. Neither has completed psychometric validation, and the paper specifies the validation program each requires.