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Background: Musical neurofeedback is emerging as a non-pharmacological route to altered states, yet little is known about how instructions, perceived agency, and real-time brain, music mapping shape mystical experience and autonomic regulation.

Objectives: To test whether active engagement with an authentic EEG-driven music system yields stronger mystical-type experiences and heart rate variability (HRV) gains than passive ambient listening or frustrated non-responsive “sham” feedback.

Methods: Participants completed two 12-minute music sessions on separate days in a quiet ambient NYU “Renewal Room,” with Muse EEG and ear-clip photoplethysmography recording EEG and interbeat intervals before, during, and after listening. Sessions included Authentic neurofeedback and Bogus ambient conditions, later regrouped as Passive (Authentic + Bogus with “relax and listen” framing), Active (Authentic with playful or explicitly mapped brain-music instructions), and Frustration (Bogus audio with active-style instructions but no true feedback). Outcomes included Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ) scores, pre/post HRV (SDNN), and band-limited EEG power.

Results: Passive sessions showed mid-range MEQ (mean ≈3.23, n=63) and small HRV increases (~+9%). Active sessions yielded higher MEQ (≈3.90, n=23), larger HRV gains (~+22%), and a “relaxed high-clarity” EEG profile with stable theta, modest alpha increases, and greater beta/gamma rises. Frustration sessions showed intermediate MEQ (≈3.59, n=5) but HRV decreases (~-10%) and more volatile beta/alpha dynamics.

Conclusion: Clear instructions, transparent mapping, and genuine controllability appear central to eliciting MEQ-validated mystical states and enhanced autonomic flexibility in musical neurofeedback, positioning these systems as promising, lower-risk complements to psychedelic-assisted and contemplative interventions within arts-in-medicine settings.