Contemplative Practices Research Articles

Embodied Cognition in Meditation, Yoga, and Ethics-An Experimental Single-Case Study on the Differential Effects of Four Mind-Body Treatments.

Yoga is an embodied contemplative practice considered as a path toward long-term well-being, which fosters an integrated processing of bodily and emotional stimuli. However, little is known about how the different components of yoga contribute to these processes. This was the aim of this single-case multiple-baseline study. Herein, we explored how different yoga components affect body awareness, emotion regulation, affectivity, self-compassion, and distress tolerance. Forty-two randomly assigned participants (from initially fifty-seven) completed one of four 8-week treatments: Mantra meditation alone (MA), meditation plus physical yoga (MY), meditation plus ethical education (ME), and meditation plus yoga and ethical education (MYE). Participants had no prior regular yoga or meditation practice. Data were analyzed using visual inspection, effect size estimation, and multilevel modeling. Surprisingly, all four treatments similarly improved body awareness (Tau-UMA = 0.21 to Tau-UMY = 0.49), emotion regulation (Tau-UMYE = −0.43 to Tau-UME = −0.52), self-compassion (η2 = 0.08), and distress tolerance (η2 = 0.13). These effects were maintained until follow-up at 2 and 12 months after the study, even though home practice declined. The MA condition had the least favorable effect on affective experience (Tau-UMA = −0.14 and 0.07), while the ME condition enhanced valence the most (Tau-UME = 0.10) and the MY condition was the most effective in preventing negative affective responses. Although mantra meditation on its own negatively influenced daily affect, it can be assumed as the driving force behind the improvement in the other variables. This points to the central role of meditation in increasing interoception, self-awareness, and embodied processing.

Effects of Mindful Practices on Terror of Mortality: A Randomized Controlled Trial

ObjectivesEarly Buddhist thought clearly recognizes the need for learning how to face one’s own mortality, for which purpose mindfulness practice has a central role to play. Fear of death has also been studied in cognitive psychology, leading to what is known as the terror management theory. Actual research evidence in psychology has already shown that mindfulness practice may reduce fear and anxiety in general. However, there is a lack of research examining the specific effects of brief mindfulness practices on the fear of death and dying. In this study we tested the hypothesis that brief mindfulness practices used daily over a period of 6 weeks will result in a reduction of the fear of death and dying when compared to brief contemplative practices used as an active control condition.MethodsParticipants (n = 89) were randomly assigned to the mindfulness (n = 44) and the contemplation (n = 45) conditions and completed validated scales measuring four distinct fears related to either the process of dying or the final event of death (dying of oneself, death of oneself, dying of others, and death of others), mindfulness, and self-compassion at baseline, post-intervention (at 6 weeks) and follow up (1‒3 weeks after the end of the 6-week intervention). ANOVA was used to investigate the effects of both interventions on outcome variables over time and between groups.ResultsBoth mindfulness and contemplative practices were equally effective in reducing fear related to dying of oneself and death of others while increasing fear of dying of others, mindfulness, and self-compassion. No significant intervention effects were found for fear related to death of oneself only.ConclusionsThese results suggest that fears related to dying of oneself and death of others can be reduced using both mindfulness and contemplative practices that may simultaneously increase mindfulness and self-compassion.

التفتح الذهني لدى مدرسي علم الاحياء للمرحلة الاعدادية

The current research aims to know the open-mindedness of biology teachers for the preparatory stage, and the differences between them according to the gender variable, as the current research was limited to a sample of (200) teachers and teachers of biology for the preparatory stage in the preparatory and secondary government day schools affiliated to the Directorate of Education of Babel - , and for the academic year (2022-2021), were chosen by the stratified random method, and on the basis of proportional distribution. The researchers used the descriptive research method. To achieve the goal of the research, the researchers prepared a scale of contemplative practices, after reviewing previous studies and consulting experts. The scale consisted of (45) A paragraph divided into three areas (ideas production, diversity of ideas, transformation of mental orientations) Where each field includes (15) paragraphs, and the psychometric properties of the paragraphs of the scale were verified to be ready for the final application, and the statistical package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used in data processing, and the research concluded that biology teachers for the preparatory stage in Babylon education schools have open mental, and there are no differences in the level of open-mindedness according to the gender variable. Keywords: open-mindedness - teachers of biology for the preparatory stage

The Value of Contemplative Practices: A Mixed Methods Approach Exploring Associations between Resilience and Experiences of the COVID-19 Pandemic among Older Adults.

The aim of this study was to explore the association between resilience and experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic among older adults. We used a sequential explanatory mixed methods study design to recruit older adults who spoke English and were 60 and above during the pandemic. Survey data investigated older adults’ resilience, post-traumatic growth, well-being, and demographics. Extreme case purposeful sampling of their resilience score was used to select interviewees. Qualitative data sought to understand the relationship between resilience and how older adults responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. Exploring the relationship between resilience (well-being in the face of challenge) and one’s experience of the COVID-19 pandemic revealed that participants categorized as having high resilience had long held behaviors of contemplative practices that helped them effectively adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic. As we continue to face global challenges, we must redefine care, guide interventions, and promote healthy aging by incorporating contemplative practices into the lives of older adults.

An exploratory analysis of the Ignatian examen: Impact on self-transcendent positive emotions and eudaimonic motivation

ABSTRACT Though research on mindfulness has increased, other contemplative practices have been understudied. This study provided an initial empirical examination of one contemplative exercise rooted in Catholic tradition, the Ignatian examen, and its impact on self-transcendent positive emotions (STPE) and eudaimonic motivation. It also examined the moderating effects of autonomous interpersonal style on the effects of the examen on STPE. Practicing the examen increased in-the-moment experience of STPE and valuation of STPE. Autonomy did not moderate this effect, but those who valued autonomy more experienced STPE less. There were no significant changes in eudaimonic motivation. This study highlights the utility of studying a variety of contemplative practices drawn from ancient traditions that have cultivated contemplation based on their varied understandings of human flourishing.

Religious Experience in the First-Person Perspective: The Lived Body and Perception of Reality

The first-person perspective, developed by Husserl for the scientific study of consciousness, consists of formal categories which can be used both for the analyses of consciousness as such and its concrete forms. Evidence (Evidenz), the central category in this approach, characterizes consciousness as knowledge. This paper presents the phenomenology of changes in perception and embodiment which lead to evidence for religious/spiritual experience (RE). Such change develops over time via contemplative practice, but also can be a part of spontaneous RE. Because of the presence of evidence, RE containing the change of perception are presentational (as distinct from appresentative). This temporally extended evidence concerns reality’s giving of itself, granted that the main distinction between religious and non-religious experience is in the kind of reality to which they refer: physical in the case of non-religious, and ‘ultimate’ in the case of religious experience. Involving flesh and the reversibility of the body, the change in such complex RE also entails the transmutation of emotion from negative to positive. I compare these findings with Husserl’s analysis of religious experience in HUA XVII, and argue that grounding religious experience in the preconceived idea of God, as Husserl does, limits RE to regressive forms which do not constitute knowledge. Such experiences remain teleologically directed at the world-horizon. By contrast, REs grounded in change of perception have a different teleology and do constitute knowledge.

The neurophysiology of the intervention strategies of Awareness Training Program on emotion regulation.

Emotion regulation is essential for healthy living. Previous studies have found that mental training such as compassion meditation could help with emotion regulation. However, the underlying neural mechanism and possible intervention strategies of group-based Mahayana Buddhist intervention involved in emotion regulation are still unclear. This event-related potential (ERP) study investigated how compassion and wisdom meditations, two key components of the Awareness Training Program (ATP), may regulate emotion during different mental processing stages, namely attention deployment, cognitive change, and response modification. Eighty-five middle-aged working adults with moderate stress were voluntarily recruited for this study, using a 128-channel electroencephalogram system. After 7 weeks of training, participants (ATP attendance, n = 42; waitlist control, n = 43) were instructed to view negative pictures while practicing compassion or wisdom meditation, with corresponding priming words. Another normal priming condition and a neutral picture condition were set as control conditions. ERP results in the ATP group showed that negative pictures induced greater prefrontal activity (N400 component) in both compassion and wisdom meditation conditions compared with the normal condition, while the control group showed little difference between the conditions. Significantly higher heart rate variability was found in the compassion but not wisdom meditation when compared with the neutral priming condition. Correspondent changes in behavioural data were also found. Converging evidence showed that compassion meditation training could modulate negative emotion processing in stages of attention deployment, cognitive change, and behavioural responses. The prefrontal lobe could play an important role in the process of emotion regulation by compassion meditation, possibly due to the emphasis of the ATP on contemplative practices.

‘Pedagogic bodies’: embodied teaching-learning in the field of well-being

ABSTRACT Globally, modern contemplative practices like yoga and mindfulness are being widely adopted for the purposes of well-being. This paper begins to explore a possible pedagogy of well-being by taking the example of modern yoga in Los Angeles. Embodiment represents an important aspect of both well-being and cultural pedagogy. While there are rich insights around embodied learning, teaching bodies, in whose presence we learn, remain marginal. I unpack the forging and communication of embodied teaching knowledge in a pedagogy of well-being. Drawing on Herbart’s notion of pedagogical tact and Bourdieu’s interpretation of habitus, I propose the idea of pedagogic bodies that represents a conscious intent and concern for others within one’s own body, unpacking relational, pedagogical labor of teaching bodies. This paper shows how conscious intent and corporeal competence connect to human practice for the purposes of well-being and notes implications for education and pedagogy in general.

Contemplative practices: The body as therapeutic site linking health and place.

During times of upheaval, supporting stability, health and wellbeing on all levels is essential. While literature regarding 'therapeutic landscapes' has burgeoned over the last 30 years, to date no studies have considered the therapeutic potential of embodied contemplative practices (CP), such as yoga and meditation, within the most accessible, ordinary environment - the body at home. Equally, the field of mobilities appears to have overlooked the spiritual and political nature of these deliberately immobilising acts of resistance. Our paper draws on narrative data collected over the course of three months of daily CP. We interpret the resulting autoethnography through thematic analysis. We conclude that within a fast-paced, hyper-connected world, CPs can be a therapeutic counterpoint, connecting health and place by nurturing an appreciation for the immaterial, interdependent aspects of life.

Caring for Self and Others: A First-Year Seminar

At a public university, a nursing faculty member offered a first-year seminar course focused on helping students learn to care for self and others. A premise of the course was that learning how to learn is a form of self-care. Students explore Watson’s theory of human caring, learning how to learn, and contemplative practices. Through varied learning activities, students explored academic and wellness resources on campus. Student work demonstrated understanding of a caring theory. Incorporation of caring principles into the classroom benefits students in becoming a caring person.

Did Socrates Meditate? On Some Traces of Contemplative Practices in Early Greco-Latin Philosophy

Following insights by Pierre Hadot, I suggest that although explicit discussions of practices of breath control and other psychosomatic techniques of contemplative attention management are conspicuously absent in early Greek thought, there are some signs that analogous practices did exist, perhaps as early as Socrates. The combined evidence of Aristophanes and Plato suggests that Socrates may have engaged in a practice that has key features in common with meditative practices and experiences as attested in Zen Buddhism. This technique consists in two stages: an initial practice of top-down, voluntary, egocentric focused meditation resulting in a state of “absorption” or abstraction from all sensory input, followed by the practice of a more bottom-up, open, other-centered (allocentric) form of meditation, intended to provide a more global or universal perspective, in which the practitioner situates herself as a part of the cosmos. This paper includes discussion of “withdrawal” into oneself as a contemplative practice in Plato, Marcus Aurelius, Evagrius Ponticus, and Gregory Palamas.

Religion, Animals, and Contemplation

Animals teach each other. For humans open to trans-species and inter-species dialogue and interaction, animal-others offer important insights into, invocations of and models for diverse and alternative modes of perceiving, experiencing, relating, and being. They in turn challenge anthropocentric conceptions of consciousness and offer glimpses of and perhaps inspiration for increased awareness and presence. Might the current academic vogue of “equity, diversity, and inclusion” (EDI; or whichever order you prefer) even extend to “non-human” animals? Might this also represent one essential key to the human aspiration for freedom, wellness, and justice? The present article explores the topic of “religion and animals” through the complementary dimension of “contemplation”. Developing a fusion of Animal Studies, Contemplative Studies, Daoist Studies, and Religious Studies, I explore the topic with particular consideration of the indigenous Chinese religion of Daoism with a comparative and cross-cultural sensibility. I draw specific attention to the varieties of Daoist animal engagement, including animal companionship and becoming/being animal. Theologically speaking, this involves recognition of the reality of the Dao (sacred) manifesting through each and every being, and the possibility of inter/trans-species communication, relationality, and even identification. In the process, I suggest that “animal contemplation”, a form of contemplative practice and contemplative experience that places “the animal question” at the center and explores the possibility (actuality) of “shared animality”, not only offers important opportunities for becoming fully human (animal), but also represents one viable contribution to resolving impending (ongoing) ecological collapse, or at least the all-too-real possibility of a world without butterflies, bees, and birdsong.

The Examination of Conscience: A Preliminary Study on the Effects on Metamemory After a 2-Week Practice.

Examination of conscience (EC) is a contemplative practice that consists in examining daily the actions performed during the day (evening examination, immediately before going to bed) and the actions to be performed on the coming day (morning examination, immediately after sleep). While research on contemplative practices such as mindfulness has seen a large increase of studies in recent years, research into the psychological effects related to the practice of the EC has been largely ignored in the scientific literature. On the other hand, on a careful historical and philosophical analysis, it appears evident that references to it abound in many cultural contexts and in different eras. Here, we examined the effects of a 2-week program of this practice that participants performed using a digital application developed ad hoc for this experiment. A control group performed an activity of the same duration, also with the support of a digital application, but which consisted of listening to audio excerpts of an Italian literary novel. Measurements taken from both groups before and after the 2-week period consisted of self-assessments of metamemory capacity, that is, awareness and knowledge of their own memory processes. Results showed that participants reported a significant decrease in two properties of their metamemory after training, specifically vividness and coherence. No other significant changes were found between the two groups. Specifically, we found no differences in other metamemory characteristics, no differences in prospective or retrospective memory, and no differences in changes in stress levels. These results, although preliminary, suggest that a relatively short period of EC does indeed make people metacognitively more aware of the limitations and errors of their memory, in particular concerning vividness and coherence.

The Art of Saying Nothing.

The Art of Saying Nothing.

Making e-Textile Things: A Craft-Based Approach for Building Resilience in the Age of Pandemic and Eco-Anxiety

Funded by the University of Wollongong, Ecomakers project conducted e-textiles workshops at makerspaces with a focus on ecologically sustainable materials and processes. This paper reflects on how the COVID-19 experience reframed our environmentally-oriented workshops to connect mental health and well-being with eco-living. The research aims to find out how making e-textiles forms and a craft-based approach can affect participants’ sense of agency in times of the pandemic and climate crisis. In response to our government’s call to engage with mindfulness to alleviate anxieties induced by the pandemic, we expanded our project to emphasize how slow textile techniques including needle-felting, crochet, and sewing are conducive to contemplative practices. In delivering workshops in-person and online, we discovered how well-being can be fostered through environmental knowledge sharing and interactions in the making process, which lead to a sense of social connectedness. This article discusses the methodological, face-to-face, and online features of the workshops and findings based on observations and survey results. We conclude on how combining the concepts of making things, material thinking, and crafting enhances resilience in the face of the global pandemic and the climate emergency.

Mind and Body Donors: Can Meditation Help Students Maintain Empathy During Cadaveric Dissection?

The adoption of humanistic practices in anatomical education is increasing with studies identifying educational practices that foster empathetic responses as a crucial aspect of pre‐clinical education. However, there has been little research evaluating the implementation of novel curriculum in pre‐clinical anatomy courses that help students maintain empathy during cadaveric dissections. Specifically, we hypothesize that implementing compassion training (CT) offered by trained professionals during a pre‐clinical anatomy course will help students maintain their empathy towards body donors. We implemented five training sessions run by the Sanford Institute of Empathy and Compassion in the pre‐clinical anatomy thread at the University of California, San Diego in this IRB‐approved study. We sought to assess baseline empathy and prior experience with meditation/mental training among both first and second‐year medical students. We specifically used the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE) to evaluate empathy, which is broadly used in medical professions to assess this attribute. Interestingly, prior to the start of the course, the mean experience with contemplative compassion practices was 0.840 ± 1.042 (n=81) with zero being no experience, but the mean interest in participating in compassion exercises was 2.954 ± 1.422 (n=87) with five being highly interested. Among the 137 students that initially responded to the pre‐survey, 47 students chose to participate in a longitudinal study where students’ connection to the body donor was assessed with the Inclusion of Other in Self (IOS) scale. The emotional state of students was assessed using self‐reported scales of both pleasure and arousal. Students in the longitudinal study completed 10 anatomy sessions with five including CT. There was no significant difference in IOS scores between anatomy labs with CT and those without intervention. However, there was a significant difference between total mean levels of engagement during compassion practices with students showing higher levels of engagement in laboratory sessions with CT (With CT: 2.509 ± 1.089 n=106; Without CT: 1.500 ± 0.927 n=54, p<0.001). In conclusion, students are more likely to engage in compassion practices when training is incorporated into laboratory sessions. The question remains how engaging in these exercises affects students’ ability to navigate complex emotions during cadaveric dissection. Further investigation is needed to determine if higher levels of engagement are associated with increased empathy towards body donors. In the future, we plan to evaluate whether increased engagement with compassion practices correlates to increased empathy after completion of pre‐clinical anatomy. We ultimately hope that this research will help educators design educational initiatives that help students navigate between empathy and clinical detachment during cadaveric dissection.

Promoting Empathy and Reducing Hopelessness Using Contemplative Practices

Contemplative practices are becoming more common in educational environments for attending to whole-student learning, fostering empathy, and promoting social justice and socially just pedagogues. This conversation explores how holistic approaches facilitate and expand the parameters of sociological pedagogy to integrate humanist pedagogies and initiate emancipatory citizenship. By building a pedagogical bridge between sociology and contemplative practices educators can help inspire empathy and hopefulness among students as they navigate the challenging topics of injustice and collective trauma. We trace the rise of contemplative practices in the United States with a focus on the emergence of “contemplative sociology” from a variety of perspectives, including Buddhist sociology and sociological mindfulness. We then explore the utility of contemplative practices in the sociological classroom combining contemplation, embodied agency, and antioppression education for student learning. We offer two exercises to consider for developing the sociological imagination and increasing students’ capacity for critical thinking, stress management, and self-reflection.

Cultivating Skillful Means of Care in Schools Through Compassion Practice and Individual and Joint Inquiry

ObjectivesWe examined the extent to which compassion practices helped guide skillful means of care among educators. We engaged educators in a collaborative design (co-design) process that foregrounded two components: (1) contemplative practice and (2) developing skill in how social interactions are embedded within wider systems through individual and joint inquiry. We analyzed the ways educators developed awareness of social suffering and set intentions to alleviate suffering. We examined how co-design fostered an understanding of compassion and new ideas about how to respond skillfully to suffering in schools.MethodsUsing qualitative methods, we analyzed data from educators who participated in co-design, including their written reflections, field notes, semi-structured interviews, and surveys.ResultsEducators identified multiple opportunities for acting with compassion, including approaching school-based interactions with compassion, cultivating compassion for themselves, and envisioning school change through a lens of compassion. Educators’ experiences in co-design directly informed how they imagined compassionate action in their schools. Specific elements highlighted were contemplative practice, reflection, and individual and joint inquiry.ConclusionsThe adaptation of a general program on compassion training can benefit from attending to how to show compassion in the context of concrete interactions in schools, and this can support educators in developing skillful means of care. Our analyses provide insight into the components that supported educators to offer compassion and suggest that educators’ skillful means of care can be cultivated through both contemplative practice and inquiry into social suffering. We offer a conceptual model for developing skillful means of care educational settings.

Coping With Uncertainty: Use of Contemplative Practices Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States.

Scant research has attempted to understand the use and frequency of contemplative practices across social groups of older adults in the context of uniquely uncertain and stressful circumstances, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Using data from a nationwide web-based survey (n = 1861), we examined the change in the frequency of contemplative practices and variation across sociodemographic, health, and psychological status and we documented a significant increase in the use of prayer and meditation since the beginning of the pandemic. Minority groups and those with lower income reported praying longer than their counterparts. Respondents who were unmarried, women, and more educated were more likely to meditate, whereas lower-educated respondents were more likely to pray during the pandemic. Greater use of these practices was found among participants with higher anxiety. Our study offers much-needed guidance for future intervention studies to improve psychological well-being among diverse groups of older adults facing stressful circumstances.

Ignatian Contemplative Pedagogy

Research Objective: There is a growing literature about contemplative pedagogy in higher education, an approach to learning which prioritizes experiential, reflective practices meant to promote autonomy in learning. This essay will explore how Ignatian pedagogy, rooted in the 475-year tradition of Jesuit education, promotes a form of contemplative pedagogy especially apt for what this journal describes as the VUCA world (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity).
 Research Problem and Methods: The essay addresses questions particularly relevant in the wake of the global pandemic: how can education promote greater self-care and self-knowledge? How can it promote greater compassion and care for others, especially the marginalized? How can it encourage people, especially the young, to develop practices that promote lifelong learning, flourishing, and responsibility?
 Process of Argumentation: The essay will review some of the burgeoning literature on contemplative pedagogy, and draw from the extensive literature about Ignatian pedagogy and especially the latter’s strong emphasis on processes of reflection for the sake of just action.
 Research Results: The essay will show that there is a rich well of resources in the Ignatian spiritual and pedagogical traditions that promote contemplative pedagogy, and that application of these resources in contemporary educational and formational contexts will help promote lifelong learning, flourishing, and responsibility towards others.
 Conclusions, Innovations, and Recommendations: Educators are encouraged to introduce or develop contemplative practices such as journaling, guided meditations, focused conversations among peers, reflective critical writing, and others.