Contemplative Neuroscience: An Integrative Approach for Investigating Consciousness
Berkeley Undergraduate Journal February 10, 2013 Dayna Averiett Stimson
Consciousness can be studied more holistically by combining neurological data with refined self-reports from individuals trained in awareness, such as experienced Buddhist meditators. Contemplative neuroscience treats attention and emotion as malleable skills. The author practiced Buddhist meditation extensively over several months and reviewed scientific and philosophical literature. The experience highlighted a large difference between the untrained, unaware mind and the trained mind, emphasizing the value of using experienced contemplative practitioners to provide accurate self-reports that reveal subtleties unavailable from untrained subjects. These findings point to a need for refined phenomenological reports to interpret neurological data more accurately.