Mindfulness
September 1, 2026
Lindsay Tremblay, William Van Gordon, James Elander
Abstract Objectives Nonattachment, defined as the capacity to relate to internal experiences, identities, and external circumstances without clinging, avoidance, or over-identification, has been associated with reduced psychological distress and enhanced well-being, yet its deliberate cultivation within trauma-focused interventions remains underexplored. This study evaluated Nonattachment for...
Mindfulness
July 29, 2026
Chloe Wells, William Van Gordon, Paul Barrows
A cancer diagnosis often triggers profound psychological distress and existential uncertainty. While first-generation mindfulness-based interventions are widely utilised, research on second-generation mindfulness-based interventions (SG-MBIs), such as Meditation Awareness Training (MAT), remains limited in oncology. MAT integrates traditional contemplative practices, including compassion,...
Journal of Psychosocial Oncology
February 25, 2026
Chloe Wells, William van Gordon, Paul Barrows
BACKGROUND: A cancer diagnosis presents significant psychological challenges, often resulting in lasting distress and dis-ruption to daily life. Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are increasingly recognized as vital components of supportive oncology care. Second-generation MBIs (SG-MBIs), such as Meditation Awareness Training (MAT), integrate Buddhist wisdom principles such as...
Journal of Psychosocial Oncology
2026
Chloe Wells, William van Gordon, Paul Barrows
3 citations
Mindfulness-based interventions are gaining recognition as effective therapeutic tools for psychological distress in oncology. However, the widespread adoption of mindfulness in Western clinical contexts has raised ethical and philosophical concerns, particularly regarding the Westernisation and cultural appropriation of Buddhist wisdom. This paper examines the ethical implications of employing...
Healthcare
November 25, 2025
Matthew Furnell, William van Gordon, James Elander
Objectives: The majority of mindfulness research has focused on group-level effects, with limited attention to how engagement with specific meditation practices interacts with individual differences such as personality. This study examined whether Big Five traits moderated the effects of two mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) on well-being and prosocial outcomes: one incorporating...
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
March 27, 2025
Déborah Ducasse, Martin Leurent, Marie-Christine Picot et al.
1 citation
According to ontological addiction theory, the root cause of mental suffering is a dysfunctional conceptualisation of the self. Typically, an individual with such a flawed self-concept deems themselves to be intrinsically separate from their surroundings, with their beliefs, choices and behaviours structured in order to reinforce their sense of an independently existing self. The Ontological...
IntechOpen eBooks
January 13, 2025
Matthew Furnell, William van Gordon
The concept of enlightenment has long intrigued scholars and contemplation practitioners alike, often associated with profound insights into the nature of self and reality. This chapter explores the notion of enlightenment through the lens of non-dualism, emphasizing the dissolution of the independent, single, permanent self and the emergence of self-transcendent experiences. Such experiences...
Discover Psychology
October 23, 2024
Paul Barrows, William van Gordon, Paul Gilbert
During the last four decades there has been a significant growth of interest in mindfulness-based practices and their potential to foster improvements in health, wellbeing and human functioning in a variety of clinical and nonclinical populations. With this growth has come a renewed interest in understanding the psychological processes involved as well as the neuropsychological mechanisms by...
Mindfulness
March 1, 2024
Matthew Furnell, William van Gordon, James Elander
22 citations
Abstract Objectives The objective of this evaluative systematic review was to analyse the impact of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) that incorporate Buddhist wisdom practices on prosocial behaviour, and provide insights into their underlying mechanism, potential benefits, and applications. Method A systematic literature search was conducted using three electronic databases up until 1...
Mindfulness
December 26, 2023
Matthew Furnell, William van Gordon, James Elander
20 citations
Abstract Mindfulness is said to be a connecting thread between an ancient philosophy on the one hand and a contemporary psychological practice on the other. However, some contemporary mindfulness practices have arguably become so disconnected from their roots in Buddhist ethics and wisdom principles that the fundamental essence of the practice is no longer recognisable. It appears that when...
Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science
2022
William van Gordon, Supakyada Sapthiang, Edo Shonin
Contemplative psychology is concerned with the psychological study of contemplative processes and practices, such as meditation, mindfulness, yoga, introspection, reflection, metacognition, self-regulation, self-awareness, and self-consciousness. Although contemplative psychology borders with other psychological and nonpsychological disciplines, some of its underlying assumptions distinguish it...
Explore (New York, N.Y.)
2019
William van Gordon, Edo Shonin, Thomas J. Dunn et al.
38 citations
Wisdom-based Buddhist-derived practices (BDPs) are concerned with transmuting suffering by cultivating insight into the ultimate nature of both the self and reality. Arguably the most important wisdom-based BDP is emptiness (Sanskrit: śūnyatā) that implies that although phenomena are perceptible to the human mind, they do not intrinsically exist. Despite its significance in Buddhism, emptiness...
Mindfulness
November 27, 2018
Çimen Ekici, Gülcan Garip, William van Gordon
33 citations
Research into the effects and mechanisms of mindfulness training draws predominantly on quantitative research. There is a lack of understanding about the subjective experiences of experienced mindfulness meditators, which may provide additional insights into the effects, processes and context of mindfulness training. This qualitative study explored the lived experiences of a novel group of...
Mindfulness
March 11, 2018
William van Gordon, Edo Shonin, Thomas J. Dunn et al.
38 citations
Near-death experiences (NDEs) are life transformational events that are increasingly being subjected to empirical research. However, to date, no study has investigated the phenomenon of a meditation-induced near-death experience (MI-NDE) that is referred to in ancient Buddhist texts. Given that some advanced Buddhist meditators can induce NDEs at a pre-planned point in time, the MI-NDE may make...
Journal of Behavioral Addictions
June 1, 2013
Edo Shonin, William van Gordon, Mark D Griffiths
Purpose In the last five years, scientific interest into the potential applications of Buddhist-derived interventions (BDIs) for the treatment of problem gambling has been growing. This paper reviews current directions, proposes conceptual applications, and discusses integration issues relating to the utilisation of BDIs as problem gambling treatments. Method Aliterature search and evaluation...
European Psychiatry
March 1, 2011
E.C. Sundin, E. Shonin, W. Van Gordon et al.
Mindfulness meditation has been practiced in the Eastern world for more than 25 centuries but only recently it has become popular in the West. Today, therapeutic interventions such as ‘Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction’ are used within health services throughout Europe as a means of improving patient wellbeing. Whilst these interventions have proved successful in reducing stress and depression...