A central challenge in developing an epidemiology of compassion is establishing how to determine that compassion is “present” in an individual or population. To do so requires expanding beyond individualistic conceptions of compassion to consider how compassion might manifest in relationships, in communities, and within societies. This includes agreeing upon a definition that is flexible enough...
The COVID-19 pandemic prompted an unprecedented shift in the dissemination of meditation and mindfulness-based instruction from being predominantly in-person to almost exclusively online. Here, we investigated the advantages and disadvantages of these online formats from both teacher and practitioner perspectives, with a focus on perceived efficacy and accessibility. In Study 1, teachers of...
Contemplative traditions have long affirmed that compassion and kindness are trainable skills. While research on meditation practice has recently flourished, the mechanisms that might engender such changes are still poorly understood. Here, we present a motivational framework to explain why meditation training should increase concern for others and modulate empathic engagement with human...
A core assumption of meditation training is that cognitive capacities developed during formal practice will transfer to other contexts or activities as expertise develops over time. This implies that meditation training might influence domain-general neurocognitive systems, the spontaneous activity of which should be reflected in the dynamics of the resting brain. Previous research has...
Meditation practice is believed to foster states of mindful awareness and mental quiescence in everyday life. If so, then the cultivation of these qualities with training ought to leave its imprint on the activity of intrinsic functional brain networks. In an intensive longitudinal study, we investigated associations between meditation practitioners' experiences of felt mindful awareness and...
ObjectivesA core assumption of meditation training is that cognitive capacities developed during formal practice will transfer to other contexts or activities as expertise develops over time. This implies that meditation training might influence domain-general neurocognitive systems, the spontaneous activity of which should be reflected in the dynamics of the resting brain. Previous research...