This project explores the religious philosophy, pedagogical practices and story of Mahmoud Malamatian, an Iranian-American Sufi teacher who practices in present-day Oakland, California. I have known Mahmoud, his wife Rozaneh and their family for eight years. To honour my proximity to the 'subject,' I employed a Lived Religion theoretical framework and gathered data using the qualitative...
Psychedelics, acting primarily through 5-HT2A receptor binding and modulation of networks such as the default mode network (DMN), can induce shifts in self-perception, cognition, and emotion by promoting neuroplasticity and altering entrenched thought patterns. The biomedical model, emphasizing measurable neurochemical processes, often attempts to extract these neuroplastic benefits while...
Background: Research has shown that music performance anxiety (MPA) is experienced by individuals in all age groups and skill levels. Due to the need for effective treatment of performance anxiety in musicians, researchers have begun to investigate the viability of mindfulness, which has been proven as an effective treatment in populations with generalized anxiety. Although preliminary studies...
This narrative study of schoolteachers’ experiences of yogic meditation employs the theoretical framework of yoga. It poses the research question: How do teachers story their life experiences following their adoption of a regular meditation practice? Narrative research methods are used to reveal the participants’ own perceptions of their experiences of meditation. The narratives presented...
Dreams have been widely shared, analyzed, and explored for centuries. Throughout cultures and contexts, some dreams seem to leave a lasting trace on waking life, whereas other dreams are forgotten as quickly as they appear. This thesis focuses its efforts on the former category, known as impactful dreams. Impactful dreams are rare and distinguished by their effect on the dreamer’s thoughts,...
Purpose: There is growing interest in the clinical application of mindfulness meditation. However, little is known about the extent to which clients prefer mindfulness-based interventions (MBI) over conventional psychological therapies. The present study examined predictors of treatment preference and credibility in individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) who participated in a randomized...
The current dissertation examined gender, cultural, and ontogenetic dimensions in the dreams of Canadians. Normative studies in the United States, Europe, and other countries have documented normative data including gender differences and compared their findings to American data to investigate cultural differences. The purpose of the present study was to extend research of this nature by...
The aim of this study was to explore psychotherapists‘ practice of mindful acceptance. I employed the hermeneutic phenomenological approach with the intention of creating thick descriptions of how mindful acceptance is performed in therapy sessions with clients by psychotherapists with backgrounds in mindfulness. The findings for this study came from a variety of sources including,...
The purpose of this research was to establish the feasibility of delivering a 6-week long adapted Mindfulness for Academic Success (MAS) program to post-secondary students who were experiencing difficulties with their academic performance. Feasibility was established based on recruitment success (70%), program attendance (70% of participants attending at least four sessions), and homework...
The dissertation is a monograph of grizzly bear spiritual power as it was historically conceptualized and manifest among Native cultures of the Pacific Slope of North America. Focusing specifically upon cultural reports of persons (e.g., shamans) acknowledged to hold grizzly bear spiritual power, descriptive summaries outline the varied behaviours, abilities, and functions associated with these...