Contemplation as a spiritual practice has taken various forms across different religious traditions and regions worldwide. Over the years, various contemplative practices have evolved and become popular even outside religious traditions to promote the well-being of all for inner and outer selves’ transformation. In education, many scholars worldwide have expounded on the benefits of...
The Qualitative ReportJune 7, 2023Anna-Katharina Kothe, Stefanie Vochatzer, Christian Oesterle et al.
In this autoethnographic quadrologue, the authors aim to show how meditation experiences defy verbalization in a qualitative research setting. This leads to the insight that an autoethnographic approach may be a much better fit for such an experience, where complex and inexpressible things can be found. This is especially the case since autoethnographic texts include and immerse the reader in...
In cognitive science, it is unclear what precisely presence (both in the sense of objecthood and immersion) refers to in lived experience. The present study addresses the research question of what the relationship between presence is and lived space. A hundred and seventeen phenomenological interviews were conducted with 14 participants. We sampled their experience in a transdiagnostic manner....
This paper is a description of collaborative research that was done together with students during the class “Contemplative Sociology. Experiencing Self, No-Self and the Lifeworld.” The goal of the research was to introduce the students to the contemplative methods that could be used to research lived experiences and the vision of the lifeworld through contemplation of the mind, bodily...
I show some problems with recent discussions within qualitative research that centre around the “authenticity” of phenomenological research methods. I argue that attempts to restrict the scope of the term “phenomenology” via reference to the phenomenological philosophy of Husserl are misguided, because the meaning of the term “phenomenology” is only broadly restricted by etymology. My argument...
The following is a review of the book Contemplative Qualitative Inquiry: Practicing the Zen of Research by Valerie J. Janesick and published in 2015. This review aims to highlight the book’s unique features, primarily focusing on the ways in which Janesick appropriately weaves essential aspects of qualitative research and Zen alongside one another. Janesick offers readers, novice or experienced...
A qualitative analysis (The Empirical Phenomenological Psychological method) of interviews involving eight patients (depression, burn-out syndrome, and chronic pain) was carried out in order to obtain knowledge regarding the effects of flotation tank therapy. This knowledge might be helpful for both professionals and potential floaters. The analysis resulted in 21 categories, which were...