Mindfulness
June 1, 2023
Toby J. Woods, Jennifer Windt, Lydia Brown et al.
15 citations
People who practice Shamatha, Thai Forest, or Stillness Meditation typically report a highly positive experience of stillness or silence with little awareness of thoughts and perceptions, but with a high degree of abstract content such as calm and mental relaxation. Across the three traditions, robust differences emerged in reports of bliss/joy, wakefulness, absorptiveness, and depth. The experiences are contentless only in the sense of lacking obvious mental content like thoughts, not in being devoid of all content, challenging the classical view that such states are identical across traditions.
Mindfulness
April 1, 2023
Charlotta Simonsson, Richard Chambers, Peter S. Hendricks et al.
15 citations
People who have used classic psychedelics report meditating more often, specifically mindfulness meditation, but not loving-kindness or compassion meditation. Among those who had a psychedelic experience, both psychological insight and ego dissolution were linked to more frequent practice of both types of meditation. However, when both factors were considered together, only psychological insight predicted higher meditation frequency. These findings, from a survey of 2,822 U.S. adults, suggest that psychedelic experiences—especially those that produce psychological insight—may encourage regular meditation, though causality cannot be established.
Mindfulness
June 21, 2023
Masoumeh Rahmani, Valerie van Mulukom, Miguel Farias
14 citations
People's beliefs about what mindfulness can do—such as improving relationships, fostering peace, or transforming inner experience—shape how they respond to mindfulness interventions. A new scale, the Belief in the Powers of Mindfulness Scale (BPMS), was developed from participants' key beliefs, which fell into three themes: interpersonal relationships and compassion, peace and violence, and the inner world. These beliefs were tied to broader cultural ideas like expressive individualism and New Age philosophy. The BPMS showed strong internal consistency and validity. Older and more spiritual individuals practiced mindfulness more often and longer, reported greater mindfulness skills, and scored higher on the BPMS. The findings underscore the need to account for people's beliefs and cultural context in mindfulness research and practice.
Mindfulness
January 1, 2023
Eric L Garland, R Lynae Roberts, Adam W. Hanley et al.
14 citations
A new measure, the Mindful Reappraisal of Pain Sensations Scale (MRPS), was developed and validated across multiple studies. The scale captures how mindfulness helps people shift from catastrophic pain appraisals to viewing pain as a harmless sensory signal. In samples of opioid-treated chronic pain patients, the MRPS showed a single-factor structure and good convergent and divergent validity. Mindfulness training via Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) increased MRPS scores more than supportive psychotherapy. Changes in MRPS scores statistically mediated the effect of MORE on reducing chronic pain severity through 9-month follow-up, indicating the MRPS measures a key analgesic mechanism involving attentional disengagement and interoceptive exposure.
Mindfulness
July 1, 2023
Kanishka Sharma, Peter Achermann, Bhawna Panwar et al.
12 citations
During Brahma Kumaris Rajyoga meditation—a practice done with open eyes—long-term meditators show reduced delta and increased low alpha brain activity compared to resting. Source localization of EEG from 52 experienced meditators reveals that the meditation alters activation in the central executive, mirroring, task-positive, and task-negative networks. These changes correspond to attention modulation, self-related processing, visual imagery, and an extra-corporeal sense of being a soul in communion with a Supreme Soul. The findings suggest that seed-stage meditation involves distinct cognitive and affective processes, and future work should differentiate its stages.
Mindfulness
June 21, 2023
Paul Gilbert, Malcolm Huxter, Choden Choden
12 citations
Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT), an evolution-informed biopsychosocial approach, shares overlapping but distinct methods with two Buddhist traditions for developing insight and compassion. A clinical psychologist and compassion-focused therapist, a clinical psychologist and Theravada Buddhist meditation practitioner, and a Mahayana Buddhist monastic discuss their differing perspectives on training compassion and understanding the mind. The dialogue highlights how CFT and Buddhist practices both aim to cultivate compassion, yet differ in their theoretical foundations and techniques for generating insight and alleviating suffering.
Mindfulness
May 23, 2022
Evangelina Dominguez, Maria Casagrande, Antonino Raffone
12 citations
Mindfulness training and trait mindfulness influence autobiographical memory by enhancing cognitive, emotional, and self-referential flexibility. This flexibility enables a more balanced retrieval of episodic, semantic, and emotional content, increases memory specificity, and reduces emotional reactivity during recall. The review of 50 studies suggests that mindfulness promotes meta-awareness, acceptance, and the ability to shift from a first- to a third-person self-perspective. These changes may involve reconsolidation of memory traces linked to the self, supported by altered brain activity and connectivity in the default mode, salience, and central executive networks. The findings have implications for clinical conditions like depression and for cognitive neuroscience.
Mindfulness
June 11, 2025
Terje Sparby, Matthew D. Sacchet
11 citations
Research on meditation and mindfulness has progressed through two waves: the first focused on clinical benefits, the second on methodological rigor and potential negative effects. A third wave is now needed to investigate transformative psychological growth from advanced meditation, where challenging experiences may be essential for development. Defining negative effects is difficult from contemplative perspectives. The authors distinguish objective from subjective happiness and define a negative effect as something that contributes to overall unhappiness in both senses. This framework integrates psychological and contemplative views, arguing that what seems negative may be part of meditative growth.
Mindfulness
September 1, 2024
Diane Joss, Martin H. Teicher, Sara W. Lazar
11 citations
Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) produce unique therapeutic effects for young adults with adverse childhood experiences, with improvements in trait mindfulness driving reductions in perceived stress, somatization, and hostility. In a clinical trial, 21 participants completed an 8-week MBI and 19 completed a stress management education control. Weekly and follow-up assessments over 18 months showed that mindfulness increases began at the end of the 8-week program, and most symptom reductions lasted 12 months without refresher courses. Only the MBI group showed mindfulness gains predicting later symptom decreases. The findings suggest that at least 8 weeks of MBI and a refresher at 12 months may be needed for lasting benefit.
Mindfulness
October 8, 2021
Ulrich Stangier, Artjom Frick, Isabel Thinnes et al.
11 citations
Combining Loving Kindness group meditation with individual therapy focused on kindness toward oneself and others (metta-based therapy, MBT) reduced depressive symptoms more than a wait list control in patients with chronic depression. Forty-eight patients with persistent depressive disorder were randomly assigned to MBT or a wait list. After group meditation and at 6-month follow-up, MBT showed greater improvements in clinician-rated and self-reported depression, behavioral activation, rumination, social functioning, mindfulness, and emotion regulation, with large effect sizes. Most gains occurred during group meditation and were maintained at follow-up. The results provide preliminary support for MBT's effectiveness.
Mindfulness
September 1, 2023
Richard Chambers, Devon Stoliker, Otto Simonsson
10 citations
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) may be a valuable complement to psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, potentially offering advantages over Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). This narrative review demonstrates that MBCT targets core processes such as acceptance, being present, concentration, decentering, and embracing difficulties. Strengthening these capacities through systematic meditation training may prove invaluable during the preparation, dosing, and integration phases of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. MBCT's emphasis on systematic mindfulness training and nonjudgmental presence aligns with psychedelic-induced states of consciousness, suggesting it may enhance navigation of challenging experiences during and after psychedelic sessions in ways ACT may not fully address.
Mindfulness
February 1, 2023
Madhav Goyal, Jennifer A. Haythornthwaite, Sharat Jain et al.
10 citations
A 10-day silent Vipassana meditation retreat with 100 hours of sitting meditation reduced migraine burden. Among 58 participants with chronic or episodic migraine, average monthly migraine days dropped by 2.7 (from 16.6) per 28 days at 12 months, and headaches decreased by 3.4 (from 20.1) per 28 days. Acute medication use fell by 2.2 days per 28 days, and activity-limited days decreased by 2.3. Improvements in migraine-specific quality of life, pain catastrophizing, and perceived stress were sustained at one year. The findings suggest intensive meditation training may reduce migraine frequency and burden.
Mindfulness
March 9, 2021
Sarah Ullrich, Lorenza S. Colzato, Nicole Wolff et al.
10 citations
Fifteen minutes of focused attention (FA) meditation can restrict the retrieval of stimulus-response (S-R) bindings to relevant information, supporting the metacontrol state model (MSM) which proposes that meditation biases cognitive processes toward persistence. In a within-subject crossover design with novice meditators, a single bout of FA meditation decreased partial overlap costs in an event file task, but only when participants had prior experience with the task. The effect was short-lived, appearing only in the early phases of the task, indicating that in novices, short-term FA meditation produces fragile adjustments in processing strategy.
Mindfulness
November 1, 2024
Cynthia J Price, Kenneth C Pike, Anna Treadway et al.
9 citations
A mindfulness-based intervention teaching interoceptive awareness skills, added to medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD), did not reduce substance use more than MOUD alone in a stable treatment population. However, participants who received the mindfulness training showed significant improvements in PTSD symptoms, interoceptive awareness, pain severity, pain-related activity interference, and physical symptom frequency. The study involved 303 adults stabilized on MOUD from six community clinics in the Northwestern United States, randomly assigned to either the mindfulness intervention plus MOUD or MOUD only. Findings suggest that interoceptive training can improve multiple health outcomes critical for supporting MOUD treatment, even when substance use levels are already low.
Mindfulness
June 1, 2024
Nicholas T. Dam, Jessica Targett, Alex Burger et al.
9 citations
A new questionnaire, the Inventory of Meditation Experiences (IME), captures a wide range of meditation-related experiences, from pleasant to unpleasant and mild to intense. Developed with data from 886 US meditators, the final 30-item scale has three factors and shows good statistical fit. The IME correlates as expected with measures of adverse effects, meditation habits, and mental health symptoms. The tool allows researchers to assess both the intensity and subjective valence of experiences separately or together, offering a more nuanced way to study the full spectrum of meditation-related psychological states.
Mindfulness
April 1, 2023
Carly Hunt, Janelle E. Letzen, Samuel R Krimmel et al.
9 citations
A secondary analysis of a clinical trial compared a 12-week enhanced mindfulness-based stress reduction course (MBSR+) to stress management for headache in 98 migraine patients. Greater pre-treatment functional connectivity between the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and right nucleus accumbens predicted more meditation practice during MBSR+ and larger reductions in headache frequency. Participants who meditated more showed increased mindfulness and reduced helplessness related to pain, but not improvements in headache frequency, severity, or impact. Increased mindfulness mediated reductions in headache impact but not frequency. The findings suggest mesocorticolimbic system function relates to motivated behavior, and motivation-enhancing interventions might boost meditation engagement.
Mindfulness
January 1, 2023
Shannon Maloney, Christina Surawy, Maryanne Martin et al.
9 citations
Four specific mindfulness practices from Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (body scan, mindful movement, breath and body, and befriending) produced similar state- and trait-level improvements in self-compassion, mindfulness, decentering, interoceptive awareness, and psychological quality of life among 160 adults from the general population. After a single session, state-level effects were observed across all candidate mechanisms and outcomes except decentering, with effect sizes ranging from 0.27 to 0.86. After two weeks of daily practice, trait-level improvements occurred in psychological quality of life and most mechanisms (effect sizes 0.26 to 0.64). No practice proved superior to any other. Changes in mindfulness, self-compassion, decentering, and body listening were linked to better psychological quality of life and more self-led practice.
Mindfulness
May 17, 2025
Michel Sabé, Chaomei Chen, Davy Vancampfort et al.
7 citations
A scientometric analysis of 16,310 documents from 1973 to 2023 reveals that mindfulness dominates mind–body intervention research, but each practice—Yoga, Qi-gong, Tai-chi, Vipassana, Zen, Loving-kindness, and Transcendental meditation—has distinct research clusters focused on different mental and physical health issues, such as substance abuse, schizophrenia, back pain, and dementia. The findings suggest that future research should recognize the unique contributions of each practice rather than treating them as a single category.
Mindfulness
April 8, 2025
Cindy E Li, Kimberly L. Wang, Isaac N Treves et al.
7 citations
A six-week app-based mindfulness intervention reduced anxiety and perceived stress in autistic adults. In a randomized controlled trial with 89 participants, those who used a customized version of the Healthy Minds Program app showed significant decreases in anxiety and stress compared to a wait-list control group, with medium to large effect sizes. Benefits extended to reduced negative affect and increased trait mindfulness, and were maintained six weeks after the intervention ended. The findings demonstrate that a remote, self-guided mindfulness program is both feasible and effective for this population, offering an accessible alternative to in-person treatment.
Mindfulness
May 29, 2023
Otto Simonsson, Christine Bergljottsdotter, Jayanth Narayanan et al.
7 citations
Mindfulness training helped British politicians better cope with the demands and stresses of political work, reconnect with themselves, and relate to other politicians more constructively, especially in group settings. Interviews with 18 politicians and 4 mindfulness facilitators revealed two main themes: mindfulness approaches addressing particular challenges in political work, and the role of group dynamics in training. The findings suggest mindfulness can be beneficial personally and professionally for those in political contexts, supporting the case for government mindfulness programs.
Mindfulness
July 29, 2025
Terje Sparby, Matthew D. Sacchet
6 citations
Advanced meditation can lead to a transformative process resembling a metaphorical death and rebirth, where an old identity dissolves and a new one emerges. This process, described in detail by the Burmese meditation master Mahāsī Sayādaw, is associated with access to bliss, peace, wisdom, and the reduction of suffering—states regarded as ultimate aims of human life. While scientific research has measured certain aspects of human development, inner development related to advanced meditation has been neglected. The authors propose an outline of this death-and-rebirth process to provide a foundation for scientific investigation of meditative development and a deeper understanding of human potential.
Mindfulness
March 1, 2025
Julieta Galante, Nicholas T. van Dam
6 citations
The authors critique a proposal to broaden the definition of mindfulness to include diverse contemplative practices, arguing instead to move the term away from the spotlight and study contemplative practices with more precise academic terms. They contend that comparing mindfulness and public health is a category error: mindfulness is a set of practices, while public health is a field defined by application. Reframing mindfulness as an aid to public health, rather than a replacement, clarifies its potential as an individual-level component of multi-level interventions addressing social determinants of health. Realizing this requires collaborative partnerships between mindfulness developers and independent public health researchers, using participatory methods to assess community needs.
Mindfulness
December 1, 2024
Larissa G Duncan, Na Zhang, Trilce Santana et al.
6 citations
Integrating mindfulness skills training into group prenatal healthcare delivered in Spanish and English is feasible and may reduce postpartum depression. In a pragmatic pilot trial, 49 pregnant people (90% Black, Indigenous, and People of Color; 65% Latina/e/x; 63% Spanish-speaking) were allocated to standard CenteringPregnancy group care or CenteringPregnancy enhanced with mindfulness skills drawn from Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting. The enhanced group showed lower postpartum depression with a large effect size (Cohen's d = 0.80) and a trend toward lower postpartum anxiety (Cohen's d = 0.59). Effects on mindfulness, affect, and perceived stress were only partially supported. Satisfaction with care was high in both conditions.
Mindfulness
October 1, 2024
Brittany McQueen, Oscar W. Murphy, Paul B. Fitzgerald et al.
6 citations
Meditation experience is associated with higher oscillatory power and altered distributions of theta, alpha, and gamma brain waves, even after controlling for non-oscillatory 1/f activity. Forty-eight experienced meditators and 44 matched non-meditators provided resting EEG recordings. Results indicated differences in theta, alpha, and gamma oscillatory power between groups, primarily driven by differences in the distribution of neural activity rather than overall power across the scalp. These band-specific differences in oscillatory activity may be a mechanism through which meditation leads to neurophysiological benefits.
Mindfulness
June 5, 2021
Liudmila Gamaiunova, Pierre-Yves Brandt, Matthias Kliegel
6 citations
Meditation practitioners reported using humor, positive affect, combined emotion regulation strategies, and adaptive attention allocation during a stressful laboratory task, compared to non-meditators. Interviews with 25 meditators and 20 controls after the Trier Social Stress Test revealed five themes: primary experiences, reasons for stress, affect, emotion regulation, and attention allocation. The findings suggest that contemplative training may alter the subjective experience of psychological stress, offering new insights into how meditation attenuates stress responses.