An integral model combining third-person empirical perspectives with first-person subjective experience is proposed for studying virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) technologies. The model offers a comparative analysis of immersive VR platforms and lucid dreaming, based on a discursive analysis of technologists' statements and a review of lucid dreaming literature. Dream research is identified as highly relevant to VR development, serving as a catalyst for ethical critique of emerging commercial technologies. The approach, informed by Buddhist philosophy but primarily secular, draws on moral-developmental psychology and contemplative studies, exemplifying Contemplative Media Studies.
The brain and body work together to create a felt sense of presence in the material or virtual world. The brain generates bodily feelings that represent emotions and thoughts, and directing attention to present-moment bodily sensations produces embodied presence. Meditation increases the capacity for embodied presence. Virtual worlds are experienced through a system grounded in bodily sensations. This essay explores implications of neuroscience and meditation for designing and studying self-presence in virtual worlds, explaining presence as a dynamic internal process resulting from sustained directed attention.