“Like a Vibration Cascading through the Body”: Energy-Like Somatic Experiences Reported by Western Buddhist Meditators
David J. Cooper, Jared R. Lindahl, Roman Palitsky, Willoughby B. Britton
Religions November 24, 2021 DOI: 10.3390/rel12121042 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Western Buddhist meditators reporting meditation-related challenges |
| Topics | Buddhism Meditation |
| Keywords | Narrative Scope computer science Energy signal processing Aesthetics Qualitative research Psychotherapist Social science Literature |
| Citations | 20 |
| Key findings | Energy-like somatic experiences in meditation are interpreted and managed through frameworks drawn from within or beyond the meditator's specific Buddhist lineage, and their trajectories are influenced by multiple factors. |
Abstract
There are numerous historical and textual references to energy-like somatic experiences (ELSEs) from religious traditions, and even a few psychological studies that have documented related phenomena. However, ELSEs remain an understudied effect of meditation in contemporary research. Based upon narratives from a large qualitative sample of Buddhist meditators in the West reporting meditation-related challenges, this paper offers a unique glimpse into how ELSEs play out in the lives of contemporary meditation practitioners and meditation experts. Departing from studies presuming a “kundalini awakening” framework, this paper presents a broader scope for understanding ELSEs by describing the metaphors practitioners used when speaking about them; the trajectories and impacts of ELSEs, including the factors that were reported as influencing their nature or trajectory; the various ways in which they were interpreted and appraised by practitioners, teachers, and specialists, such as doctors and therapists; and how practitioners responded to them or managed them with particular remedies. Deciding how to interpret and manage ELSEs entailed recruiting frameworks from within and/or beyond the meditator’s specific Buddhist lineage.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on buddhism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The varieties of contemplative experience: A mixed-methods study of meditation-related challenges in Western Buddhists Western Buddhist meditation practitioners and experts in Theravāda, Zen, and Tibetan... | 2017 | Qualitative study with mixed-methods | |
| A phenomenology of meditation-induced light experiences: traditional buddhist and neurobiological perspectives American Buddhist practitioners | 2014 | Qualitative study | |
| Common Core Thesis and Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Mysticism in Chinese Buddhist Monks and Nuns Chinese Pure Land and Chan Buddhist monks and nuns | 2011 | Mixed-methods study | n = 139 |
| Anger regulation in traumatized Cambodian refugees: the perspectives of Buddhist monks. Buddhist Cambodian monks in Massachusetts | 2011 | Qualitative study | n = 6 |
| The Lived Experiences of Experienced Vipassana Mahasi Meditators: an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Experienced Vipassana Mahasi meditators | 2018 | Qualitative study |
Citations in the library
Cited by 16
- Psychedelic integration challenges: Participant experiences after a psilocybin truffle retreat in the Netherlands Journal of Psychedelic Studies January 16, 2023
- Life after Ayahuasca: A Qualitative Analysis of the Psychedelic Integration Experiences of 1630 Ayahuasca Drinkers from a Global Survey Psychoactives June 13, 2023
- Altered states of consciousness caused by a mindfulness-based programme up to a year later: Results from a randomised controlled trial. PLoS One July 17, 2024
- Mindful Apocalypse: Contemplative Anthropology Investigating Experiences of World-Loss in Deep Meditation Religions July 21, 2023
- Leveraging meditation research for the study of psychedelic-related adverse effects. International Review of Psychiatry December 1, 2024
and 11 more in the library
Cites 18
- Neural correlates of attentional expertise in long-term meditation practitioners Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences June 28, 2007
- Regulation of the Neural Circuitry of Emotion by Compassion Meditation: Effects of Meditative Expertise PLoS One March 25, 2008
- Intensive meditation training improves perceptual discrimination and sustained attention. Psychological Science June 1, 2010
- The varieties of contemplative experience: A mixed-methods study of meditation-related challenges in Western Buddhists PLoS One May 24, 2017
- Mindfulness-induced selflessness: a MEG neurophenomenological study. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2013
and 13 more in the library