Defining Meditation: Foundations for an Activity-Based Phenomenological Classification System.
Terje Sparby, Matthew D. Sacchet
Frontiers in Psychology 2021 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.795077 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation Philosophy of mind |
| Keywords | Classification Consciousness First-person Mental activity Taxonomy |
| Citations | 68 |
| Key points | Proposes that all meditation techniques are based on a specific set of activities—focusing, releasing, imagining, and moving in relation to an object of meditation—and that these activities can be unified in awareness of awareness. |
Abstract
Classifying different meditation techniques is essential for the progress of meditation research, as this will enable discerning which effects are associated with which techniques, in addition to supporting the development of increasingly effective and efficient meditation-based training programs and clinical interventions. However, both the task of defining meditation itself, as well as defining specific techniques, faces many fundamental challenges. Here we describe problems involved in this endeavor and suggest an integrated model for defining meditation. For classifying different meditation techniques, we draw on classical, contemporary, and holistic systems of classification. We analyze different techniques and propose that all meditation techniques are based on a specific set of activities, that is: focusing, releasing, imagining, and moving in relation to an object of meditation, including fields of experience. Meditative activities can be combined and unified in the activities of observing, producing, and being aware. All meditative activities are unified in awareness of awareness. Defining specific meditation techniques may be done by specifying which activities and objects are involved. The advantage of our approach is that it can potentially account for the inner workings of all current systems of classification and hence it lays the foundation for formulating an overarching system of meditation that can guide future research and practice.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mechanisms of mindfulness | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective | 2011 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness | 2012 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 62
- Investigation of advanced mindfulness meditation "cessation" experiences using EEG spectral analysis in an intensively sampled case study. Neuropsychologia September 28, 2023
- Intensive whole-brain 7T MRI case study of volitional control of brain activity in deep absorptive meditation states. Cerebral Cortex January 14, 2024
- Volitional mental absorption in meditation: Toward a scientific understanding of advanced concentrative absorption meditation and the case of jhana. Heliyon May 14, 2024
- Within-subject reliability of brain networks during advanced meditation: An intensively sampled 7 Tesla MRI case study. Human Brain Mapping May 1, 2024
- An updated classification of meditation methods using principles of taxonomy and systematics Frontiers in Psychology February 8, 2023
and 57 more in the library
Cites 28
- Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being JAMA Internal Medicine January 6, 2014
- Investigating the phenomenological matrix of mindfulness-related practices from a neurocognitive perspective. American Psychologist October 1, 2015
- The meeting of meditative disciplines and western psychology: A mutually enriching dialogue. American Psychologist 2006
- The varieties of contemplative experience: A mixed-methods study of meditation-related challenges in Western Buddhists PLoS One May 24, 2017
- Differential effects on pain intensity and unpleasantness of two meditation practices. Emotion 2010
and 23 more in the library