Editorial: The Varieties of Contemplative Experiences and Practices

Abstract

This is an editorial piece for a special issue (SI) in Frontiers of Psychology on 'The Varieties of Contemplative Experiences and Practices'. While diverse contemplative techniques are employed across a plethora of traditions around the world, contemplative research over the years has not reflected this variety. Despite exponential growth in contemplative research in recent decades, it has largely been dominated within a relatively narrow and inadequately-defined construct of contemplative practice (CP) under the umbrella term “mindfulness.” The aim of this SI was to provide an avenue for understanding contemplative experiences and practices from a more diverse and inclusive perspective. In this Editorial piece, summarising contributions to the SI, we propose that broadening the study of contemplative practices and experiences can help 1) the benefits of contemplative practices reach a wider audience, 2) bring more diversity and inclusivity into contemplative research, and 3) uncover general principles of contemplation and its relation to fundamentals question about consciousness.