Mindfulness Through Mantram and Inspired Passage Meditation
Advances in Psychology, Mental Health, and Behavioral Studies 2022 DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-8682-2.ch014 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Randomized Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Interventions | Passage Meditation Mantram Repetition Program |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key points | The chapter argues that Passage Meditation and the Mantram Repetition Program are spiritually flexible mindfulness practices usable within or outside any religious tradition, and that research programs on these practices have generated more than 30 published studies and seven randomized controlled trials documenting enhanced mindfulness and improved mental health outcomes, often mediated by mindfulness gains. |
Abstract
Mindfulness is sometimes misunderstood as solely a Buddhist or secular practice. This chapter offers a toolkit for enhanced sensitivity and flexibility toward patients and populations of diverse spiritual and religious orientations and backgrounds. It explains a set of eight interrelated practices known as Passage Meditation (PM), and a subset known as the Mantram Repetition Program (MRP), both derived from Indian-born spiritual teacher Eknath Easwaran (1910-1999). These practices support mindfulness and can be pursued within any major religious tradition or outside all and facilitate drawing on spiritual resources within each tradition. Two empirical research programs based on these practices have generated more than 30 published research studies and seven randomized controlled trials. Each program has documented both enhanced mindfulness and a variety of improved mental health outcomes, often mediated by mindfulness gains. Guidance is provided for implementation, implications for diversity-related ethical obligations, and needed expansion of contemporary mindfulness toolkits.
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 2
Cites 10
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Cultivating mindfulness: effects on well‐being Journal of Clinical Psychology May 16, 2008
- The meeting of meditative disciplines and western psychology: A mutually enriching dialogue. American Psychologist 2006
- Studying the Effects of Meditation The Oxford Handbook of Meditation August 6, 2020
- Individual Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Using Mantram Repetition: A Randomized Clinical Trial. American Journal of Psychiatry October 1, 2018
and 5 more in the library