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Ecologies of the self in practice – meditation, affect and ecosophy

António Carvalho

Geografiska Annaler Series B Human Geography March 31, 2017 DOI: 10.1080/04353684.2017.1306970 (opens in new tab)

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Characteristics Qualitative study Peer reviewed
Population Meditators at mindfulness and Vipassana retreats
Interventions Meditation Vipassana retreat
Topics Meditation
Citations 25
Key findings Argues that meditation can trigger non-modern forms of affect and meditative subjectivities characterized by struggle, embodiment, porosity, and fragmentation, which challenge the autonomous modern self and support ecosophy's call for deeper forms of affect.

Abstract

Drawing upon current concerns within non-representational and post-humanist theory, this paper explores the potential of meditation to trigger non-modern forms of affect. Supported by qualitative methodology which included participant observation at mindfulness and Vipassana retreats and semi-structured interviews with meditators, the paper analyses a number of subjective transformations characterized by struggle, embodiment, porosity and fragmentation. Following the call for deeper and more comprehensive forms of affect within ecosophy, the paper offers a step-by-step analysis of the emergence of meditative subjectivities, suggesting that they point towards ways of being in the world that challenge the autonomous modern self.

Comparable studies

Other qualitative studies on meditation, 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
The Effects of Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction on Nurse Stress and Burnout Nurses in a hospital system 2004 Implementation study with mixed methods
An exploratory mixed methods study of the acceptability and effectiveness of mindfulness -based cognitive therapy for patients with active depression and anxiety in primary care Primary care patients with recurrent depression or recurrent depression and anxiety 2006 Exploratory mixed methods study n = 13
A qualitative study of mindfulness‐based cognitive therapy for depression Participants in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in a mental-health context 2001 Qualitative study n = 7
Effortless awareness: using real time neurofeedback to investigate correlates of posterior cingulate cortex activity in meditators' self-report Meditators 2013 Qualitative study using grounded theory methodology

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Cited by 3

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