IN the 3rd edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED3) the word ‘tantra’ has been defined as a Hindu or Buddhist mystical or magical text, and adherence to the doctrine or principles of the tantras, involving mantras, meditation, yoga, and ritual. While offering etymological explanation of the word the origin is stated in OED3 to have been traced to a Sanskrit word ‘tantra’ which is said to...
In recent years, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatments have increased in popularity. This is especially true for treatments that are related to exercise and mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) in the treatment of both mental and physical illness. MBIs, such as Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), which are derived from...
All articles of this category Kernaussagen Unter Achtsamkeit versteht man die absichtsvolle, bewusste und nicht wertende Lenkung der Aufmerksamkeit auf den gegenwärtigen Augenblick. Grundsätzlich besitzt jeder diese Fähigkeit und ist in der Lage sie weiter zu kultivieren. In den vergangenen Jahren wurden verschiedene verhaltenstherapeutische und -medizinische Verfahren entwickelt, die eine...
Sir, Dr. Satwant Pasricha's Guest Editorial[1] (Vol. 53 Number 1), ‘Relevance of para-psychology in psychiatric practice’, makes an interesting reading. There is no denying the fact that many people have personally experienced intuition, gut-feelings, premonitions and dreams, empathy, and inspired creativity. They also include more extreme experience, such as telepathy, clairvoyance,...
This chapter discusses a development that took place in Buddhism in the sixth century, and subsequently had wide repercussions in the Indian discussion of self. Reflexivism (svasaṃvedana) is the thesis that self‐consciousness consists in conscious mental occurrences being reflexively conscious of themselves. Dignāga's defence of reflexivism consists in part in a new “two aspects” theory of...
Abstract There are two ways to account for the nature of phenomenologically presented ownership constitutive of the "immersed" self. One sees it as fundamentally a relationship of bodily ownership: the theory of a core self as bodily feeling of presence to oneself is a bodily account of immersion. Other accounts develop an analysis out of a more detailed study of the structure of...
Neuroimaging data suggest a link between the spontaneous production of thoughts during wakeful rest and slow fluctuations of activity in the default mode network (DMN), a set of brain regions with high basal metabolism and a major neural hub in the ventral posteromedial cortex (vPMC). Meta-awareness and regulation of mind-wandering are core cognitive components of most contemplative practices...
The "neurotheology" developed by d'Aquili and Newberg is critiqued, beginning with its modular conception of mental process and its understanding of the contribution of language, deafferentation, and autonomic and limbic arousal in mystical experience.Neurotheology makes claims about ultimate reality and the neuropsychological means of its realization.A spatial perception that conveys the sense...
To document the narratives of nursing staff in a Thai rehabilitation centre where complementary therapies are used and to discuss perceived progress of these complementary therapies on stroke patients. Specific complementary therapies used at this rehabilitation centre include Thai massage and herbal therapies. In Thailand, there is cultural acknowledgement of a range of traditional therapies...