It is claimed that regular practice of Transcendental Meditation (TM) improves cognitive function and increases intelligence. This systematic review assesses the evidence from randomised controlled trials for cumulative effects of TM on cognitive function. Searches were made of electronic databases and the collected papers and official websites of the TM organisation. Only randomised controlled...
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a structured, 8-week, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program on perceived stress, mood, endocrine function, immunity, and functional health outcomes in individuals infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This study used a quasiexperimental, nonrandomized design. Subjects were specifically recruited (nonrandom) for...
In this chapter only five meditation subjects will be described, though traditionally there are forty.1 Many of these are little used or only occasionally employed in special circumstances. Those which are given here are the commonest meditation subjects used in Buddhist countries at the present time. Two of them, Loving-kindness and the Recollection of the Buddha, lead when developed to calm...
This study investigated the effect of meditation on music performance anxiety. Participants were 19 students between the ages of 18 and 41 yrs, who were recruited from the Manhattan School of Music, Mannes College of Music, Yale University School of Music, and State University of New York at Purchase. The experimental group received a series of eight meditation classes, and the control group...
To examine the potential efficacy of a mindfulness-based stress reduction approach to improve quality of life in individuals who have suffered traumatic brain injuries. Pre-post design with drop-outs as controls. We recruited individuals with mild to moderate brain injuries, at least 1 year post-injury. We measured their quality of life, psychological status, and function. Results of 10...
OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the relationships between a mindfulness-based stress reduction meditation program for early stage breast and prostate cancer patients and quality of life, mood states, stress symptoms, lymphocyte counts, and cytokine production. METHODS: Forty-nine patients with breast cancer and 10 with prostate cancer participated in an 8-week MBSR program that incorporated...
OBJECTIVE: The underlying changes in biological processes that are associated with reported changes in mental and physical health in response to meditation have not been systematically explored. We performed a randomized, controlled study on the effects on brain and immune function of a well-known and widely used 8-week clinical training program in mindfulness meditation applied in a work...
The idea and practice of mindfulness has a long history in some of the world's religions and is also articulated in a number of secular discourses. The therapeutic potential of mindfulness is now being recognized and is being researched in a diverse range of healthcare settings including mental health. Being mindful presupposes that individuals whose awareness is not impaired do have a choice...
It is the central hypothesis of this paper that the mental states commonly referred to as altered states of consciousness are principally due to transient prefrontal cortex deregulation. Supportive evidence from psychological and neuroscientific studies of dreaming, endurance running, meditation, daydreaming, hypnosis, and various drug-induced states is presented and integrated. It is proposed...
BACKGROUND: Medical students confront significant academic, psychosocial, and existential stressors throughout their training. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is an educational intervention designed to improve coping skills and reduce emotional distress. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the MBSR intervention in a prospective, nonrandomized,...
An Analysis of Recent Meditation Research and Suggestions for Future Directions Shauna L. Shapiro, Ph.D. University of Arizona Roger Walsh, M.D., Ph.D. Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior University of California Irvine College of Medicine ABSTRACT: Meditation offers a rich and complex field of study. Over the past 40 years, several hundred research studies have dem- onstrated numerous...
The diagnosis of breast cancer, the most common type of cancer among American women, elicits greater distress than any other diagnosis regardless of prognosis. Therefore, the present study examined the efficacy of a stress reduction intervention for women with breast cancer. As part of a larger, randomized, controlled study of the effects on measures of stress of a mindfulness-based stress...
Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) programs may mitigate the effects of stress and disease. This integrative review identified 21 clinical studies on MBSR interventions. Although preliminary findings suggest health enhancement from MBSR, controlled, randomized studies, the operationalization of constructs, and qualitative research are needed.
Objective: An experiment was conducted to determine the effects of chanting the maha mantra on stress, depression, and the three gunas—sattva (enlightenment), rajas (passion), and tamas (inertia)—described in the Vedas as the basis of human psychology. Primary hypotheses of the study were that the maha mantra group would increase sattva and decrease stress, depression, rajas, and tamas...
Evidence suggests mindfulness-based clinical interven-tions are effective. Accepting this, we caution against as-suming that mindfulness can be applied as a generic tech-nique across a range of disorders without formulating how the approach addresses the factors maintaining the disorder in question. Six specific issues are raised: mind-fulness has been found to be unhelpful in some contexts;...
Abstract Meditation offers a rich and complex field of study. Over the past 40 years, several hundred research studies have demonstrated numerous significant findings including changes in psychological, physiological, and transpersonal realms. This paper attempts to summarize these findings, and to review more recent meditation research. We then suggest directions for future research,...
Meditation is becoming widely popular as an adjunct to conventional medical therapies. This article reviews the literature regarding the experience of chronic illness, theories about meditation, and clinical effects of this self-care practice. Eastern theories of meditation include Buddhist psychology. The word Buddha means the awakened one, and Buddhist meditators have been called the first...
According to the experimental results and practitioners' subjective experience, we report some hypotheses that may account for meditative phenomena during the practice of Zen-Buddhism. Orthodox Zen-Buddhist practitioners, aiming to prove the most original true-self, discover and uncover the inner energy or light on the way towards their goal. Perception of the inner light can be comprehended as...
Heart disease is the leading cause of death among Americans each year, yet the misperception still exists that cardiovascular disease is not a serious health problem for women. Evidence indicates that anxiety contributes to the development of heart disease. The primary purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of Kabat-Zinn's mindfulness-based stress reduction program to reduce...