The impact of meditation on cardiorespiratory synchronization with respect to breathing oscillations and the modulations of heart rate induced by respiration (respiratory sinus arrhythmia, RSA) was investigated in this study. Four different exercises (spontaneous breathing, mental task, Zen meditation, and Kinhin meditation) were consecutively performed by nine subjects mainly without any...
As the advantages of meditation have been outlined literally, scientific exploration of the meditation phenomena becomes significant. Meditation EEG may provide an access to the mental states beyond normal consciousness. It is the first attempt to score the meditation course by EEG. Wavelet analysis and fuzzy c-means (FCM) are applied in the automatic interpretation algorithm. However, FCM...
Abstract Work stress, burnout, and diminished empathy are prevalent issues for health‐care professionals. Mindfulness meditation (MM) is one commonly used strategy to manage stress. Measuring salivary cortisol allows for the assessment of serum cortisol level, a known stress level indicator. This study evaluated the association of subject‐reported stress symptoms and salivary cortisol in...
It is easy to get the impression from reading the literature that the principal form \nof meditation current today in Theravada Buddhism is a particular type of \ninsight meditation (vipassanii)-one which is keenly recommended by \nadherents. Meditation practice of this kind has in relatively recent years spread \nfrom Burma to other Southern Buddhist countries and even outside the...
A growing body of research suggests that mindfulness-based therapies may be effective in treating a variety of disorders including stress, chronic pain, depression and anxiety. However, there are few valid and reliable measures of mindfulness. Furthermore, mindfulness is often thought to be related to spirituality, given its roots in Buddhist tradition, but empirical studies on this...
This study compared secular and spiritual forms of meditation to assess the benefits of a spiritual intervention. Participants were taught a meditation or relaxation technique to practice for 20 min a day for two weeks. After two weeks, participants returned to the lab, practiced their technique for 20 min, and placed their hand in a cold-water bath of 2 degrees C for as long as they could...
Abstract Mindfulness is the cognitive propensity to be aware of what is happening in the moment without judgment or attachment to any particular outcome. This concept flies in the face of modern, Western philosophical outcomes-based thinking about events and activities. This article presents results of a formative evaluation of whether participation in a mindfulness training program affected...
Scholars have underestimated and misunderstood the distinction between Sōtō and Rinzai, the two major branches of Zen Buddhism, because they have either parroted the sectarian polemics of the schools themselves or, as in the case of prominent scholars Carl Bielefeldt and T. P. Kasulis, dismissed these polemics as deriving from institutional politics rather than substantive doctrinal or...
1. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and the New Behavior Therapies: Mindfulness, Acceptance, and Relationship, Steven C. Hayes2. Dialectical Behavior Therapy: Synthesizing Radical Acceptance with Skillful Means, Clive J. Robins, Henry Schmidt III, and Marsha M. Linehan3. Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy: Theoretical Rationale and Empirical Status, Zindel V. Segal, John D. Teasdale, and J....
Abstract. We explore the role of meditative practice in cultivating experiences of compassion, empathy, and altruism and address an apparent paradox: Meditation often is associated with solitary retreat, if not preoccupation with one's own concerns. How, then, does such a practice promote compassion for others? We propose a two‐stage model. The first stage involves disengagement from usual...