The Oxford Handbook of Meditation
December 15, 2020
Patricia Lynn Dobkin, Kaveh Monshat
Abstract: The intention of this chapter is to re-envision mental illness within a paradigm that unites the biopsychosocial paradigm with a modern Buddhist spirituality, particularly associated with mindfulness. Emotion regulation, a balanced relationship with one’s self-concept, and social connection are usually regarded as essential components of well-being within both systems of thought....
The Oxford Handbook of Meditation
December 15, 2020
Deane H. Shapiro
Abstract Spiritual, religious, and secular traditions emphasize the importance of control over one’s thoughts, feelings and behavior, and the relevance of meditation in achieving this control. Meditation practices, in particular, can be understood as one strategy amongst others for achieving self-regulation. While the main focus in Western psychology has been on active instrumental control,...
The Oxford Handbook of Meditation
December 15, 2020
Conrad Hackett
Abstract This chapter describes which U.S. groups report meditating frequently. While there is little cross-national data available to analyze demographic characteristics associated with meditation, Pew Research Center’s nationally representative 2014 Religious Landscape Study (RLS) asked more than 35,000 U.S. adults, “How often do you meditate? Would you say at least once a week, once or twice...
The Oxford Handbook of Meditation
December 15, 2020
David W. Orme-Johnson
Abstract The Transcendental Meditation technique (TM) is a process of transcending from the active mind to the silent mind, creating a feeling of well-being that many people describe as blissful. As the mind settles, the body becomes deeply rested, as indicated by reductions of physiological stress markers. The meditator typically experiences expanded inner awareness, which corresponds to...
The Oxford Handbook of Meditation
December 15, 2020
Kieran C. R. Fox, B. Rael Cahn
Abstract The aim of this chapter is to provide an accessible introduction to the neuroscience of meditation. First, a review of studies examining the relationship between meditation and alterations in the structure of the brain’s grey and white matter (so-called morphometric neuroimaging) is offered. Next, the chapter discusses findings from functional neuroimaging methods, such as functional...
The Oxford Handbook of Meditation
December 15, 2020
Harold D. Roth
Abstract Daoism is the indigenous Chinese religious tradition that has been a major feature of this culture for over two thousand years. It is grounded in a comprehensive cosmology of the Way (Dao) that derives from the ancient practice of a meditation that emphasizes attentional focus and mental tranquility attained through an apophatic (self-negating) practice of systematically emptying...
The Oxford Handbook of Meditation
December 15, 2020
Candy Gunther Brown
3 citations
Abstract This chapter examines school-based meditation programs for children ages 4–17—including Transcendental Meditation, ashtanga yoga, and mindfulness-based stress reduction—popularized between the 1960s and 2010s in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and India. Practices entered mainstream education as promoters distanced meditation from religion, particularly Hinduism and...
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
December 14, 2020
Erica R Timko Olson, Margaret M Hansen, Amber L Vermeesch
Mindfulness and Shinrin-yoku (SY) translated as forest bathing, is potentially effective to alleviate mental health issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. The purpose of this article is to provide a translational and pragmatic approach to understanding mindfulness in the context of SY and psychological wellbeing through a rapid review of the literature. The background of...
Global Advances in Health and Medicine
December 13, 2020
Christina M. Luberto, Janice H Goodman, Bonnie Halvorson et al.
Many health professions students experience elevated stress and burnout during their professional education and training. With the added challenges of COVID-19, students face a whole new set of stressors. Students in the Spring 2020 semester of our online academic course, "Mindfulness for Healthcare Providers," began confronting the COVID-19 crisis after several weeks of mindfulness meditation...
December 13, 2020
Robert Weis, Sullivan D. Ray, Tema A. Cohen
Abstract COVID-19 brought significant challenges to college students in Spring 2020 Mindfulness-based interventions might help students cope with COVID-19-related stressors in at least three ways: by cultivating attention that is self-directed rather than reactive to a rapidly changing situation;by teaching the acceptance and regulation of negative thoughts and feelings;and by encouraging...