First-person reports of phenomenological states are the starting point for phenomenology (including Buddhist phenomenology) and the scientific study of consciousness. The vipassana meditation technique, including the Open Monitoring meditation and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), both of which are secularized versions of vipassana, are reliant on the reliability of First-person reports of phenomenological states. Nonetheless, the …
Continue reading “Introspective reliability: Synergizing Buddhist and contemporary viewpoints”
This will be a Scientific Pilot Study of the significance of where practitioners place their attention when they are doing breath awareness meditation. We will concentrate on two distinctive forms of Buddhist meditation, mindfulness practice as drawn from normative Pali Canon texts that emphasize placing the attention on the nostrils and zazen texts from the …
Continue reading “Where’s the Breath? An Interdisciplinary Investigation of Breath Awareness Placement”
The purpose of this pilot study is to examine the effects of a mindfulness intervention on emerging self-regulation and compassion/empathy among low-income preschoolers. The study will be conducted with children enrolled in Project GROW, an Americorps program at UW-Madison that pairs college students with low-income preschoolers over the course of a school year. Project GROW …
Continue reading “Fieldwork on Contemplative Practices with High Risk Preschoolers: Children’s Empathic, Compassionate, and Self-Regulatory Behaviors”
This is a study of the role that social and cultural context play in Buddhist meditation techniques, especially those that fall under the category of vipassana and related practices. It argues that such contexts inform not only practitioners’ explicit understandings of their practice of these techniques, but also their pretheoretical, tacit, implicit orientations, and even …
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Recent years have seen a proliferation of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) in K-12 educational settings. Scientific inquiry of MBIs in adults suggests beneficial effects on a wide range of cognitive and socio-emotional processes. In line with these findings, MBIs studies in K-12 settings have reported a reduction in behavioral difficulties, psychopathological symptoms, executive function (EF) and …
Continue reading “The effect of mindfulness training on executive function and social cognition in the developing brain: An EEG study in preschoolers practicing mindfulness”
The proposed study investigates the role that teacher characteristics play in teachers’ experience delivering a mindfulness-based health and wellness curriculum. Specifically, teachers’ embodiment of mindfulness (through practice) and professional knowledge will be examined to provide insight into factors that may influence their experience and fidelity delivering the curriculum. A maximum variation sample of ten elementary …
Continue reading “Teaching mindfulness in schools: A mixed method study of teachers’ mindfulness practice, professional knowledge, perspectives and experiences”
Mindfulness meditation (MM) is the process of purposefully regulating attention, bringing awareness to one’s current experience, and relating to that experience in an open and accepting way (Semple, Lee, Rosa, & Miller, 2009). Previous studies have demonstrated benefits of MM training across many domains (cognitive, physiological, socio-emotional) that support children’s academic achievement; but these effects …
Continue reading “Tracking the longitudinal real-world socioemotional benefits of mindfulness meditation training in youth”
This study will compare the efficacy of a mindfulness meditation program for adolescents with chronic health conditions delivered either in person or via eHealth. The eight-week mindfulness program, called Mindful Awareness and Resilience Skills for Adolescents (MARS-A) will combine various meditation practices, group discussions and inquiry. Participants will be recruited from different general and sub-specialty …
Continue reading “A randomized control trial of an in-person vs. ehealth mindfulness-based intervention for adolescents with chronic illness”
Early life abuse (ELA) is a risk factor for depression and interpersonal problems in adulthood. Frequent exposure to stress early in life leads to enduring changes in neurobiological systems that regulate stress and emotion. In particular, chronic low-grade inflammation—resulting from sustained activation of the immune system in response to stress—may be a key biological mechanism …
Continue reading “Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and early life abuse: Does attenuating inflammation reduce depressive symptoms and interpersonal dysfunction?”
Research suggests that Mindfulness Training (MT) is helpful for dealing with depression, anxiety, and pain. Yet MT has become so popular that it seems like it is recommended for everything, ranging from parenting to dieting to corporate success. Yet without research that identifies the critical features of successful MT, we can’t effectively judge these emerging …
Continue reading “Does ongoing practice of mindfulness meditation promote healthy relationships?”
