Idag är de hot och påfrestningar som resulterar i stressreaktioner av en mer psykisk än fysisk karaktär, vilket medför att våra stresshanteringssystem inte är helt ändamålsenliga. Syftet var att undersöka vilka effekter fysisk träning och meditation har i stressreducerande syfte och om dessa träningsformer upplevdes skilja sig åt. Tio individer intervjuades, alla utövade någon form av fysisk träning eller meditation. Analysarbetet följde analysmetoden induktiv tematisk analys. Studien visade att den fysiska träningen och meditationen bidrog till stressreduktion samt att karaktären på stressreduktionen skilde sig åt. Den fysiska träningen gav en effektiv stressreduktion vid påtagliga stresstillstånd, medan meditation bidrog till att förändra förhållningssättet till det som stressar. Resultaten pekar på att fysisk träning och meditation är komplementära i strävan efter stressreduktion och det som verkar vara avgörande för valet av utövande är individens personlighet, situation och i vilken fas man befinner sig i livet.

In the past decade the healing potential of mindfulness and its practice has gained widespread recognition across various health disciplines and institutions, especially mental health. Past and current research on mindfulness interventions have focused almost exclusively on the beneficial effects for clients. However, there is a serious shortage of research on how mindfulness practice influences therapists and their work. The current study looked specifically at how the influence of mindfulness meditation (MM) was experienced by therapists in the context of their work. An interpretive description methodology was used to guide the research process. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with six therapists who practiced MM regularly. A thematic analysis of interview transcripts highlighted commonalities and differences among participants’ perceptions of the influence of MM on their work. Eleven themes emerged from the data analysis. Thematic findings were considered in relation to key issues in psychotherapy, master therapist traits and other contemporary qualitative research addressing the influence of MM on practitioners. The results are discussed with an emphasis on the practical implications for future research, therapist training and clinical practice.

Through the use of autoethnography (Bochner & Ellis, 2000) and ethnodramatic performance (Saladana, 2003) this thesis presents an articulation of how the practice of meditation and silence influences identity and communication. Through self-reflection, interviews and conscious performance, I hope to contribute to literature describing health geographies and wellness communication. The data for this paper was collected during ethnographic fieldwork conducted at Bodhi Zendo, a Zen Meditation Centre located in the hills of Kodaiknal, in the province of Tamil Nadu on the southeastern coast of India. During a four-week period between December 1st 2012 and January 2nd 2013, I participated as a practitioner and researcher where I conducted interviews with other retreat participants, documented my own experiences, and recorded my own and other participants' reflections through photography, video, and self-reflective field notes. During my time at the Zen Centre I meditated for ten hours daily and I completed both a silent mini-sesshin and a silent sesshin . This paper includes thoughts and experiences prior to the fieldwork in India as well as thoughts and reflections experienced during the five months upon returning home to Canada. The pupose of this paper is to demonstrate the experience of self through a meditative lens and describe the liminal and transformative states between silence and sound.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1978.

This study concerns the investigation of the mind training method called Lojong, as portrayed by the Gelug branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The emphasis is placed on the practical application of the philosophical tenets underlying this set of routines. Some of the issues to be addressed are: the use of imagery in the process of emotional healing, the ethical concerns that arise in regards to interpreting key concepts pertaining to the Mahayana Buddhist world view, the importance of individuality and the problem of selflessness in practices that deal with alleviating negative emotions, and the suitability of the specific practices for the contemporary western female practitioner. In consideration of the pragmatic nature of this study, conclusions have been drawn towards the possible changes that might be made, when a form of training devised for a distinct group of practitioners, is extended to a more diversified population.

Mindfulness is increasingly recognized as an important phenomenon in both clinical and empirical domains, though debate regarding the exact definition of mindfulness continues. Selfreport mindfulness measures have begun to appear, which is important as each measure represents an independent attempt to conceptualize mindfulness. Baer, Smith, Hopkins, Krietemeyer, and Toney (2006) recently identified five facets of mindfulness (observing, describing, acting with awareness, nonjudging, and nonreactivity) and developed the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) to assess them. They also provided preliminary evidence that the five facets were aspects of an overall mindfulness construct, demonstrated support for the convergent and discriminant validity of total mindfulness and its facets, and provided evidence to support the utility of the facets in understanding the relationships of mindfulness with other constructs. Their research raised interesting questions, especially as findings for the observe facet were not entirely consistent with current conceptualizations of mindfulness. The current study attempted to build upon and clarify the results of Baer et al. (2006) by examining the factor structure of mindfulness and the patterns of relationships between total mindfulness and its facets with already examined and newly investigated (absorption, rumination, reflection, and psychological well-being) constructs in a sample of individuals with meditation experience. One hundred ninety-three individuals completed packets including multiple self-report measures. Results indicated that a model conceptualizing the five facets as aspects of an overall mindfulness construct had good fit to the data, that the observe facet was almost entirely consistent with the conceptualization of mindfulness, that total mindfulness and its facets were related to previously examined constructs in a manner overall consistent with Baer et al. (2006), though some important differences in the strength of facet relationships with other constructs emerged, that the facets related to newly investigated constructs in conceptually consistent ways, and that mindfulness and its facets are strongly related to psychological well-being. These results support the current conceptualization of mindfulness and the adaptive nature of mindfulness in individuals with meditation experience.

Vi har genom kvalitativa intervjuer undersökt upplevelser av gemenskap och identitet i en buddhistisk meditationsgrupp. Vi har även intresserat oss för skillnaderna som de tio deltagarna upplever mellan gruppen och samhället i stort när det gäller dessa aspekter samt vad gruppen har för betydelse för deltagarnas liv utanför den. Resultatet av studien visar på en relativt hög grad av gemenskap mellan medlemmarna och att deltagandet i gruppen har haft inverkan på individens självbild samt en betydelse för de sociala interaktionerna utanför gruppen. Vi har valt att analysera vårt material med teorier från Scheff, Collins och Jenkins som behandlar gemenskap och identitet. Genom dessa har vi kommit fram till slutsatserna att meditationsträffarna innebär lyckade interaktionsritualer som i sin tur leder till stärkt självkänsla och gruppsolidaritet samt att sättet att bemöta varandra på bidrar till stärkta sociala band. Genom de skillnader och likheter som finns både mellan gruppen och dess omvärld liksom mellan deltagarna själva så påverkas identiteten och känslan av medlemskap stärks. En viktig aspekt när det gäller identiteten är att deltagarna medvetet strävar efter att inte fastna i några kategorier och inte heller tycker det är viktigt att framhäva sig själva på något speciellt sätt, varken som buddhist eller som gruppmedlem.

In the past decade the healing potential of mindfulness and its practice has gained widespread recognition across various health disciplines and institutions, especially mental health. Past and current research on mindfulness interventions have focused almost exclusively on the beneficial effects for clients. However, there is a serious shortage of research on how mindfulness practice influences therapists and their work. The current study looked specifically at how the influence of mindfulness meditation (MM) was experienced by therapists in the context of their work. An interpretive description methodology was used to guide the research process. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with six therapists who practiced MM regularly. A thematic analysis of interview transcripts highlighted commonalities and differences among participants’ perceptions of the influence of MM on their work. Eleven themes emerged from the data analysis. Thematic findings were considered in relation to key issues in psychotherapy, master therapist traits and other contemporary qualitative research addressing the influence of MM on practitioners. The results are discussed with an emphasis on the practical implications for future research, therapist training and clinical practice.

Thesis (MEd (Human Resource Development)) -- University of South Australia, 1993

Doctor of Philosophy(PhD) / This work proposes a different interpretation of the early Buddhist term dhammakāya (Skt. dharmakāya) which has been long understood, within the academic arena, to owe its philosophical import only to Mahāyāna Buddhism. In the introductory chapter, this study reviews scholarly interpretations of the term dhammakāya as it is used in early Buddhist texts and locates the problems therein. It observes that the mainstream scholarly interpretation of the Pali dhammakāya involves an oversimplification of the canonical passages and the employment of incomplete data. The problems are related mainly to possible interpretations of the term’s two components - dhamma and kāya - as well as of the compound dhammakāya itself. Some scholarly use of Chinese Āgama references to supplement academic understanding of the early Buddhist dhammakāya involves similar problems. Besides, many references to dharmakāya found in the Chinese Āgamas are late and perhaps should not be taken as representing the term’s meaning in early Buddhism. This work, thus, undertakes a close examination of relevant aspects of the Pali terms dhamma, kāya, and dhammakāya in the second, the third, and the fourth chapters respectively. Occasionally, it discusses also references from the Chinese Āgamas and other early Buddhist sources where they are relevant. The methodologies employed are those of textual analysis and comparative study of texts from different sources. The result appears to contradict mainstream scholarly interpretations of the early Buddhist dhammakāya, especially that in the Pali canon. It suggests that the interpretation of the term, in the early Buddhist usage, in an exclusive sense of ‘teachings collected together’ or ‘collection of teaching’ is insufficient or misleading and that a more appropriate interpretation is a ‘body of enlightening qualities’ from which the teachings originate. That being the case, dhammakāya appears to be the essence of enlightenment attained by early Buddhist nobles of all types and levels.