The Psychology of Meditation Research and Practice The Psychology of Meditation Research and Practice Edited by Michael A. West 1 1 Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, OX2 6DP, United Kingdom Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries © Oxford University Press 2016 The moral rights of the author have been asserted First Edition published in 2016 Impression: 1 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by licence or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Data available Library of Congress Control Number: 2015947534 ISBN 978–0–19–968890–6 Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY Oxford University Press makes no representation, express or implied, that the drug dosages in this book are correct. Readers must therefore always check the product information and clinical procedures with the most up-to-date published product information and data sheets provided by the manufacturers and the most recent codes of conduct and safety regulations. The authors and the publishers do not accept responsibility or legal liability for any errors in the text or for the misuse or misapplication of material in this work. Except where otherwise stated, drug dosages and recommendations are for the non-pregnant adult who is not breast-feeding Links to third party websites are provided by Oxford in good faith and for information only. Oxford disclaims any responsibility for the materials contained in any third party website referenced in this work. Preface In 1987 Oxford University Press published a book entitled The Psychology of Meditation, which reviewed research on the effects of meditation upon arousal, brain wave activity, and personality. It also described the very limited research examining the application of meditation in clinical settings. It was a privilege for me to edit that book and to learn from the content. But more than 30 years have gone by since its publication. I have continued to practice meditation but had not kept abreast with what psychological research had discovered about meditation processes and outcomes. Like many others I was curious about how our knowledge has developed. The motivation to edit a new book with the same focus was selfish, therefore. I wanted to learn from those who could best contribute to a volume reviewing from a psychological perspective what we know about research into and the practice of meditation. Finding the key researchers and inviting them to give of their time to write a chapter was the major challenge. I am fortunate that all of the contributors, who come from many different countries, are people who are not only deeply immersed in the challenge of understanding meditation from a psychological perspective, but who also have practiced meditation (for the most part) over many years. Not only do they review research but they also pro- vide a personal account of their meditation experience and, in some cases, jour- neys. It is a privilege for me to be able to learn from their rich contributions. My selfish motivation in editing this volume has been rewarded by the outcome. My hope is that readers will find much to savor and will also have a sense of privilege in the enlightenment that I have found in reading the contents of the chapters that these generous contributors have crafted. Sheffield, United Kingdom, April 2015 Acknowledgments Eleanor Hardy took on the task of reviewing the contents of the book and checking layout, references, consistency, and the many similar tasks I am too lazy or unskilled to manage effectively. I am grateful for her generosity and patience in doing this. Gillian Hardy, as ever, was a great source of wisdom and generosity. Charlotte Green has provided helpful, patient, and light-touch sup- port on behalf of Oxford University Press. The warmest acknowledgements go to the contributors to this volume, who were so generous and responsive in preparing their chapters. Contents List of contributors xi Part 1 Meditation perspectives 1 The practice of meditation 3 Michael A. West 2 Meditation: Practice and experience 27 Martine Batchelor 3 How conscious experience comes about, and why meditation is helpful 49 Guy Claxton 4 Fish discovering water: Meditation as a process of recognition 73 James Carmody 5 Psychology of meditation: Philosophical perspectives 93 Loriliai Biernacki Part 2 Therapeutic and clinical applications of meditation 6 Traditional and secular views of psychotherapeutic applications of mindfulness and meditation 119 Lynn C. Waelde and Jason M. Thompson 7 Meditation and the management of pain 153 Vidyamala Burch 8 Addictive disorders 177 Sarah Bowen, Matthew Enkema, Corey Roos, Haley Douglas, Erin Harrop, Tatyana Kholodkov, and Katie Witkiewitz 9 Meditation and physical health 193 Linda E. Carlson 10 The cognitive and affective neurosciences of meditation 221 Antonino Raffone x CONTENTS Part 3 Meditation in workplaces and schools 11 Mindfulness and meditation in the workplace: An acceptance and commitment therapy approach 241 Frank W. Bond, Paul E. Flaxman, and Joda Lloyd 12 Mindfulness in education 259 Katherine Weare Part 4 Conclusions 13 Meditation: Future theory and research 285 Peter Sedlmeier, Juliane Eberth, and Maika Puta 14 How meditation changes lives: Practice, research, and personal journeys 311 Michael A. West Name index 327 Subject index 337 List of contributors Martine Batchelor was born in France in 1953. She was ordained as a Bud- dhist nun in Korea in 1975. She studied Zen Buddhism under the guidance of the late Master Kusan at Songgwang Sa monastery until 1984. Her Zen training also took her to nunneries in Taiwan and Japan. From 1981 she served as Kusan Sunim’s interpreter and accompanied him on lecture tours throughout the United States and Europe. She translated his book, The Way of Korean Zen. Following Master Kusan’s death she returned her nun’s vows and left Korea. She returned to Europe with her husband, Stephen, in 1985. She worked as a lecturer and spiritual counselor both at Gaia House and elsewhere in Britain. She was also involved in interfaith dialogue and was a Trustee of the International Sacred Literature Trust until 2000. In 1992 she published, as co-editor, Buddhism and Ecology. In 1996 she published, as editor, Walking on Lotus Flowers, which in 2001 was reissued under the title Women on the Buddhist Path. She is the author of Principles of Zen, Medita- tion for Life (an illustrated book on meditation), The Path of Compassion (a translation from the Korean version, with reference to the original Chinese, of the Brahmajala Sutra), Women in Korean Zen, and Let Go: A Buddhist Guide to Breaking Free of Habits. Her latest book is The Spirit of the Buddha. She leads meditation retreats worldwide and lives in France. Loriliai Biernacki is Associate Professor in the Department of Religious Stud- ies at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Her research interests include Hinduism, ethics, gender, and the interface between religion and science. Her first book,Renowned Goddess of Desire: Women, Sex and Speech in Tan- tra (Oxford 2007) won the Kayden Award in 2008. She is co-editor of Panen- theism across the World’s Religious Traditions (Oxford 2013). She is currently working on a study on the eleventh-century Indian philosopher Abhinav- agupta within the framework of wonder, the new materialisms, and ideas of the body and the body–mind interface. Frank W. Bond is the Director of the Institute of Management Studies at Goldsmiths, University of London. His research and consultancy seek to identify the processes by which acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), leadership, and organizational interventions improve productivity and well- being in the workplace. The ESRC, UK government, charities, and industry have funded his research, and the academic publications stemming from xii LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS that research have been cited nearly 7000 times in academic papers and books. Because of the ACT randomized controlled studies he has published, the UK government, the British Olympic team, the BBC, and other private and public sector institutions have asked Professor Bond to consult with, and conduct ACT-related research in, their organizations. Professor Bond has been elected President and Fellow of the ACT-focused Association of Contextual Behavioural Science. Sarah Bowen is an Assistant Professor at Pacific University in Portland, Ore- gon, and a licensed clinical psychologist. Over the past decade, her primary clinical and research interests have centered on mindfulness-based treat- ments for addictive behaviors. She has conducted several clinical trials examining effects of mindfulness-based interventions, as well as possible mechanisms underlying the change process, funded by the National Insti- tute of Health. Currently, Dr. Bowen is working both locally and internation- ally to provide training in mindfulness-based therapies to health professionals, and to assist in the adaptation of protocols to serve diverse settings, populations, and cultures. Her research has been supported by grants from the National Institute on Mental Health, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and the National Cancer Institute.