The Inner Life of An Experienced Meditator: From Shopping Lists to Awakening
This article addresses the little-studied area of the subjective experience of meditation through the analysis of the daily meditation diary of an experienced meditator over 2 months during the covid-19 lockdown in England in early 2020. The participant, who began meditating over 40 years ago, pract...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Halil Ekşi
2021-02-01
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| Series: | Spiritual Psychology and Counseling |
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| Online Access: | https://spiritualpc.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/06_forster-1.pdf |
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| author | Peter M. Forster |
| author_facet | Peter M. Forster |
| author_sort | Peter M. Forster |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article addresses the little-studied area of the subjective experience of meditation through the analysis of the daily meditation diary of an experienced meditator over 2 months during the covid-19 lockdown in England in early 2020. The participant, who began meditating over 40 years ago, practised an open monitoring style of meditation for 90 minutes every day followed by 30-minutes of reflecting and writing notes on the experience. The meditation time included 60 minutes of ambient sounds and 30 minutes of binaural audio. The main and overarching themes in these diaries were identified by thematic analysis. Overarching themes were ‘What is meditation’ and ‘Something feels different! Changes in sensations or feelings while meditating’. One stand-alone theme was identified, ‘Unusual or altered states of consciousness’. The Buddhist concept of jhanas may provide a framework for understanding such experiences. These themes were discussed for the insights they provide into the meditation process. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3a615e83fef64f1f9f1ee003d6e32308 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2458-9675 2458-9675 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2021-02-01 |
| publisher | Halil Ekşi |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Spiritual Psychology and Counseling |
| spelling | doaj-art-3a615e83fef64f1f9f1ee003d6e323082025-08-20T03:35:51ZengHalil EkşiSpiritual Psychology and Counseling2458-96752458-96752021-02-01618910510.37898/spc.2021.6.1.129The Inner Life of An Experienced Meditator: From Shopping Lists to AwakeningPeter M. Forster0University of WorcesterThis article addresses the little-studied area of the subjective experience of meditation through the analysis of the daily meditation diary of an experienced meditator over 2 months during the covid-19 lockdown in England in early 2020. The participant, who began meditating over 40 years ago, practised an open monitoring style of meditation for 90 minutes every day followed by 30-minutes of reflecting and writing notes on the experience. The meditation time included 60 minutes of ambient sounds and 30 minutes of binaural audio. The main and overarching themes in these diaries were identified by thematic analysis. Overarching themes were ‘What is meditation’ and ‘Something feels different! Changes in sensations or feelings while meditating’. One stand-alone theme was identified, ‘Unusual or altered states of consciousness’. The Buddhist concept of jhanas may provide a framework for understanding such experiences. These themes were discussed for the insights they provide into the meditation process.https://spiritualpc.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/06_forster-1.pdfmeditationmeditation diarysubjective experiencephenomenologyunusual or altered states of consciousnessethnography |
| spellingShingle | Peter M. Forster The Inner Life of An Experienced Meditator: From Shopping Lists to Awakening Spiritual Psychology and Counseling meditation meditation diary subjective experience phenomenology unusual or altered states of consciousness ethnography |
| title | The Inner Life of An Experienced Meditator: From Shopping Lists to Awakening |
| title_full | The Inner Life of An Experienced Meditator: From Shopping Lists to Awakening |
| title_fullStr | The Inner Life of An Experienced Meditator: From Shopping Lists to Awakening |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Inner Life of An Experienced Meditator: From Shopping Lists to Awakening |
| title_short | The Inner Life of An Experienced Meditator: From Shopping Lists to Awakening |
| title_sort | inner life of an experienced meditator from shopping lists to awakening |
| topic | meditation meditation diary subjective experience phenomenology unusual or altered states of consciousness ethnography |
| url | https://spiritualpc.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/06_forster-1.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT petermforster theinnerlifeofanexperiencedmeditatorfromshoppingliststoawakening AT petermforster innerlifeofanexperiencedmeditatorfromshoppingliststoawakening |