Abstract
Effects and implications of meditation, especially mindfulness-based practices, have become a focus of research in clinical and nonclinical studies over the past two decades. This qualitative study aimed at analyzing alterations in perception through tranquility and insight meditation. Semi-structured interviews were held with expert meditators (Sotapannas) in Burma. Four categories of alterations in perception could be identified: increase in the quality of perception, comprehension of interdependences in perception processing, cessation of subject/object-based perception, and nonconceptual perception. The findings suggest significant alterations in perception induced by mindfulness practices of tranquility and insight meditation. So far, however, it cannot be concluded whether these alterations are genuine experiences and to what extent they are culturally determined.
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Acknowledgments
The author is a research fellow of the Samueli-Rockefeller Foundation and supported by Samueli Institute's Brain, Mind and Healing Program. The author is indebted to the monks, nuns, and lay participants of this study who contributed their experiences in an open and supportive attitude and to the Samueli Institute, Alexandria, VA, for funding the study. Many thanks also go to Prof. Werner Vogd, Dr. Ulrich Ott, Prof. Dr. Peter Jüni, and Dr. Jan Gysi for cross-reading the transcripts and for their helpful comments.
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Full, G.E., Walach, H. & Trautwein, M. Meditation-Induced Changes in Perception: An Interview Study with Expert Meditators (Sotapannas) in Burma. Mindfulness 4, 55–63 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-012-0173-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-012-0173-7