Meditation and consciousness: an Asian approach to mental health.
American journal of psychotherapy January 1, 1976 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.1976.30.1.41 via PubMed
Summary
Meditation can help foster a balance between healthy and unhealthy mental properties, as described by Abhidhamma, a classical Asian framework for understanding consciousness. This balance may enhance an individual's responsiveness to their environment and serve as a useful addition to psychotherapy.
Study at a glance
| Key finding | Meditation can induce a beneficial balance of mental properties that improves responsiveness to environmental demands. |
|---|
Abstract
According to Abhidhamma, a classical Asian phenomenology of consciousness, through meditation a set of "healthy" mental properties reciprocally inhibits an "unhealthy" set. In light of Abhidhamma and empirical findings, applications of meditation are suggested for inducing an optimal mode of responsiveness to environmental demands, and as a complementary adjunct to psychotherapy.