bioRxiv Preprint Server
February 26, 2026
Angqi Li, Julio Rodriguez-Larios, Mengsen Zhang et al.
preprint
Two types of mantra meditation produce distinct brain activity patterns. Novice practitioners were randomly assigned to chant either the Hare Krishna (HK) or Sa-Ta-Na-Ma (SA) mantra. EEG measurements showed that HK meditation led to widespread decreases in alpha power and increases in alpha frequency during and after practice, suggesting a more activating, attentionally focused state. In contrast, SA meditation produced localized alpha power reduction and, after training, a significant decrease in alpha frequency, indicating a more relaxed state. Both groups reported reduced stress. These results challenge the idea that all mantra meditation is the same and underscore the need to differentiate practices for targeted mental health applications.
Mindfulness
February 25, 2026
Cate Bailey, Nicholas T. van Dam, Jonathan N Davies et al.
A nationally representative Australian survey compared quality of life, health service use, and costs among meditators, other contemplative practitioners, and non-practitioners. Unadjusted quality-of-life scores were higher for non-practitioners, and this difference persisted after accounting for demographics but disappeared when mental health service use was included. Unmet mental-health service need was highest among meditators (13.9%) versus non-practitioners (2.4%). The average annual cost of contemplative practice was $1,281 per person. The findings provide preliminary data for future economic evaluations of contemplative practices.
Frontiers in Psychology
February 25, 2026
Natalie L. Dyer, Meredith Sprengel, Ivo V. Stuldreher et al.
A feasibility study monitored 23 adults with multiple sensors during guided loving kindness meditation and breathwork. Biofield measures changed as expected for some participants. After meditation, participants reported lower arousal and increased control, boundarylessness, and non-duality. After breathwork, participants reported increased arousal and decreased boundarylessness, connectedness, and non-duality. Strong correlations (r > 0.5) appeared between ultraweak photon emission from both hands, and moderate correlations (r > 0.4) between infrared nose temperature and left hand ultraweak photon emission. The authors conclude that simultaneous multi-sensor monitoring is feasible and that meditation and breathwork produce nearly opposite effects, but larger samples and control groups are needed.
Mindfulness
February 24, 2026
Larissa Bartlett, Rohan Puri, Amanda L. Neil et al.
A new 9-item scale, the Observed Mindful Behaviours (OMB), measures how attentive, aware, and accepting a person appears to someone who knows them. Based on data from 190 pairs of raters and targets, the scale shows good reliability and validity. Observed mindful behavior aligns moderately with self-reported trait mindfulness and interpersonal mindfulness, and correlates positively with empathy and psychological capital, and negatively with psychological inflexibility, distress, and anger reactivity. It does not relate to prosocial intentions. The OMB can complement self-report measures in mindfulness research.
Religions
February 24, 2026
Youngsun Yang
Liminal states of consciousness such as lucid dreaming and out-of-body experiences (OBEs) are not merely odd psychological events but were deliberately cultivated in Indian religious and philosophical traditions as 'architectures of liminality' to investigate self, consciousness, and reality. A comparative analysis of Vedāntic, Yogic, Buddhist, and Jain systems reveals a spectrum of interpretations: from Buddhism's mind-only projection model in dream yoga to Jainism's subtle-material interaction model in karmic ontology, and from modern neuroscience's embodied cognition to classical Indian disembodied consciousness theories. Understanding these states requires integrating first-person reports with their soteriological, ritual, and metaphysical contexts, challenging reductionist approaches in consciousness studies.
medRxiv Preprint Server
February 23, 2026
Fernando A. Wilson, Eric L. Garland
preprint
Opioid misuse causes widespread harm, and Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) has been shown to be an effective treatment for it. However, the cost-effectiveness of this intervention has not yet been determined.
Journal of Psychology and Neuroscience
February 23, 2026
Julian Ungar-Sargon
A comprehensive analysis argues that Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree can be read as an embodiment of the Shekhinah, the feminine aspect of divine immanence in Kabbalistic theology, whose boundless generosity mirrors mystical dynamics between God and creation. Juxtaposing this Kabbalistic reading with the spirituality of the 12-Step Program, the essay explores divine-human interaction, selfhood, ethical responsibility, and therapeutic transformation. Drawing on scholarship in Jewish mysticism and therapeutic theology, it demonstrates how these paradigms illuminate complementary aspects of spiritual engagement. Both The Giving Tree and 12-Step spirituality represent variations on experiences of dependence, transformation, and encounter with transcendence, though they diverge in theological assumptions and practical applications.
Neurosci Conscious
February 19, 2026
1 citation
The article proposes that body-scan meditation, a practice of systematically attending to different parts of the body, can lead to a dissolution of bodily boundaries—a sense of the body's limits becoming less distinct. It uses predictive processing theory, which frames perception as the brain's active inference about sensory input, to explain how such meditation might reduce the precision of predictions about bodily states. By learning to attenuate or down-weight these predictions, practitioners may experience a blurring of the self-other boundary. The account integrates philosophical and neuroscientific perspectives to describe how meditative training can reshape the sense of bodily self.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
February 18, 2026
Mihai Alexandru Bucurenciu
During peak conscious states such as deep meditation and DMT or 5-MeO-DMT breakthrough, gamma-band power near 43 Hz is selectively enhanced compared to eyes-open and eyes-closed baselines. Temporal locking occurs between 43 Hz gamma surges and multifractal spectrum collapse, with consistent convergence across subjects at approximately 41 seconds. AAFT surrogate testing confirms non-random dynamics (p < 0.01 for key features). High-density 256-channel mapping examples show directed 43 Hz signal from the pineal region to the AFz electrode, with up to +34.2 dB amplification in select cases.
Qualitative Health Research
February 17, 2026
Zaynab Khan, Sterre Weaver, Rachael V. Dando et al.
1 citation
Seven women in the United Kingdom with a current or previous cancer diagnosis were interviewed about their attitudes toward using psilocybin for mental health. Four had used psilocybin and three had considered it. Participants viewed psilocybin as a needed alternative to traditional treatments for depression and anxiety linked to their cancer diagnosis, but they felt its illegal status was a major barrier to access. Three themes emerged: somatic healing needs, illegality as both a burden and boundary, and reconnecting self, nature, and mortality. The authors suggest a compassionate access scheme in the UK could transform mental health care for people with cancer.
International Journal on Science and Technology
February 16, 2026
Tarak Mallick
Practitioners of Rajyoga Meditation living in frequently flood-affected areas showed comparatively higher levels of emotional regulation, situational awareness, and community engagement during flood warnings and actual flood events. Their spiritual practices, including regular meditation, positive thinking, and collective service, appeared to contribute to reduced anxiety, improved decision-making, and enhanced social support networks. Participants reported that values such as inner peace, detachment, and altruism helped them remain calm and proactive under crisis conditions. The findings suggest that integrating spiritual and meditative practices into disaster preparedness programs may enhance resilience among populations frequently exposed to floods.
Ganaya Jurnal Ilmu Sosial dan Humaniora
February 14, 2026
Tinon Citraning Harisuci, Vikri Islah Khafidz, Faricha Annisa et al.
A pre-experimental study with 15 residents of a social service center found that a program combining Dance Movement Therapy with Osho Kundalini music reduced symptoms of anxiety, stress, and depression. Participants showed statistically significant decreases in scores on the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale after the intervention, with large effect sizes. The program involved expressive movement, rhythmic stimulation, relaxation, and silent meditation to support emotional release and body awareness. Because the study lacked a control group, the results suggest but do not prove that the therapy caused the improvements. The findings indicate that this approach may be a useful psychosocial intervention for people with mental disabilities in care settings.
Frontiers in Education
February 13, 2026
Jiraporn Chano, Bahtiar Mohamad, Surachet Noirid et al.
A systematic mapping of mindfulness research in educational workplaces from 2020 to 2024 analyzed 242 peer-reviewed publications using bibliometric and conceptual methods. Four thematic clusters emerged: Teacher Well-being and Mental Health, Mindfulness Interventions and Training, Student Development and Educational Psychology, and Socio-Cultural and Methodological Context. Individual-level constructs like stress and burnout dominate the literature, while systemic factors such as school leadership and collective efficacy are significantly underrepresented. The keyword patterns are consistent with the 'McMindfulness' critique, suggesting an empirical tendency toward individualized conceptualizations, though this does not directly test the critique. The authors propose a multi-level conceptual framework and research agenda to integrate organizational applications.
Religions
February 13, 2026
Wenwei Long
Many Chinese youth who lack formal religious beliefs engage with digital non-traditional religious music, such as electronic adaptations of the Great Compassion Mantra chant on platforms like Bilibili. Based on 15 interviews and one year of digital ethnography, the research shows that music, technology, environment, and cultural context shape youth's affective states of tranquility, trance, and transcendence. The study identifies fluid, contingent associations between these mediators and emergent, ambient affective states. It reveals hybridized practices that blend alternative spiritual elements with secular experiences, highlighting context-specific ways Chinese youth navigate spirituality in a post-secular age.
Consciousness and Cognition
February 11, 2026
Teresa Campillo-Ferrer, Antonella Iadarola, Ramona Cordani et al.
Unusual bodily experiences (UBEs)—illusory perceptions such as floating, body distortions, or out-of-body sensations—can occur during meditation and sleep. In a controlled sleep laboratory, 20 of 35 healthy participants reported 36 UBEs, primarily during meditation (wakefulness) but also during arousals, REM sleep, and non-REM sleep. Electroencephalography (EEG) analyses revealed that UBEs emerge during intermediate states of consciousness that combine features of wakefulness and sleep. Specifically, UBEs were associated with EEG reactivation: increased high-frequency activity (beta and gamma) and decreased low-frequency activity (delta and theta), especially around temporal regions. These findings offer new insights into the neural correlates of self-consciousness and body perception across sleep and wakefulness.
bioRxiv Preprint Server
February 10, 2026
David Zarka, Winson F.z. Yang, Abel Rassat et al.
preprint
Extended cessation (EC) is a rare meditative state in which conscious experience temporarily stops, followed by heightened perception and emotional balance. In five highly trained meditators, electroencephalographic microstate analysis revealed that EC altered brain activity patterns linked to self-referential processing. Specifically, microstate B occurred less often and for shorter durations, while microstate C occurred more often and for longer durations. Transition probabilities also shifted, with more transitions from A and B to C and fewer from A to B. These changes appeared across delta, theta, and beta frequency bands, with additional band-specific effects for microstates A and D. The findings suggest EC involves a reweighting of self-referential and sensory processes.
Religions
February 6, 2026
Feifei Yan, Zhanguo Peng
The paper examines how the Yogācāra tradition systematically developed and philosophically finalized the practices of śamatha (tranquility) and vipaśyanā (insight). It focuses on two key texts: the Śrāvakabhūmi, which presents śamatha as a rigorous psychological system outlining a cognitive progression from worldly practices like impurities meditation to the nine stages of mental abiding, facilitating a metacognitive transition from distraction to absorption and the eradication of afflictions; and the Saṃdhinirmocana-sūtra, which provides the ultimate philosophical synthesis by framing these practices within the Consciousness-Only (vijñaptimātratā) framework, finalizing the meaning of training in higher mind. The analysis clarifies the evolution of Buddhist bhāvanā by bridging technical rigor with Mahāyāna ontological depth.
Journal of health, population, and nutrition
February 6, 2026
Asmaa Mohammad, Enas Kassim, Maha El-Sharawy et al.
Most university students (94.4%) report adopting mindful eating principles, with medical students (97.6%) doing so more often than non-medical students (91.3%). Medical study increases the likelihood of adopting mindful eating by about 73.8% compared with non-medical study. Among medical students, males scored higher on the disinhibition subscale than females; among non-medical students, females scored higher on the awareness subscale than males. Nearly three-quarters of participants (74.3%) had a Body Mass Index of 25 or above. Medical students were less likely (17.4%) than non-medical students (34.0%) to have a Body Mass Index of 25 or higher. Higher mindful eating scores were associated with lower Body Mass Index.
Health care for women international
February 5, 2026
Leslee Goldstein, Daniela Romagnoli, Sanford Nidich
1 citation
A randomized controlled trial with 199 women living in poverty in Uganda found that practicing Transcendental Meditation for 20 minutes twice daily led to significant reductions in perceived stress, anger, and fatigue, along with improvements in self-efficacy and sleep quality after three months. At an eight-month follow-up, participants reported better physical and mental health, greater ability to handle domestic violence, and improved relationships. The results suggest the Transcendental Meditation program positively affects psychological distress and coping, and could be a valuable addition to programs for women in Uganda.
Psychological medicine
February 4, 2026
Katrina Mysko, Elise Quarterman Gear, Lyn Ellett
A systematic review and meta-analysis found a small negative association between trait mindfulness and psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) in nonclinical populations, meaning higher mindfulness levels are linked to fewer PLEs. However, mindfulness-based interventions showed no significant effect on reducing PLEs in these populations. The pooled correlation from eight studies was -0.25, and the summary effect from five intervention studies was not significant. The findings should be interpreted cautiously due to the small number of studies and high heterogeneity.
Psychology, health & medicine
February 4, 2026
Chaokang Luo, Nuoyan Lu, Chun-Qing Zhang
Brief mindfulness meditation reduces defensive reactions to threatening health messages and increases intentions to adopt healthy behaviors, though it does not significantly change actual behavior. Across two online experiments involving sleep hygiene advice and a fictional rare disease screening scenario, participants who engaged in a short mindfulness meditation showed less defensiveness and greater willingness to improve sleep or seek screening. In the screening experiment, mindfulness helped people accept risk feedback and lowered message defensiveness, which in turn boosted screening intentions. However, the meditation did not lead to a significant increase in actually making a screening appointment. Brief mindfulness practice may help health communication by making people more receptive to threatening information.
JMIR cardio
February 4, 2026
Yuka Takita, Junko Morishita, Sunre Park et al.
A mindfulness-based self-management program tailored for people with pulmonary hypertension (PH) was delivered online via weekly videoconference sessions over eight weeks, combining PH self-management education with mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and supported by a mobile app and Apple Watch for symptom monitoring. Twelve participants enrolled, nine completed the program (75% retention). Quality of life and resilience significantly improved from baseline to week 8. Trends toward reduced depression and anxiety were observed, but loneliness did not change. Participants valued the online format and wearable integration, reporting increased self-awareness, better pain management through meditation, and enhanced self-compassion. The findings suggest potential benefits and warrant a future randomized trial.
Npj mental health research
February 3, 2026
Anisha Rajan, Mahendra Kumar, Pranav Raj P
1 citation
A systematic review and meta-analysis of 17 randomized controlled trials involving 1,641 non-clinical adults found that mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) significantly reduce perceived stress compared to control conditions. At baseline, stress levels were similar between groups. After the intervention, MBI participants reported lower perceived stress, with a moderate-to-large effect size. Within-group improvements were substantial for MBI groups, while control groups showed only marginal changes. The stress-reducing effect was consistent across different regions and delivery methods, with larger effects for indirect interventions. No significant moderators were identified, and the results were robust with minimal publication bias. These findings support MBIs as effective, scalable strategies for stress reduction in non-clinical adults.
Epilepsy & behavior : E&B
February 3, 2026
Kairui Li, Hui Song, Chenxiao Zhao et al.
A simplified, app-based mindfulness program for people with epilepsy in mainland China was feasible and well-accepted. Ten adults completed a 6-week self-guided program (15 minutes daily, 6 days per week) via a WeChat mini-program. Completion rates averaged 110.1%, and user feedback was positive. Exploratory assessments suggested improvements in quality of life (median increase of 9.12 points on the QOLIE-31) and reductions in anxiety (median decrease of 5.50 points on the GAD-7). Seizure frequency descriptively decreased by a median of 1.17 seizures per 4 weeks, with half of participants experiencing at least a 50% reduction. These findings support planning a future randomized controlled trial.