A systematic review of 18 studies with 1272 participants examined whether mindfulness meditation increases spirituality or religiosity as measured by validated scales. Four scales (FACIT-sp, INSPIRIT, DSES, DUREL) contained items on spirituality, religion, and mysticism—elements critics consider risky for sectarian drift. A few studies found significant increases in spirituality scores after mindfulness meditation, but the clinical relevance of these changes is uncertain; control groups showed smaller changes. The review concludes that a pragmatic harm-reduction approach is more appropriate than banning mindfulness-based practices, and that the debate over secularism in French psychotherapy requires further research.
A methodological framework for analyzing the relationship between cognitive processes and brain activity uses variables measured by neurofeedback (NF) with functional Magnetic Resonance Imagery (fMRI NF). Two traditional approaches, the neuropsychological (NP) and psychophysiology (PP) approaches, treat cognitive or brain variables as dependent or independent. The article suggests that NF can be inspired by neurophenomenology, because fMRI NF lets participants simultaneously experience their own cognitive processes and observe effects on brain region activations. Implementing the elicitation interview method could improve fMRI NF by collecting participants' introspective reports on subjective experiences.