A survey of 1120 meditators found that most report having had anomalous and extraordinary experiences during meditation, such as mystical, transpersonal, or difficult phenomena. While meditation research has largely focused on clinical effectiveness and neural correlates, these less-studied experiences may be crucial for psychological and spiritual development, act as mediators of meditation's benefits, or be important outcomes themselves. A task force of researchers and teachers developed recommendations to expand research into these areas, which represent largely uncharted scientific terrain suitable for rigorous investigation.
Neuroscience has accepted the study of consciousness but largely restricts itself to neural correlates, which may not yield fundamentally new insights. Expanding the science of consciousness requires appreciating the interdependent co-creation or enfolding of mind and world. Addressing this interdependence is part of the collaborative engagement between Buddhism and science, exploring how complementary worldviews and analytic procedures can further an expanded science of mind. This essay, honoring Jack Pettigrew, describes his connection to that project.