PLoS ONE
May 24, 2017
Jared R. Lindahl, Nathan E. Fisher, David J. Cooper et al.
468 citations
Meditation practices derived from Buddhism are widely used for health promotion, but their traditional sources also describe a broader range of effects. The Varieties of Contemplative Experience study used interviews with Western Buddhist practitioners and experts from Theravāda, Zen, and Tibetan traditions, plus a follow-up survey, to investigate underreported meditation-related experiences, especially those that are challenging, distressing, or impairing. Thematic analysis produced a taxonomy of 59 experiences across 7 domains: cognitive, perceptual, affective, somatic, conative, sense of self, and social. Interpretations and responses varied greatly, with valence ranging from very positive to very negative and distress from minimal to severe. The study identified 26 influencing factors across 4 domains: practitioner-level, practice-level, relationships, and health behaviors.
Religions
October 9, 2022
Nathan E. Fisher
13 citations
States of contemplative absorption in Islamic and Jewish traditions are cultivated through sensory deprivation and withdrawal, can be distressing and cause functional impairment that is considered normative in some contexts, and some are set apart as goals of specific meditative paths. These traditions assume, and recent research suggests it is plausible, that such states may be hyper-plastic and pivotal in both adaptive and maladaptive directions.
Frontiers in Psychology
July 29, 2020
Jared R. Lindahl, D. James Cooper, Nathan E. Fisher et al.
2 citations
Buddhist meditation practitioners and teachers report a wider range of difficult or distressing experiences than previously discussed, some of which are considered expected on the contemplative path. Distinguishing these from psychopathology requires expanding assessment frameworks beyond normative fit with religious experience or mental illness to include the need for intervention, whether religious or clinical. Decision-making about intervention often depends on contextual factors, aligning with person-centered mental health care that considers interpersonal and cultural dynamics.
Religions
November 10, 2025
Nathan E. Fisher, Elisabeth Irvine, Michael Z. Yonkovig et al.
Energy-like somatic sensations in the body are commonly reported across Abrahamic contemplative traditions, not only in Buddhist and Yogic contexts. In interviews with 30 practitioners and 30 teachers from Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions, 40% of practitioners and 43% of teachers reported such experiences. These sensations varied widely in intensity and emotional tone, interpreted either as expected signs of spiritual progress or as surprising events. Participants blended metaphors from multiple traditions and mixed spiritual with psychological explanations. Compared to earlier research on Western Buddhists, both commonalities and differences emerged. The findings suggest these experiences arise from a complex interplay of cultural frameworks, attention, and bodily processes.