Processes of embodied sense-making and integration in challenging experiences of advanced meditation – A reflexive thematic analysis of destabilization, rigidification, and social negotiation

Advanced meditation can sometimes lead to challenging experiences involving destabilization, rigidification, and social negotiation. Through a reflexive thematic analysis of practitioners' accounts, the authors describe how embodied sense-making and integration processes unfold during these difficulties. The analysis identifies how meditators navigate destabilizing experiences, how rigid patterns of response may emerge, and how social contexts shape the meaning and resolution of these challenges. The findings suggest that advanced meditation difficulties are not merely individual psychological events but are deeply embedded in bodily, relational, and social processes.

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Abstract

Processes of embodied sense-making and integration in challenging experiences of advanced meditation – A reflexive thematic analysis of destabilization, rigidification, and social negotiation