Can Contemplative Science Bring Meditation to (Western) Life?

Abstract

Secular meditation training (MT) practices such as mindfulness training have sparked recent public and scientific interest, yet it is unknown whether such practices can contribute to lasting cultural change. This chapter argues that widespread cultural integration of meditation depends upon whether the scientific community can provide clear explanations for how meditation promotes well-being. In this spirit, a functional approach for studying MT is proposed: while research can and should be informed by practitioners’ subjective reports, meditation research gains scientific ground only by proposing and testing for change in measurable perceptual or regulatory capacities. This empirical commitment need not stand at odds with the beliefs of spiritual practitioners, but can instead reinvigorate discourse and a commitment to deeper understanding of the principles underlying effective meditative practice. A discussion of the author’s work illustrates how the functional approach has been applied to investigate MT’s purported regulatory benefits, while acknowledging many unresolved mechanistic questions. This chapter is intended to provide the reader with a greater understanding of how a fledgling scientific model of meditation has developed, and suggests some upcoming challenges on the road to achieving a broad social impact.