1] Introduction: Contemplative Practices in Action
Thomas G. Plante, Adi Raz, and Doug Oman
Several decades ago in his book The Meditative Mind,1 Daniel Goleman reviewed more than a dozen major Eastern and Western methods of contemplative practice, ranging from Christian hesychasm and Jewish Kaballah to Transcendental Meditation and Tibetan Buddhism. He reported that two major approaches or strategies to meditation were incorporated: One recurrent approach was concentration, that is, focused attention on a single object, such as the breath, a mantram, or a prayer. The other recurrent approach was mindfulness (the detached observation of one’s thinking process). Sometimes concentration and mindfulness were used separately, and sometimes they were combined in various ways. Goleman argued that both mindfulness and concentra- tive meditation have been directed to a single objective, the retraining of attention, a skill that he believed “amplifies the effectiveness of any kind of activity” (p. 168). Goleman also reported that “the need for the meditator to retrain his attention, whether through concentration or mindfulness, is the single invariant ingredient in the recipe for altering consciousness of every meditation system” (p. 107). Nearly a century earlier, William James, one of the founders of modern psychology, had argued that “the faculty of voluntarily bringing back a wandering attention, over and over again, is the very root of judgment, character, and will. An education which should improve this faculty would be
the education par excellence” (p. 424).2
2 Contemplative Practices in Action: Spirituality, Meditation, and Health
In modern health promotion, psychotherapy, and other human service interventions, these contemplative practices have largely been taken out of their religious and spiritual contexts and then secularized and repackaged.3,4 For example, the health and mental health care community has incorporated mindfulness meditation in recent years with numerous books, workshops, conferences, and trainings being offered. Yoga studios can be found in many strip malls, and meditation workshops are offered by human resource departments in many diverse companies.5
The currently popular mindfulness meditation approach stems from Zen Buddhism and Hindu yogic practices, and it is a common miscon- ception that only by borrowing from these Eastern traditions can one secure any benefits from contemplative practices. Many Christians and Jews, for example, who identify and engage with their religious tradi- tion, are often not aware of the long history of contemplative practices within their own faith tradition. As many in our culture have become more familiar and comfortable with the Eastern contemplative prac- tices, the Western practices have been largely ignored, even though they also often offer contemplative approaches that can provide effective stress management, well-being, and healing.6,7
All of the major religious and spiritual traditions have developed specific principles and techniques to help their members assimilate con- templative perspectives and behaviors aimed at fostering a fuller experi- ence of wisdom, wholeness, and enlightenment.1,7,8 Research studies have reported many physical and mental health benefits from regular contemplative practices, as well as confirming their stress management functions.4,5,9,10 Benson,11 for example, has documented that meditation helps to promote a “relaxation response.” He argues that when medita- tion is associated with one’s religious or spiritual convictions, it further enhances relaxation, leading to greater psychological and physical health benefits. Recent well-controlled research studies have further supported Benson’s arguments, reporting advantages for spiritually based medita- tion over otherwise nearly identical secular forms of meditation.12,13
There are a number of books available on contemplative practices. However, almost all focus on one particular religious or spiritual tradi- tion and most are practice oriented without solid research grounding. Usually, they highlight the Eastern traditions and overlook the Western ones. This is especially true among books that target the health and mental health care communities.6,7
The purpose of this book is to examine contemplative practices from a wide variety of both Eastern and Western religious and
Introduction: Contemplative Practices in Action 3
spiritual traditions and to examine their commonalities and unique approaches to improved well-being, health, healing, wholeness, and stress management. Chapters are written by experts in their fields, most of whom are affiliated with the Spirituality and Health Institute at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California. Each chapter will discuss the state-of-the-art science, practice, and general applications of contemplative practices in the professional workplace, educational settings, pastoral care, and medical, psychological, or other health care environments. This book hopes to be inclusive in coverage of contemplative practices, and integrate science and practice in a bal- anced manner and from a variety of Eastern and Western sources.
This book will discuss several different contemplative approaches to stress management and achieving well-being. Some chapters highlight approaches from Western traditions while others highlight contempla- tive approaches from Eastern traditions. Others are integrative of both Western and Eastern traditions. Some are more closely connected to religious traditions and practices while others are not. Several chapters will highlight application to business and health care as well.
Oman (Chapter 2) has pointed out that four similar functions are performed in diverse ways by elements within many of the contempla- tive systems discussed in this book. Most approaches involve setting aside time for practices that reshape and train attention; most also include elements for centering oneself throughout the day, cultivating personal character strengths, and drawing inspiration and guidance from spiritual exemplars. Oman suggests using the phrase “integrated contemplative practice system” for systems of practice that encompass all four of these elements that are highlighted in this volume.
Sadly, it is impossible to include a discussion of every contemplative practice and practice system in one book. We cannot do justice to the numerous practice systems or isolated spiritual techniques that are not represented here. For example, the role of the rosary in the Roman Catholic tradition, shamanism, and the role of chanting in Hindu Bhakti traditions are just some of the many contemplative practices that are not presented here. Rather than presenting an exhaustive review of the contemplative practices among the various religious and spiritual traditions, our hope is to provide a helpful selection by leading figures in their respective fields to assist with stress manage- ment, healing, wholeness, and well-being. The contributors met for an all-day conference with university and health care community members during October 2009. This allowed all of the authors to lis- ten to and consult with each other as well as with diverse professionals
4 Contemplative Practices in Action: Spirituality, Meditation, and Health
in the local San Francisco Bay Area professional community in order to hopefully create a more thoughtful, seamless, and comprehensive book project. We hope that our efforts will encourage the reader to have a better understanding and appreciation of contemplative practices in action.
REFERENCES
1. Goleman, D. (1988). The meditative mind: The variety of meditative experience. Los Angeles: Tarcher.
2. James, W. (1890/1923). The principles of psychology. New York: Henry Holt.
3. Kabat-Zinn, J. (1990). Full catastrophe living. New York: Delacorte Press.
4. Kabat-Zinn, J. (2003). Mindfulness-based interventions in context: Past, present, and future. Clinical Psychology: Research and Practice, 10, 144–156.
5. Walsh, R., & Shapiro, S. L. (2006). The meeting of meditative disci- plines and Western psychology: A mutually enriching dialogue. American Psychologist, 61, 227–239.
6. Plante, T. G. (2008). What do the spiritual and religious traditions offer the practicing psychologist? Pastoral Psychology, 56, 429–444.
7. Plante, T. G. (2009). Spiritual practices in psychotherapy: Thirteen tools for enhancing psychological health. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
8. Walsh, R. (1999). Essential spirituality: The seven central practices. New York: Wiley.
9. Borman, J. E., Gifford, A. L., Shively, M., Smith, T. L., Redwine, L., Kelly, A., et al. (2006). Effects of spiritual mantram repetition on HIV out- comes: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 29, 359–376.
10. Brown, K. W., Ryan, R. M., & Cresswell, J. D. (2007). Mindfulness: Theoretical foundations and evidence for its salutary effects. Psychological Inquiry, 18, 211–237.
11. Benson, H. (1996). Timeless healing. New York: Scribner.
12. Wachholtz, A. B., & Pargament, K. I. (2005). Is spirituality a critical ingredient of meditation? Comparing the effects of spiritual meditation, sec- ular meditation, and relaxation on spiritual, psychological, cardiac, and pain outcomes. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 28, 369–384.
13. Wachholtz, A. B., & Pargament, K. I. (2008). Migraines and meditation: Does spirituality matter? Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 31, 351–366.
PART ONE
INTEGRATED CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE SYSTEMS
PREFACE TO PART ONE
Part One, “Integrated Contemplative Practice Systems,” focuses on systems of practice from both East and West that are well defined and sufficiently limited in scope that they can be undertaken in their entirety by a single individual. First, Oman’s short introductory chap- ter offers a conceptual analysis and overview, unique in this volume, that describes four shared elements that are present in many of these practice systems. His chapter includes a table that shows the specific names used to describe these elements in each of the additional chap- ters in this section, as well as the names used in chapters in Part Two (“Contemplative Traditions”).
Each of the remaining four chapters in this part examines a single contemplative practice system. Attention is directed in turn at Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction ( Jazaieri and Shapiro), Passage Meditation (Flinders, Oman, Flinders, and Dreher), Centering Prayer (Ferguson), and repetition of a mantram or holy name (Bormann). Most of these practices can be undertaken within any major faith tra- dition, although Centering Prayer is essentially Christian. Bormann’s mantram/holy name repetition practices were extracted from the Passage Meditation system by its developer, and contain only two of
6 Contemplative Practices in Action: Spirituality, Meditation, and Health
the four elements described by Oman. But as Bormann points out, the mantram/holy name is noteworthy for its portability, power, and uni- versality. It highlights powerful but oft-forgotten practices that can be found within each major faith tradition, and which can complement these traditions’ better-known elements.
CHAPTER 2
