14] Contemplative Practices in Action: Now What?
Thomas G. Plante and Adi Raz
This book has attempted to bring together many different and thought- ful voices among professionals who specialize in the integration of spiri- tual and religious contemplative practices and apply these practices to the development of a higher quality life by enhancing well-being, stress management, wholeness, and healing of body, mind, and spirit. They come from Eastern and Western traditions as well as the integration of the two. They represent Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Hindi, Buddhist, Zen, and other approaches. To our knowledge, no other book has offered this integrative and multitradition approach to applied contem- plative practices in both a scholarly and practical way.
The various religious and spiritual traditions all have something important to offer us in terms of contemplative practices. While there are only so many voices that can be heard in one volume, it is clear that there are several unified factors or commonalities present among the traditions. Oman well articulated four similar functions that are elemental in many of the contemplative systems discussed in this book. Most approaches involve setting aside time for practices that reshape and train attention; most also include strategies for centering oneself throughout the day, cultivating personal character strengths, and drawing inspiration and guidance from spiritual exemplars or models. Many of these contemplative practices are more similar than different in terms of their approach and outcomes, while language, culture,
and history make each unique and special, perhaps suitable for some people more than others.
Too often we hear in the news and in professional circles that there is a great deal of misunderstanding and often tremendous conflict among and between the religious and spiritual traditions. Many pro- fessionals are also not well versed in spiritual and religious matters including contemplative practices.1 In this project, we brought together Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Hindi, Buddhist, Zen, and others for thoughtful, reflective, and productive collaboration. Some of the contributors include members of the clergy as well (e.g., a rabbi, a Catholic priest, a Zen priest) and several colleagues who are very closely identified with their religious and spiritual tradition and who are devout. Throughout the process of developing this book, including an all-day conference in late 2009, the contributors openly discussed their chapter ideas and learned from each other in a welcoming, honest, and thoughtful manner. They each read and commented on various drafts along the way as well. Everyone had the opportunity to provide feedback for each chapter on multiple occasions. Thus, the efforts of each chapter contributor were informed by careful and thoughtful feedback from all of the other contributors, and the project was there- fore truly collaborative in every way.
This book project represents the third edited book that our team at
the Spirituality and Health Institute at Santa Clara University have now published that bring together experts and students from the vari- ous spiritual and religious traditions in psychology, religious studies, public health, nursing, science, literature, and several other fields.2,3 Our institute includes quarterly extended lunch meetings to discuss a wide variety of multidisciplinary and multifaith research, teaching, conference, and book projects as well as collaboration on many other related topics as they arise. We fondly begin our meetings with the question, “Where might the spirit lead us this time?” We are never disappointed at the end of our discussions. Our lunch table includes clergy, professors from many academic disciplines (e.g., psychology, religious studies, biostatistics, public health, engineering, philosophy, English literature), students from a variety of disciplines, and commu- nity leaders in faith-based, nonprofit, social service agencies. Perhaps this institute and current book project could serve as a model of what could be done elsewhere in both professional and lay circles. We do a lot on a little lunch money.
The religious and spiritual traditions offer much. There is much to
learn and celebrate when thoughtful and well-meaning people with
Contemplative Practices in Action: Now What? 245
skills and perspectives that are informed by their spiritual and reli- gious traditions come together and learn from each other with an open, caring, and respectful manner. Having table fellowship around meals helps to enhance the working and personal relationships as well. We hope that our book project will be a contribution in the right direction for interfaith understanding and benefits, and might stimu- late further reflection, research, and application and in doing so, make the world a better place.
Since this volume was not able to address all of the contemplative approaches from the spiritual and religious traditions, future books are clearly needed in our view. Future projects might continue to examine how these and other contemplative approaches can be best understood and used in health promotion broadly defined. Further research may wish to expand in both the empirical and theoretical direction. Empirical research might examine how contemplative prac- tices are most effective with certain populations as well as what role belief in and practice of contemplative practices might play in obtaining the greatest desired effect. Future research may also investi- gate the effectiveness of these practices from a cultural, socioeconomic, or religion of origin lens in order to determine how these factors might influence their effectiveness in daily life. As we could offer only but a taste of what the world’s religions and spiritual traditions have to offer in regards to contemplative practices, future volumes may wish to examine traditions not represented in this book (e.g., Sikhism, Jainism, Taoism, Confucianism, Shamanism, Paganism). Furthermore, many additional contemplative practices within the major traditions presented in this book could be discussed in more detail in future volumes. For example, the Christian tradition includes many different contempla- tive approaches from various Roman Catholic religious orders and traditions as well as many Protestant groups. Future research may also further investigate other contemplative mind-body connections, dis- cussing the myriad ways in which, for example, exercise from hiking in nature to dance can be both contemplative and healing within a par- ticular contemplative practice system. A further look at the use of nature or dreams in contemplative practices may also be warranted in subsequent volumes as well.
It is apparent that there are many options for individuals to choose
when using contemplative practices to make the lifestyle change from mindlessness to mindfulness. The various chapters in this volume address using contemplative practices to better manage the many challenges that arise in daily life. It is our hope that this book will serve
as an enlightening and thought-provoking guide to those searching for a more thoughtful, mindful, spiritual, and contemplative path to healing, stress relief, and overall well-being, perhaps for themselves and for others with whom they work. We hope that this book has brought forth a way for individuals to experience a new tradition or provided some insight into how their own tradition approaches the contemplative path. Contemplative practices in action can be both wide and deep with many roads to follow. Perhaps all lead to a better quality of life when used thoughtfully and sincerely.
REFERENCES
1. Plante, T. G. (2009). Spiritual practices in psychotherapy: Thirteen tools for enhancing psychological health. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
2. Plante, T. G., & Thoresen, C. E. (Eds.) (2007). Spirit, science and health: How the spiritual mind fuels physical wellness. Westport, CT: Praeger/Greenwood.
3. Plante, T. G., & Sherman, A. S. (Eds.) (2001). Faith and health: Psycho- logical perspectives. New York: Guilford.
