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Contemplative Practice · Meditation, prayer and liturgy as trained attention and regulation — evidence, limits and cultural context.

Reviewed 2026-08·Sources & research·Media credits

Jon Kabat-Zinn
Contemplative PracticeExperienceLifeMag · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Scientists and bridge figures — not a canon of spiritual authority.

Wikimedia portraits when licences allow.

People

01 Jon Kabat-Zinn

Jon Kabat-Zinn

b. 1944 · USA

MBSR

Secularised clinic pathway for attention training.

02 Richard Davidson

Richard Davidson

b. 1951 · USA

Affective neuroscience

Long programme on meditation and emotion circuits.

03 Amishi Jha

Amishi Jha

b. 1970 · USA

Attention training

Attention and resilience under high demand.

04 Thupten Jinpa

Thupten Jinpa

b. 1958 · Tibet/Canada

Scholar-translator

Bridge between Tibetan traditions and research dialogues.

05 William James

William James

1842–1910 · USA

Religious experience

Early psychological respect for varieties of practice.

06 Francisco Varela

Francisco Varela

1946–2001 · Chile/France

Neurophenomenology

First-person methods meeting cognitive science.

07

Matthieu Ricard

b. 1946 · France/Nepal

Monk-scientist dialogue

Public face of contemplative–lab exchange — interpret claims carefully.

08

Sara Lazar

— · USA

Imaging studies

Widely cited morphometry work — replication debates continue.

Read traditions in their own voices alongside lab papers.

Sources & research

  1. Mindfulness-based interventions: an overviewCreswell JD · 2017 · Annual Review of PsychologyDOIPubMed
  2. The effect of mindfulness-based therapy on anxiety and depressionHofmann SG; et al. · 2010 · Journal of Consulting and Clinical PsychologyDOIPubMed
  3. Meditation programs for psychological stress and well-beingGoyal M; et al. · 2014 · JAMA Internal MedicineCautious meta-analytic tone.DOIPubMed
  4. Religious and spiritual interventions in mental health careKoenig HG · 2012 · ISRN PsychiatryDOI
  5. The varieties of religious experienceJames W · 1902 · Longmans
  6. Adverse events in meditation practices and meditation-based therapiesFarias M; et al. · 2020 · Acta Psychiatrica ScandinavicaDOIPubMed

Media credits

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