Contemporary spiritual meditation: Practices and outcomes.

Wachholtz, Amy; Austin, Elizabeth Thomas

doi:10.1037/14045-017

Cited by 18 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 82 publications

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“…The main findings of this study can be grouped into three themes: the Jesus Prayer conceptualized as a meditation practice, the Jesus Prayer understood as a spiritual/religious practice, and strategies for praying the Jesus Prayer consistently. This study provides qualitative data supporting the Jesus Prayer as a meditation practice, as suggested by other scholars (Wachholtz & Austin, 2013). First, it shows that the Jesus Prayer’s most straightforward effects are feeling a deep calm and relaxation similar to other forms of meditation (Davis & Hayes, 2011; Doufesh, Ibrahim, Ismail, & Wan Ahmad, 2014; Ladner, 2011).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

“…In fact, people who easily engaged the Jesus Prayer reported having experienced several benefits at a spiritual level, such as feeling more connected with their hearts and the Divine. It could be hypothesized that, for them, the motivating force for engaging the prayer was gaining “spiritual health” (Wachholtz & Austin, 2013, p. 322), which in turn may have a positive effect on overall well-being. For instance, two participants explained that the Jesus Prayer provided them with a high level of confidence and trust so that they could release their internal locus of control to the Divine.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Using the collaborative inquiry method to explore the Jesus Prayer.

Rubinart¹,

Moynihan²,

Deus³

2016

Spirituality in Clinical Practice

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This article describes a spiritual intervention that used the collaborative inquiry method for exploring the Jesus Prayer. A nonclinical sample of middle-aged Catholics was encouraged to learn the prayer in a self-directed way while reflecting on the experience. This method provided abundant phenomenological accounts of the participants' inner experiences while practicing the Jesus Prayer. All participants reported that the prayer provided them with a sense of calm and tranquility. Some participants had difficulty finding time to pray on a daily basis, whereas other participants could easily incorporate the prayer into their lives and reported several spiritual benefits, including a deeper connection with their hearts and with a Higher Source, and also acquiring a "vital trust." The collaborative inquiry process revealed that the Jesus Prayer could be a tool for coping with conflict. It also showed that the prayer enhanced participants' mindfulness skills and fostered a greater connection with their unconscious.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using the collaborative inquiry method to explore the Jesus Prayer.

Rubinart¹,

Moynihan²,

Deus³

2016

Spirituality in Clinical Practice

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“…Spiritual practices and experiences mediate positive psychological traits that in turn affect emotions, cognitions, behavior, and coping styles that may lead to better mental (and physical) health (Koenig, 2011). Across different studies, spiritual meditation had a greater impact than the secular forms of meditation on psychological variables (Wachholtz & Austin, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Meditation‐based lifestyle modification in mild to moderate depression—A randomized controlled trial

Bringmann

Michalsen

Jeitler

et al. 2022

Depression and Anxiety

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Objective: Depression is a global key challenge in mental health care. The implementation of effective, low-risk and cost-effective interventions to reduce its disease burden is a necessity. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of the new Meditation-Based Lifestyle Modification (MBLM) program, a "secondgeneration" mindfulness-based intervention, in depressive outpatients. Methods: Eighty-one patients with mild to moderate depression were randomized into three groups: intervention group (MBLM), control group (CONTROL), and treatment as usual group (TAU). The primary outcome was the change of depressive symptoms as administered by the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) after 4 and 8 weeks. Secondary outcome variables included the Brief Symptom Checklist-18 and the Perceived Stress Scale-10. A 6-month follow-up was conducted. Results: A greater reduction of depressive symptoms was found in MBLM participants compared to CONTROL (p < .001, η p 2 = 0.11, d = 0.70) and TAU (p η d < .001, = 0. 10, = 0. 67 p 2 ) with a 13.15 points reduction of BDI-II score versus 1.71 points (CONTROL) and 3.34 points (TAU) after 8 weeks. Betweengroup post hoc tests for all secondary outcomes and at follow-up also yielded significant between-group differences with medium to large effect sizes in favor of MBLM. Conclusions: Study results showed beneficial effects of MBLM in depressed outpatients. Further high-quality controlled clinical studies including qualitative research are needed to investigate the specific and unspecific effects of the MBLM program in depression and other medical conditions.

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“…A third and potentially widely generalizable approach to improving PTSD symptoms by integrating spirituality has been pursued by Bormann and colleagues (2007, 2012, 2013). At the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in San Diego, these investigators have spent a decade testing and refining the Mantram Repetition Program (MRP), described as “in vivo mantram” by the APA Handbook of Psychology, Religion and Spirituality (Wachholtz & Austin, 2013, p. 316). The foundation of the MRP is an ancient spiritual practice that is found in similar forms across all major religious traditions.…”

Section: Mantram Repetition Programmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mantram repetition fosters self-efficacy in veterans for managing PTSD: A randomized trial.

Oman

Bormann

2015

Psychology of Religion and Spirituality

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Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a serious mental health condition that affects physical health. However, many military veterans with PTSD refuse or drop out of commonly used trauma-focused, evidence-based treatments. Growing research supports the value of spiritual components in diverse types of health care interventions. This study investigated the effects of the Mantram Repetition Program (MRP) on self-efficacy for managing PTSD symptoms. Outpatient veterans with PTSD (n = 132) were recruited through referrals, and were primarily male (98%), non-Hispanic white (59%) or black (23%), with mean age 58 years (SD = 9). Participants were randomized to case management plus MRP, or to case management alone. MRP participants chose a short, sacred phrase from a spiritual tradition (e.g., “Jesus,” “Barukh attah Adonai,” “Om mani padme hum”), repeating the phrase silently throughout the day to interrupt unwanted thoughts and behaviors, and to improve concentration and attention. Self-efficacy was assessed weekly, and participants were assessed at baseline (Week 1) and postintervention (Week 6) for PTSD symptoms, depressive symptoms, mental health, and spiritual well-being. Results revealed that MRP group self-efficacy means as well as treatment effects showed approximately linear weekly increases from baseline to postintervention. Treatment effects on self-efficacy were significant (p < .01), and mediated treatment effects on depression, mental health, spiritual well-being, satisfaction with physical health, and both self-reported and clinician-assessed PTSD symptoms (all ps < .05). We concluded that MRP fosters self-efficacy for managing PTSD symptoms, favorably affecting diverse facets of well-being, and that physical health effects merit investigation.

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Contemporary spiritual meditation: Practices and outcomes.

Cited by 18 publications

References 82 publications

Using the collaborative inquiry method to explore the Jesus Prayer.

Using the collaborative inquiry method to explore the Jesus Prayer.

Meditation‐based lifestyle modification in mild to moderate depression—A randomized controlled trial

Mantram repetition fosters self-efficacy in veterans for managing PTSD: A randomized trial.

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