Phenomenological Research Fails to Capture the Experience of Nondual Awareness

Krägeloh, Christian U.

doi:10.1007/s12671-018-0995-z

Cited by 9 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…What most clearly stands out is that the categories of oneness experience associated with changes in fundamental aspects of perception, including space (e.g., “boundlessness”), time (e.g., “timelessness”), self/identity (e.g., “non-separation”), and wholeness (“part of a greater whole”), appear to influence (at level 1) many other OSPs. The fact that these fundamental perceptual categories appear to drive or influence related OSPs is consistent with many descriptions of oneness/non-dual awareness that describe it primarily as a perceptually related shift, for example, in perception ( Adyashanti, 2009 ; Mills et al, 2018 ), perceptual stance ( Krägeloh, 2019 ), or perspective ( de Castro, 2017 ; Schoenberg and Vago, 2019 ), Or more specifically a shift in self-perception ( Brown and Engler, 1980 ; Mills et al, 2018 ), self-perspective ( Hanley et al, 2018 ), or identity ( Paul, 2008 ), for example, where “awareness is viewing the self rather than the self being aware of the experience” ( de Castro, 2017 , p. 3). More generally, this alteration of time, space, and identity/body is commonly seen in altered states of consciousness research ( Tart, 1972 ; Travis and Pearson, 2000 ; Shanon, 2003 ; Vaitl et al, 2005 ; Hunt, 2007 ; Ataria and Neria, 2013 ; de Castro, 2017 ), with evidence of different neural activity ( Berkovich-Ohana et al, 2013 ; Krause, 2018 ; Winter et al, 2020 ; Wittmann, 2020 ) underlying the experiences of timelessness (outside time) and spacelessness (outside space), related to alterations in the sense of the body and experiences of “then” and “there.” Within contextual behavioral science ( Moran et al, 2018 ), self-as-context is defined as “the coming together […] of a cluster of deictic relations (especially I/Here/Now) that enable observation and description from a perspective or point of view [which] enables or facilitates many different experiences, including […] a transcendent sense of self.”…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Understanding the Nature of Oneness Experience in Meditators Using Collective Intelligence Methods

Lente

Hogan

2020

Front. Psychol.

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Research on meditation and mindfulness practice has flourished in recent years. While much of this research has focused on well-being outcomes associated with mindfulness practice, less research has focused on how perception of self may change as a result of mindfulness practice, or whether these changes in self-perception may be mechanisms of mindfulness in action. This is somewhat surprising given that mindfulness derives from traditions often described as guiding people to realize and experience the nonseparation of self from the world or its "oneness" with the whole of reality. The current study used a collective intelligence methodology, Interactive Management (IM), to explore the nature of oneness experiences. Five IM sessions were conducted with five separate groups of experienced meditators. Participants generated, clarified, and selected oneness self-perceptions they believed most characterized their experience both during meditation and in their everyday experience in the world. Each group also developed structural models describing how highly ranked aspects of oneness self-perceptions are interrelated in a system. Consistent themes and categories of oneness experience appeared across the five IM sessions, with changes in the sense of space (unboundedness), time, identity, wholeness, and flow highlighted as most influential. Results are discussed in light of emerging theory and research on oneness self-perception and non-dual awareness.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Understanding the Nature of Oneness Experience in Meditators Using Collective Intelligence Methods

Lente

Hogan

2020

Front. Psychol.

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“…Fourth, although inherent to constructivist grounded theory, we as researchers were involved in the construction of this theory based on the interviews. This is our interpretation of the interviews with this group of participants, which could limit generalizations to other groups of participants and researchers (Does et al 2018;Krägeloh 2018).…”

Section: Limitations and Strengthsmentioning

confidence: 91%

Mindfulness-Based Program for Autism Spectrum Disorder: a Qualitative Study of the Experiences of Children and Parents

et al. 2019

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Objectives Mindfulness-based programs could support children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their parents to cope with autism spectrum symptoms and reduce comorbid mental health problems. In this study, we aimed to explore which change processes are involved in a mindfulness-based program for children with ASD and their parents (MYmind), according to a qualitative analysis of the families' experiences. Method Fourteen children aged 9-17 years and 31 parents (18 mothers, 11 fathers, 2 caring relatives) participated in an interview 2 to 5 months after the 9-week MYmind training, about their experiences with the training, experienced changes, and how mindfulness works for them. We used constructivist grounded theory methodology to develop a theory of the key change processes and their relations. Results Eight main change processes resulted from the analysis, namely connecting with peers, pausing, being aware, being in the here and now, letting be, determining a strategy, being and responding calm, and attuning to others. We proposed a model reflecting the interdependency and direction of these change processes. Conclusion The findings deepen our understanding of how multiple change processes are involved in the MYmind program for children with ASD and their parents. Theoretical and research implications are discussed.

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“…Nonduality describes a unification between subject and object, such that boundaries between self and world dissolve. This perspective permeates many different religious, mystical, and philosophical traditions, and can be explicitly found in the Hindu schools of Advaita Vedānta and Kashmiri Shaivism, Mahāyāna Buddhism, and Tibetan Bon Dzogchen and implicitly present in Daoist traditions (Blackstone, 2015;Krägeloh, 2018;Wright, 2017).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This transformation of self differs from the typical everyday experience, which contains varying degrees of separation between ourselves and what we consider the outside world. While nonduality describes a perspective about the relationship between subject-object, fully realizing nonduality, or nondual awareness, is a non-representational and reflexive consciousness in which distinctions between subject and object no longer endure and is spontaneously realized (Josipovic, 2019;Krägeloh, 2018). While phenomenological aspects of nonduality may be realized and described during particular experiences, nondual awareness describes consciousness that is inherently aware of itself (Dunne et al, 2019;Josipovic, 2019).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This realization is reflexive and non-conceptual, meaning that the awareness knows itself instantly and does not contain mental content or representations. Some scholars argue that scientific investigation cannot capture the true experience of nondual awareness because the very act of describing or measuring the experience inadvertently ruins its purely non-representational and non-conceptual nature (Josipovic, 2019;Krägeloh, 2018). However, theoretical and neuroscientific investigations attempt to dispel confusion about the experience of nonduality by drawing distinctions between the spontaneous realization of nondual awareness in its pure form, and other experiences of nonduality that still contain mental content and are realized through reflection (Josipovic, 2010;2019).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Role of Nonduality in the Relationship Between Flow States and Well-Being

Lynch

Troy

2021

Mindfulness

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Objectives The current study investigated the hypothesis that the relationship between flow states and well-being is mediated by nondual experiences. Past empirical and theoretical work suggests flow states share similarities with nondual experiences. The current study expanded upon previous work by examining the relationships between flow, nondual experiences, emotion, and well-being. Methods Students enrolled in various artistic classes (N = 104) were surveyed once a week for four weeks. Participants reported on their experiences of flow, nonduality, emotion, and psychological and subjective well-being. Results Higher scores on measures of both flow (b = 7.03, SE = 0.82, p < .001) and nondual experiences (b = 0.17, SE = 0.02, p < .001) predicted increased positive emotion immediately after class. Nondual experiences partially mediated this relationship, such that when accounting for nondual experiences, the relationship between flow and positive emotion was significantly decreased (b = 4.30, SE = 0.45, p < .001). Longitudinally, nondual experience also mediated the relationship between flow and satisfaction with life (Sobel t = 1.94, SE = 1.06, p = .05). However, while flow predicted increased psychological well-being (b = 0.32, SE = 0.14, p = .02) after the four weeks, nondual experience did not (b = −0.003, SE = 0.002, p = .13). Conclusions These findings suggest that flow states may facilitate some features of nonduality and share similarities with meditative states. Additionally, the link between flow and well-being may be explained by its similarities to meditative states, and that creative activities could be useful in fostering well-being.

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Phenomenological Research Fails to Capture the Experience of Nondual Awareness

Cited by 9 publications

References 57 publications

Understanding the Nature of Oneness Experience in Meditators Using Collective Intelligence Methods

Understanding the Nature of Oneness Experience in Meditators Using Collective Intelligence Methods

Mindfulness-Based Program for Autism Spectrum Disorder: a Qualitative Study of the Experiences of Children and Parents

The Role of Nonduality in the Relationship Between Flow States and Well-Being

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