| Contemplative Practices in Action: Spirituality, Meditation, and Health | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Thomas G. Plante (ed.), Huston Smith (foreword) |
| Country | US |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | medicine, religion, psychology |
| Publisher | Praeger |
| Publication date | 2010 |
| Pages | 245 |
| ISBN | 978-0-313-38256-7 |
| OCLC Number | 529295626 |
Contemplative Practices in Action: Spirituality, Meditation, and Health is an interdisciplinary scholarly and scientific book. It examines the nature, function, and impact of meditation and other contemplative practices in several different religious traditions, both eastern and western. Edited by Thomas G. Plante and with a foreword by Huston Smith, the book was published in the US in 2010.[1] Across traditions, the book reviews evidence for health effects, and examines methods for appropriately incorporating contemplative practice into education, healthcare, and other human services.
The book includes 14 chapters divided among three major parts that focus on well-defined systems of practice, traditions as storehouses of many alternative forms of practice, and applications.
Contemplative Practices in Action has been reviewed in several professional journals, including PsycCRITIQUES,[2] the Journal of Psychosocial Research,[3] and others.
Contents |
Contemplative Practices in Action contains 14 chapters written by scholars in the health and behavioral sciences and religious studies. Chapter titles and authors are listed in the table (below, at right). Huston Smith's foreword describes the book as "ecumenically inclusive,"[4]:vii "in line" with Smith's own work.[5] The editor's introductory first chapter notes an increasing usage of meditative practices in health and human service practice, along with an increasing evidence base. It also acknowledges "a number of books" available on contemplative practices, but expresses concern that
| Chapter Title | Author(s) | |
| Foreword | Huston Smith | |
| 1. | Introduction: contemplative practices in action | Thomas G. Plante, Adi Raz, & Doug Oman |
| Part I: Integrative Contemplative Practice Systems | ||
| 2. | Similarity in diversity: four shared functions of contemplative practice systems | Doug Oman |
| 3. | Managing stress mindfully | Hooria Jazaieri & Shauna Shapiro |
| 4. | Translating spiritual ideals into daily life: the eight point program of passage meditation | Tim Flinders, Doug Oman, Carol Flinders, & Diane Dreher |
| 5. | Centering prayer: a method of Christian meditation for our time | Jane Ferguson |
| 6. | Mantram repetition: a "portable contemplative practice" for modern times | Jill Bormann |
| Part II: Contemplative Traditions | ||
| 7. | The eternal is with me, I shall not fear: Jewish contemplative practices and well-being | Zari Weiss & David Levy |
| 8. | A comprehensive contemplative approach from the Islamic tradition | Aisha Hamdan |
| 9. | The path of yoga | T. Anne Richards |
| 10. | Zen and the transformation of emotional and physical stress into well being | Sarita Tamayo-Moraga & Darlene Cohen |
| Part III: Contemplative Practices in Action: Application | ||
| 11. | The impact of meditation practices in the daily life of Silicon valley leaders / | Andre L. Delbecq |
| 12. | Shaking the blues away: energizing spiritual practices for the treatment of chronic pain | Amy Wachholtz & Michelle J. Pearce |
| 13. | A pilgrimage from suffering to solidarity: walking the path of contemplative practices | Gerdenio Manuel & Martha E. Stortz |
| 14. | Contemplative practices in action: now what? | Thomas Plante & Adi Raz |
almost all [of the existing books] focus on one particular religious or spiritual tradition... 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. The purpose of this book is to examine contemplative practices from a wide variety of both Eastern and Western religious and spiritual traditions and to examine their commonalities and unique approaches to improved well-being, health, healing, wholeness, and stress management.[6]:2-3
The remaining 13 chapters are divided into three major parts, beginning with Part One, which examines well-defined systems of contemplative practice, such as Mindfulness-based stress reduction, Passage Meditation, and Centering Prayer.
Part One opens with Doug Oman's Chapter 2, which describes four features found in many many systems of contemplative practice:
The chapter provides a conceptual model of how these elements work together "synergistically, by reinforcing each other. Like nutritional contributions of complementary food groups, these four types of practice together may generate greater benefits than obtainable separately from individual practices."[7]:12 The chapter also presents a table showing that with few exceptions, each of these 4 elements is present under different names in the methods of practice described in later chapters (3 to 10).[7]:10-11 A system of practices that includes elements from all four categories is designated an "integral contemplative practice system."[7]:13
The next two chapters describe two practice systems that were "paradigms"[7]:11 used to identify these 4 elements: Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and Passage Meditation (PM). While meditation in MBSR is focused on the breath, meditation in PM focuses on a self-chosen sacred text such as Psalm 23, the Prayer of Saint Francis, the Buddha's Discourse on Good Will, or Rumi's A Garden Beyond Paradise. As reviewed in the chapters, both MBSR and PM have been linked by empirical research to lower stress and gains in health, spirituality and mindfulness. Another chapter describes Centering Prayer, a Christian contemplative practice that uses a single "sacred word" during meditation. Each of these chapters describes models for incorporating the respective programs into healthcare and higher education. Chapter 6, by Jill Bormann of the Veterans Health Administration, describes empirical research and healthcare applications of repetition of a mantram or a holy name, which has been linked to reductions in stress, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms and increases in spirituality and quality of life.
Part Two describes contemplative practices in Judaism, Islam (especially Sunni Islam), Yoga, and Zen. These chapters cite a growing empirical research literature that links better health to research on Yoga, Zen, and Islamic practice. Considerable Neuroimaging research has probed Zen's mindfulness component. Courses on Yoga have been taught in higher education. Jewish and Islamic practices may be beneficial for patients of those traditions.
Part Three emphasizes applications. Andre Delbecq describes how he has taught spiritual practices to over 400 business leaders in Silicon Valley, in a seminar called "Spirituality for Organizational Leadership."[8]:183-4 About 40% of participants are Christian.[9] Weekly assignments include reflecting on course ideas, and engaging in specific meditation-based practices. The chapter describes 12 modules that are covered in the five meetings, including such topics as the Faith/Spirit at work movement and interest group within the Academy of Management, impacts on future generations, "discernment as an overlay on strategic decision making," and "approaches to prayer and meditation."[8]:185
Also in Part Three, a chapter on energizing practices describes theory, evidence, and applications to pain-relief of movement-based spiritual practices such as Pentecostal praise and healing, and Lakota and Sufi dancing. Another chapter describes how three Christian practices to address suffering - lamentation, intercession, and pilgrimage - include both inner dimensions (within a person) and outer dimensions (connecting with others). The editor's concluding reflections appear in the final chapter suggests that "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."[10]:243-4
Many chapters suggest directions for future research, and the book also contains a 9-page index.[1]:247-55
Reviews have appeared in PsycCRITIQUES,[2] Practical Matters,[11] the Journal of Psychosocial Research,[3] Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies,[12] and Choice.[13]
In PsycCRITIQUES, Edward F. Bourg stated that "in a time full of sensory and information overload, this is a welcome book."[2] While mindfulness "has entered the popular imagination as a curative factor" for health and well-being, this book shows that many other forms of contemplative practice are also being used successfully. The book's "twofold" premise is that both Eastern and Western traditions have a contemplative side, and "Doing, not saying, is what counts."[2][14] So "when faced with a bewildering set of religious and spiritual traditions to draw on," Bourg wrote, it can be
helpful to have the organizational overview in Chapter 2 [that] lays out what [Doug Oman] calls [four] concrete resemblances that culminate in “integrated contemplative practice systems”.... [This chapter also] provides a useful chart that captures how... eight contemplative traditions... fare in this reckoning [and is] a very useful template for examining other contemplative practices.... The three parts of the book are well delineated against this backdrop.[2]
A further "key to this book is undoubtedly its emphasis on application":[2]
in one chapter after another explicit and detailed examples are given in which these various forms of contemplative practice are shown to be put to work in classrooms, prisons, therapy offices, hospitals, the workplace, AA programs, and so forth."[2]
Bourg stated that although generally "the various chapters are very well integrated," the book "isn’t seamless," and some Part III chapters analyze practices, such as lamentation and fire-walking, that "are somewhat unusual... and... would appeal to very few of us."[2] Finally, "beyond making the case for contemplation as the broader category, [the book] addresses the concern of some that mindfulness can be directed toward the glorification of the self."[2]
In Practical Matters, Eric J. Kyle of the Claremont School of Theology wrote that "the strengths of this book are numerous," and that it was "well written, cohesively integrated, and a rich source of wisdom [on] the intersection of contemplative practices and... well-being."[11]:2 Kyle would "highly recommend this book to practitioners and researchers alike":[11]:2
A diverse range of practices from various religious traditions helps to provide a robust introduction to the breadth of contemplative approaches. Unlike other texts that seek to accomplish similar goals with only a superficial survey, this book addresses depth by exploring the religious contexts and histories from which these practices have evolved. The common format that many of these chapters follow is yet another strength as it allows the reader to make comparisons more easily across them, and it minimizes the fragmentation that edited texts sometimes have. Readers will also find, at the end of each chapter, a wealth of resources to turn to for further reading and exploration.[11]:2
However, Kyle found himself "asking why three full chapters (5, 11, and 13) were given to practices and applications from the Christian tradition and none to native or aboriginal spiritualities... we can only hope that future resources will continue to expand upon the research and reflections that these authors have so well provided."[11]:2
In the Journal of Psychosocial Research, Uma Gupta of Banaras Hindu University described the book as "capable of transforming the life of the reader in making life more meaningful, purposeful and joyful."[3]:168 She stated that the book provides "excellent summaries of historical roots, current research, directions for future research and general applications of the contemplative practices from Eastern and Western religious and spiritual traditions."[3]:167 A further "strength of this book is its comprehensive identification of issues that are relevant to reducing hypertension in the present era that values speed, productivity and multitasking."[3]:167
In Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies, KJ Sherman wrote that she found the book "unsatisfying," since "for many traditions, the studies reported seemed to focus on religious or mental health outcomes, rather than physical health."[12] She found "no logic to the traditions included,"[12] since they varied greatly in their level of empirical support, and would not recommend the book to healthcare providers or researchers. However, the "the description of the practices themselves" may be useful to "healthcare providers whose patient populations may embrace contemplative practices in the context of multiple spiritual traditions," and to "religious scholars who want to understand how other practices may be similar to those of their tradition."[12]
In Choice, G. R. Thursby of the University of Florida wrote Contemplative Practices in Action was structured into "a meaningful whole that can serve as a tool kit for health care professionals and enable religious leaders to find positive points of contact,"[13] and he recommended the book for lower-level undergraduates and above, as well as general readers.[13] He stated that "Three chapters - one on the eight-point program of passage meditation derived from the work of Eknath Easwaran, a second on the Christian centering prayer associated with Father Thomas Keating, and a third on outcomes from a meditation program for Silicon Valley leaders - are among the best in the book."[13]
The published book also contained laudatory comments from Kenneth I. Pargament, Margaret Benefiel, Dan Schutte, and Carl E. Thoresen.[15]