Summary

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Contemplative practices—broadly defined as disciplines and approaches rooted in various religious, spiritual, and humanistic traditions and aimed at the development of inner qualities and psychological skills congruent with the goals of a respective tradition—have received substantial attention from researchers in the fields of psychology, medicine, neuro-, and cognitive science. Most of the research, however, is limited to Buddhism-derived practices, leaving contemplative approaches of diverse religious traditions largely unexplored. This project aims to describe several contemplative practices developed in the framework of Sufism—a mystical movement in Islam. Drawing from ethnographic/anthropological work and interviews with practitioners, we aim to describe the selected individual and group practices. Further, we aim to discuss the potential cognitive mechanisms of these practices and propose future direction for empirical research, relying on both first- and third-person methodologies. Finally, we discuss possibilities for clinical and community applications. 

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Research output

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