Can mental silence and its associated yogic philosophy provides a basis for a taxonomy of meditation that is practically useful in the delivery of healthcare?
This question is based on the wide range of applications in medicine, psychology and neuroscience on which Sahaja Yoga meditation (SYM) interventions have been shown to have a specific effect. Moreover, [...]
Defining meditation has proved a difficult challenge for modern researchers. Conceptual definitions of meditation vary widely but generally lack empirical confirmation. The authoritative National Centre for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (a department of the National Institutes of Health) in the United States in 2006 defined meditation as “a conscious mental process that induces a set [...]
A general reading of the total literature makes it obvious that method validity is the major challenge to meditation research. More specifically, the main problems are: first, the use of appropriate control strategies to exclude non-specific effects (more widely known as the “placebo effect”), second, the need for randomization and other strategies to eliminate bias [...]