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Spirituality within Reach: A Pathway through Meditation

Cyr, Serena Crystal
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6967-3463
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1505357489441491

Abstract Details

2017, Psy. D., Antioch University, Antioch Santa Barbara: Clinical Psychology.
Meditation is an ancient spiritual practice that has been demonstrated to be beneficial in reducing chronic pain, substance use, and eating disorders, as well as aiding in the treatment of sleep disorders, cancer, and psychological distress. In an effort to enhance the benefits, many contemporary meditation practices have been secularized, focusing on the cognitive, the psychological, and the emotional components, while de-emphasizing the spiritual aspects of meditation. However, spiritual meditation practices also demonstrate benefits, including stress reduction, improved emotional well being, increases in pain tolerance, reductions in mental health symptoms, and increased faith. However, little is known regarding the effects of different types of meditation on the reported achievement of a sense of "spiritual height." Further, it is unclear whether age, gender, or months of meditation practice might be related to achieving spiritual height. The present study was specifically designed to determine whether meditation results in achieving spiritual height, and whether the rates of reportedly achieving spiritual height "many times" or "almost always" might significantly differ by various meditation types, including Transcendental Meditation (TM), Relaxation Response (RR), Mindfulness Meditation (MM), Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Christian Devotion Meditation (CDM) and "Other" types of meditation that do not fit into these categories by analyzing an international database of meditators. Survey data (N = 965) were tested using t-tests, chi square, and logistic regression statistics at the p < .05 threshold for statistical significance. Overall, 53% of the total sample reported achieving spiritual height "many times" or "almost always" during meditation, with 62% of MM practitioners reporting experiencing spiritual height "many times" or "almost always." Additionally, one third or more of secular meditation (MBSR and RR) practitioners reported achieving spiritual height "many times" or "almost always." Combined, these findings indicate that the clinical community needs to be aware that meditation is a viable strategy to achieve spiritual height in clients, even if the meditation is secular in nature, and that MM may provide the best odds of experiencing spiritual height during meditation. This Dissertation is available in Open Access at AURA: Antioch University Repository and Archive, http://aura.antioch.edu and OhioLink ETD Center, http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd.
Betsy Bates Freed, Psy.D. (Committee Chair)
Brett Kia-Keating, Ed.D. (Committee Co-Chair)
Cassandra Vieten, Ph.D. (Other)
109 p.
Mental Health; Psychology; Religion; Spirituality
quantitative; survey data; meditation; spirituality; spiritual height; meditators;

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Cyr, S. C. (2017). Spirituality within Reach: A Pathway through Meditation [Doctoral dissertation, Antioch University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1505357489441491

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Cyr, Serena. Spirituality within Reach: A Pathway through Meditation. 2017. Antioch University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1505357489441491.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Cyr, Serena. "Spirituality within Reach: A Pathway through Meditation." Doctoral dissertation, Antioch University, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1505357489441491

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

antioch1505357489441491
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© 2017, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Antioch University and OhioLINK.