THE ZEN MEDITATOR AND THEIR RELATIONSHIPS: A STUDY ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIPS THE MEDITATOR HOLDS WITH THEIR SELF AND SIGNIFICANT OTHERS. A QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Mayte Vergara, Claudio Araya-Véliz, Francisco Javier Hinojosa Henríquez

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

During the last twenty years, there has been an increasing interest from the scientific community to study the effects thmeditative practices could have in human well-being. However, the academic community has not reached a consensuregarding what are the exact myriad of practices that should be considered meditative, and which should not be considered asuch. As a means of provisionally solving this problem, it has been suggested that those practices that fall under an ancestrtradition, in specific Zen meditation, have enough references to be considered meditative. There’s plenty of informatioavailable regarding the benefits meditative practices could be having, however, there has not been enough research that focuseon the impact that meditation has on people’s relationship with themselves or significant others. The present study focused othese questions in order to guide future research into the effectiveness of meditative practice on self and relationshidevelopment. To do so, a qualitative approach was chosen, particularly guided by the use of Grounded Theory. This waapplied by using an in-depth interview methodology to ten participants which have practiced Zen meditation by a period oeight or more years of systematic-weekly-practice. The resulting investigation allowed us to know that meditators repochanges in their relationships: 1. In relation to other people, they perceived the emergence of a new positive intentionalitdirected to those people and that the quality of their relationships with friends and family had improved, however, a consensuwas not reached regarding the influence of the practice in the relationships with their couples. 2. In relation to their self, thenoticed an increase in the silencing effect of their inner monologues, a positive attitude, a tendency to engage in meaningfuactivities and feelings of connectedness with themselves. This study is a preliminary attempt to explore how Zen meditativpractice influences the relational domain.

Translated title of the contributionEL MEDITADOR ZEN Y SUS RELACIONES: ESTUDIO SOBRE LAS RELACIONES QUE EL MEDITADOR MANTIENE CON SÍ MISMO Y CON OTRAS PERSONAS SIGNIFICATIVAS. UNA INVESTIGACIÓN CUALITATIVA
Original languageEnglish
Article number18
JournalLimite (Chile)
Volume17
StatePublished - 2 Jun 2022
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Interpersonal Relationships
  • Self-Relationship
  • Social Constructionism
  • Zen Meditation

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