How does it feel to lack a sense of boundaries? A case study of a long-term mindfulness meditator
- PMID: 26379087
- DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2015.09.002
How does it feel to lack a sense of boundaries? A case study of a long-term mindfulness meditator
Abstract
This paper discusses the phenomenological nature of the sense of boundaries (SB), based on the case of S, who has practiced mindfulness in the Satipathana and Theravada Vipassana traditions for about 40years and accumulated around 20,000h of meditative practice. S's unique abilities enable him to describe his inner lived experience with great precision and clarity. S was asked to shift between three different stages: (a) the default state, (b) the dissolving of the SB, and (c) the disappearance of the SB. Based on his descriptions, we identified seven categories (with some overlap) that alter during the shifts between these stages, including the senses of: (1) internal versus external, (2) time, (3) location, (4) self, (5) agency (control), (6) ownership, and (7) center (first-person-egocentric-bodily perspective). Two other categories, the touching/touched structure and one's bodily feelings, do not fade away completely even when the sense-of-boundaries disappears.
Keywords: Mindfulness meditation; Neurophenomenology; Phenomenology; Sense of agency; Sense of boundaries; Sense of ownership.
Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Similar articles
-
Spectral power and functional connectivity changes during mindfulness meditation with eyes open: A magnetoencephalography (MEG) study in long-term meditators.Int J Psychophysiol. 2015 Oct;98(1):95-111. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2015.07.006. Epub 2015 Jul 10. Int J Psychophysiol. 2015. PMID: 26166440
-
Psilocybin-assisted mindfulness training modulates self-consciousness and brain default mode network connectivity with lasting effects.Neuroimage. 2019 Aug 1;196:207-215. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.04.009. Epub 2019 Apr 6. Neuroimage. 2019. PMID: 30965131 Clinical Trial.
-
Duality and nonduality in meditation research.Conscious Cogn. 2010 Dec;19(4):1119-21; discussion 1122-3. doi: 10.1016/j.concog.2010.03.016. Epub 2010 Apr 10. Conscious Cogn. 2010. PMID: 20385506
-
Mindfulness meditation and consciousness: An integrative neuroscientific perspective.Conscious Cogn. 2016 Feb;40:67-78. doi: 10.1016/j.concog.2015.12.005. Epub 2016 Jan 2. Conscious Cogn. 2016. PMID: 26752605 Review.
-
Neuroscience of meditation.ScientificWorldJournal. 2006 Nov 16;6:2239-53. doi: 10.1100/tsw.2006.353. ScientificWorldJournal. 2006. PMID: 17370019 Free PMC article. Review.
Cited by
-
Volitional mental absorption in meditation: Toward a scientific understanding of advanced concentrative absorption meditation and the case of jhana.Heliyon. 2024 May 14;10(10):e31223. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e31223. eCollection 2024 May 30. Heliyon. 2024. PMID: 38803854 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Mindfulness Affects the Boundaries of Bodily Self-Representation: The Effect of Focused-Attention Meditation in Fading the Boundary of Peripersonal Space.Behav Sci (Basel). 2024 Apr 9;14(4):306. doi: 10.3390/bs14040306. Behav Sci (Basel). 2024. PMID: 38667102 Free PMC article.
-
Examining the association between depersonalisation traits and the bodily self in waking and dreaming.Sci Rep. 2024 Mar 13;14(1):6107. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-56119-w. Sci Rep. 2024. PMID: 38480797 Free PMC article.
-
They have taken out my spinal cord: an interpretative phenomenological analysis of self-boundary in psychotic experience within a sociocentric culture.Front Psychiatry. 2023 Jul 20;14:1215412. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1215412. eCollection 2023. Front Psychiatry. 2023. PMID: 37559921 Free PMC article.
-
Patients with Disorders of Consciousness: Are They Nonconscious, Unconscious, or Subconscious? Expanding the Discussion.Brain Sci. 2023 May 17;13(5):814. doi: 10.3390/brainsci13050814. Brain Sci. 2023. PMID: 37239286 Free PMC article.
Publication types
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
