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JCS Editor • December 20, 2024Conference Recap
American Academy of Religion Annual Conference, 2024
The American Academy of Religion held its 2024 Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA, November 23-26. The Contemplative Studies unit sponsored or co-sponsored three panels exploring contemplative practices, experiences, and traditions. Topics ranged from Confucian contemplations for college students, to… -
JCS Editor • March 28, 2024Revisit the Generative Contemplation Symposium 2023
In April 2023, the Contemplative Sciences Center at the University of Virginia hosted its first Generative Contemplation Symposium in Charlottesville, Virginia. This gathering convened experts in Contemplative Studies – scholars, philosophers, cognitive neuroscientists, artists, and Buddhist practitioners – to present… -
JCS Editor • December 7, 2023Conference Recap
American Academy of Religion Annual Conference, 2023
The American Academy of Religion hosted its 2023 Annual Meeting in San Antonio, TX, November 18-21. Among the hundreds of panels and roundtable discussions were notable explorations of contemplative practice among scholars of religion, anthropology, philosophy, psychology, and art history…. -
JCS Editor • October 12, 2023Generative Contemplation Symposium 2023 Video Proceedings
Self-Emergent Visions
The Generative Contemplation Symposium was hosted by the Contemplative Sciences Center at the University of Virginia in April 2023. The following is the video proceedings along with searchable transcripts of Session IV: Self-Emergent Visions which focused on the deliberate elicitation… -
JCS Editor • October 5, 2023Generative Contemplation Symposium 2023 Video Proceedings
Dreams and Illusions
The Generative Contemplation Symposium was hosted by the Contemplative Sciences Center at the University of Virginia in April 2023. The following is the video proceedings along with searchable transcripts of Session III: Dream and Illusion Practices which focused on the… -
JCS Editor • September 28, 2023Generative Contemplation Symposium 2023 Video Proceedings
Nonduality
The Generative Contemplation Symposium was hosted by the Contemplative Sciences Center at the University of Virginia in April 2023. The following is the video proceedings along with searchable transcripts of Session II: Nondual Awareness Practices which focused on the subject-object… -
JCS Editor • September 21, 2023Generative Contemplation Symposium 2023 Video Proceedings
Attention
The Generative Contemplation Symposium was hosted by the Contemplative Sciences Center at the University of Virginia in April 2023. The following is the video proceedings along with searchable transcripts of Session I: Cognitive Effort and Control Practices which focused on… -
JCS Editor • May 10, 2023CONFERENCE RECAP
Generative Contemplation Symposium at University of Virginia, April 2023
The Contemplative Sciences Center (CSC) at the University of Virginia (UVA) hosted its first Generative Contemplation Symposium in Charlottesville, Virginia from April 20-21, 2023. This gathering convened religious studies scholars, philosophers, cognitive neuroscientists, artists, and Buddhist practitioners to present their… -
JCS Editor • April 3, 2023Vajrayana Buddhism and Science Workshop Video Proceedings
Over several days in March and early April 2021, Maria Kozhevnikov at the National University of Singapore convened a private online workshop, Bridging Esoteric Vajrayana Buddhism Practices with Science to Enhance Human Cognition. We are delighted to make the transcribed video…
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Josh Brahinsky, Jonas Mago, Mark Miller, and Michael Lifshitz • October 23, 2025Two Paths, One Spiral
Comparative Insights from Jhāna Meditation and Speaking in Tongues
Jhāna meditation and the practice of speaking in tongues could hardly look more different. In jhāna, the body settles into stillness: quiet, seated, composed. From the outside, nothing stirs—an almost austere calm, cultivated through generations of Buddhist teaching that has… -
JCS Editor • August 29, 2025Special Issue Announcement
Special Issue #09: Contemplative Computing
The JCS Editors are delighted to announce Special Issue #09: Contemplative Computing, with guest editors Angela Orebaugh (University of Virginia), Alex Soojung-Kim Pang (Stanford University), and Gunter Bombaerts (Eindhoven University of Technology). This Special Issue invites scholars to explore the… -
JCS Editor • August 29, 2025Special Issue Announcement
Special Issue #08: Contemplation in Education and Human Development
The JCS Editors are delighted to announce Special Issue #08: Contemplation in Education and Human Development with guest editors Robert W. Roeser (Emory University), Brendan Ozawa-de Silva (Emory University), Yuki Imoto (Keio University), and Kimberly Schonert-Reichl (University of Illinois, Chicago)…. -
JCS Editor • August 15, 2025Contemplation + Leadership
An Interview With Ian H. Solomon
JCS: Thanks for joining us for this series called Contemplation Plus. What we’re interested in is contemplation and its myriad of expressions. It’s about contemplation and whatever that means to you at the intersection of an area that is the… -
JCS Editor • July 31, 2025Special Issue Announcement
Special Issue #7
The JCS Editors are excited to announce Special Issue #07: Micro-Phenomenology, Heart Openings, and Contemplative Practice with guest editors Christian Suhr and Martijn van Beek. In recent years, micro-phenomenological interviews have been used across a range of disciplines to understand the rich textures of human experience,… -
JCS Editor • July 15, 2025Author Insight
An Interview With Bin Song
JCS: What does contemplation look like in Confucianism? BS: First, it’s important to note that the term Confucianism was popularized by nineteenth-century Christian missionaries during Western colonial expansion. In its original language, this tradition has long been called the Ru (儒)…