Boston University; Division of Counseling; Reading; Language Development; Special Education; Dissertations; Meditation; Buddhism; Ego; Psychology; Self-perception; India; History; Psychiatry; Religious Beliefs; Philosophies; Hinduism; Adulthood; Human; Adult
摘要
The purpose of the study was to explore connections between ego development and extended meditation practice. Six men and six women in their early to mid-thirties who had practiced Buddhist meditation from six to sixteen years were interviewed intensively. The subjects were asked about their experiences over a broad range of areas. Questions focused on the subjects' circumstances both at the time when meditation practice was initiated on a regular basis and currently. Following the interviews, the subjects were given Loevinger's (1970) Washington University Sentence Completion Test so that a determination of their current ego stage could be made.
Changes reported by the subjects were organized thematically. The themes fell into two main headings: changes in the experience of self and changes in relationships. Intrapersonal changes reported by the subjects included greater awareness of their inner experience, positive changes in self-acceptance, and a change in their view of themselves. Changes in the subjects' experience of relationships included, first, the achievement of or longing for more intimacy in relationships. The second change was decreased expectations placed on partners, and associated with that, a greater ability to assume responsibility in conflictual situations and a greater willingness to make commitments to others. Some subjects also reported a lessening of their defensiveness which was covered separately.
These themes were located within ego development theory as articulated by Loevinger (1976) and Kegan (1979, 1982). In general, all of the major changes which the subjects reported were found to be fundamental to the process of ego development.
The most important finding of the present study which has bearing on ego development was the report of increased self-awareness by the subjects. The subjects had more directly attributed the other reported changes to this heightened awareness of self which, in turn, was seen to be a function of meditation practice. In Loevinger's (1976) conception, increased self-awareness is crucial to development beyond the Conformist Stage. For Kegan (1979, 1982), self-awareness was seen as basic to the very process by which development occurs.
Implications for both further research and counseling practice were also discussed.
