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JCS Editor • January 18, 2024Call for Film Reviews
We invite reviews of films in Contemplative Studies. Rigorous and insightful reviews are an integral part of JCS’s mission to inform and connect scholars and practitioners in the field of Contemplative Studies. Proposals are invited to review new films, as… -
JCS Editor • December 21, 2023Book Review
The Oxford Handbook of Meditation
Read the new Review of The Oxford Handbook of Meditation (2019), edited by Miguel Farias, David Brazier, and Mansur Lalljee. Reviewed by Stephen Dawson (University of Lynchburg). This review examines this expansive and valuable recently edited volume on the study… -
JCS Editor • December 14, 2023Call for Book Reviews
We invite reviews of books in Contemplative Studies. Rigorous and insightful reviews are an integral part of JCS’s mission to inform and connect scholars and practitioners in the field of Contemplative Studies. Proposals are invited to review new publications, as… -
JCS Editor • October 19, 2023Book Review
Routledge Handbook of Yoga and Meditation Studies
Read the new Review of the Routledge Handbook of Yoga and Meditation Studies (2023). Edited by Suzanne Newcombe and Karen O’Brien-Kop. Reviewed by Alan Brill (Seton Hall University). This review discusses a helpful edited volume featuring recent scholarship on yoga… -
JCS Editor • June 14, 2023
Call for Book Reviews
We invite reviews of books in Contemplative Studies. Rigorous and insightful reviews are integral to JCS’s mission to inform and connect scholars and practitioners in Contemplative Studies. Proposals are invited to review new publications as well as foundational works of… -
JCS Editor • May 18, 2023Book Review
The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Meditation
Read the new Review of the Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Meditation (2022). Edited by Rick Repetti. Reviewed by Francisco Figueroa Medina (Kyoto University). The review outlines the contributions of this important edited volume on recent scholarship about the…
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JCS Editor • January 23, 2026Contemplation + Education
An Interview With Robert W. Roeser
JCS: Welcome! Can you tell me a bit about your background in contemplation and education? RR: I’m trained as a PhD in Developmental Science and Education, and I also hold master’s degrees in clinical social work and religion. My research… -
Noah Brown, Harvard Gazette • November 21, 2025Had a bad experience meditating? You’re not alone.
Altered states of consciousness through yoga, mindfulness more common than thought and mostly beneficial, study finds — though clinicians ill-equipped to help those who struggle
Altered states of consciousness associated with practices such as yoga, mindfulness, meditation, and breath work are far more common than expected, according to new research by a team including investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital. Although many people surveyed for the… -
JCS Editor • October 30, 2025Fall Contemplative Conferences
ISCR & AAR 2025 Conferences
International Society For Contemplative Research (ISCR) Conference The 3rd Conference of the International Society for Contemplative Research (ISCR) will be held on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from November 3-6, 2025. The ISCR 2025 Conference is an international… -
JCS Editor • October 30, 2025Reflections on SENSEmaking
A Symposium on Contemplative Technologies
SENSEmaking: A Symposium on Contemplative Technologies was held by the Contemplative Sciences Center and its Contemplative Innovation + Research Co-Lab (CIRCL) on October 9th and 10th. Contemplative practices in esoteric and religious traditions have long sought to explore the horizon… -
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 • October 16, 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…