Contemplative Currents

    Contemplative Currents is an online magazine for public scholarship that advances contemplative knowing, practicing, and living.

    Contemplation +

    is an ongoing series of dialogues that explores intersections of contemplation with diverse topics.

    All Dialogues

    What is Contemplation?

    is a series that interviews leading scholars in Contemplative Studies to address this driving question.

    All Interviews
  • JCS Editor • January 18, 2024

    Call 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, 2023

    Book 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, 2023

    Call 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, 2023

    Book 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, 2023

    Book 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…
  • JCS Editor • April 30, 2026

    Contemplation + SENSEmaking

    An Interview With Eve Ekman

    I discovered that the mere reflection upon our emotions was an intervention towards well-being.
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  • JCS Editor • April 16, 2026

    Contemplation + Indigeneity

    An Interview With Lance Henson

    Conducted by Michael Overstreet, a doctoral candidate at the University of Virginia and a Research Assistant at the Journal of Contemplative Studies (JCS). JCS: I’d first like to tell you what an honor it is for me to be able to…
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  • JCS Editor • March 27, 2026

    Contemplation + SENSEmaking

    An Interview With Adam Lobel

    As far as there being categories of East and West, of philosophy versus spirituality or religion, I can’t even draw the boundaries anymore. 
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  • JCS Editor • March 19, 2026

    Contemplation + SENSEmaking

    An Interview With James Gentry

    JCS:  Thanks so much for talking with me today, James. First, we’re really interested in how your upbringing led to your being interested in contemplative practices and general spiritual openness.  JG: Yeah, that’s such a big question. For me, it was essentially…
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  • JCS Editor • February 26, 2026

    Contemplation + SENSEmaking

    An Interview with Andrew Holecek

    JCS: Welcome—I’m excited to talk with you today. I have three core questions, but first I’d love it if you could give us a brief bio and a background of who you are and where you’re coming from.  AH: I come from Boulder, Colorado and have an academic background. I got a…
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  • JCS Editor • February 20, 2026

    ISCR 2025 Contemplative Studies Update

    From November 3rd to the 6th, 2025, the International Society for Contemplative Research (ISCR) held its third academic conference. The Friday Conference Center offered a pleasant venue for a week’s worth of professional networking, stimulating lectures, and intermittent contemplative exercises. Walking through the front doors on the first day,…
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