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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 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… -
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 • 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 • June 30, 2025Call for Book Reviews
The Journal of Contemplative Studies invites book reviews for the following monographs and edited volumes. Monographs: Edited volumes: The JCS seeks a double review for the following pair of books: JCS book reviews are long-form, scholarly reviews (1,500–2,500 words) of… -
JCS Editor • June 5, 2025Special Issue Article
Beyond Technical Fixes: Sufism, Contemplation, and Climate Change as Human Predicament
“Beyond Technical Fixes: Sufism, Contemplation, and Climate Change as Human Predicament” by Muhammad U. Faruque is a part of Special Issue #03: Contemplative Ecology. Abstract: Building on the works of the Sufi philosopher Seyyed Hossein Nasr and the German sociologist Hartmut… -
JCS Editor • June 5, 2025Special Issue Article
Love’s Deepest Abyss: A Contemplative Ecology of Darkness
“Love’s Deepest Abyss: A Contemplative Ecology of Darkness” by Douglas E. Christie is a part of Special Issue #03: Contemplative Ecology. Abstract: “Love’s deepest abyss is her most beautiful form,” so claims Hadewijch of Antwerp, the great medieval Flemish mystic. This… -
JCS Editor • May 8, 2025Special Issue Article
The Contemplative Mood of Nan Shepherd’s The Living Mountain: Toward an Embodied Ecocentric Epistemology
“The Contemplative Mood of Nan Shepherd’s The Living Mountain: Toward an Embodied Ecocentric Epistemology” by Jared R. Lindahl is a part of Special Issue #03: Contemplative Ecology. Abstract: Nan Shepherd (1893–1981) was a Scottish novelist, poet, educator, and mountaineer. Her primary work of… -
JCS Editor • April 24, 2025Special Issue Article
The Persistence of Habit: Tantric Engagements with Dharmakīrti’s View of Yogic Perception
After a century and a half of focus on Buddhist doctrine, academic attention is increasingly being paid to practice. What remains undertheorized, however, is the relation between the two. An example of this is the idea that tantric practice is…
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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, 2025
Fall 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, 2025
Special 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…