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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 • March 27, 2025Call for Submissions
ISCR Conference 2025
Abstracts and Proposals Due April 30th, 2025 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… -
Ame Wren • January 9, 2025Sharath Jois
The Active Series
On November 8, 2024, the Contemplative Sciences Center hosted teacher, practitioner, and lineage holder of Ashtanga yoga, Sharath Jois, for an event revealing his new series, The Active Series, and accompanying book by the same name. The event was cohosted… -
JCS Editor • October 18, 2024Contemplative Studies Panels at AAR Conference
November 23-26, 2024
The Contemplative Studies Unit at the American Academy of Religion is sponsoring three panels at the annual conference in San Diego, CA from November 23-26, 2024: Confucian Contemplation: Historical Landscape and Contemporary Significance. Saturday, 12:30 PM – 2:30 PM. Convention… -
JCS Editor • November 16, 2023ISCR 2nd Annual Conference
The International Society for Contemplative Research is holding their 2nd annual conference in Padova, Italy from June 19 – 23, 2024. The deadline to submit abstracts is January 31, 2024. Please visit www.iscrconference.org or email admin@contemplativeresearch.org for more details. -
JCS Editor • October 26, 2023Contemplative Studies Panels at AAR Conference
November 18-21, 2023
The Contemplative Studies Unit at the American Academy of Religion is sponsoring five panels at the annual conference in San Antonio, TX from November 18-21, 2023: Spirit Medicine toward Ethical and Decolonial Psychedelic Research and Praxis. Saturday, 9:00 AM –… -
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 • March 16, 2023CONFERENCE RECAP
International Society for Contemplative Research (ISCR) 2023
The International Society for Contemplative Research (ISCR) held its inaugural conference in San Diego from February 2-5, 2023. The conference promoted interdisciplinary dialogue and collaboration amongst diverse fields including Neuroscience, Psychological and Social Sciences, Education and Developmental Sciences, Philosophy, Religion… -
JCS Editor • February 2, 2023Generative Contemplation Symposium
University of Virginia, April 20-21, 2023
On Thursday April 20th and Friday April 21st, 2023, the Contemplative Sciences Center at the University of Virginia is hosting the Generative Contemplation Symposium, an interdisciplinary dialogue on the art and science of effortless and self-emergence contemplative practices. Register here…
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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, 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)….