Empirical Mindfulness: Traditional Chinese Medicine and Mental Health in the Science and Religion Dialogue
As science and religion researchers begin to engage questions of mental health, mindfulness may prove to be a fruitful area of investigation. However, quantifying the physical effects of mindfulness on the brain is difficult because mindfulness deals with the problem of mental and physical interacti...
Main Author: | |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
Open Library of Humanities$s2024-
[2018]
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In: |
Zygon
Year: 2018, Volume: 53, Issue: 2, Pages: 392-408 |
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Chinese medicine
/ Mental health
/ Watchfulness
/ Medicine
/ Research
/ Religion
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RelBib Classification: | AB Philosophy of religion; criticism of religion; atheism AE Psychology of religion BL Buddhism ZD Psychology |
Further subjects: | B
Chinese medicine
B Neuroscience B Science and religion B Mindfulness B Traditional Chinese Medicine |
Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
Summary: | As science and religion researchers begin to engage questions of mental health, mindfulness may prove to be a fruitful area of investigation. However, quantifying the physical effects of mindfulness on the brain is difficult because mindfulness deals with the problem of mental and physical interaction or, the mind/body problem. One system of understanding which may aid science and religion scholars in the pursuit of mindfulness is traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Within TCM, heart Qi manages the body's present connection to time and space. If the being in the moment is disrupted, then the heart Qi is blocked and mental illness or various neurological disorders occur. Succinctly, within TCM, mindfulness is understood as a nonphysical phenomenon (Qi) which directly affects physical systems, resulting in empirical data. This is tracked and treated through the TCM understanding of Qi. The TCM view of Qi in mental health may therefore provide a helpful new paradigm to investigations concerning mindfulness and the human brain. |
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ISSN: | 1467-9744 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: Zygon
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1111/zygo.12416 |