Graphic for an interview titled "Contemplation + Sensemaking" featuring Andrew Holecek, with an abstract textured background of red and gray tones. A circular inset displays a portrait of Andrew Holecek at the bottom right.

Contemplation + Sensemaking quote from Andrew Holecek about the benefits of meditative arts. Text describes the opportunity to see reality deconstruct and reconstruct through dark retreat. The graphic mentions "Contemplation +" as a series exploring intersections of dialogues. Background features a speckled, abstract design.

In this installment of Contemplation +, we spoke with interdisciplinary scholar-practitioner Andrew Holecek, Resident Contemplative Scholar at the Institute for Advanced Consciousness Studies

To read the full interview, check out the link in our bio!

Graphic highlighting an article titled "Coming Down to Earth: Drifts of Spirituality in the Anthropocene" by Juan Pablo Restrepo from Universidad de Buenos Aires. Features a rounded image of a person speaking into a microphone, set against a background of an aerial view of a snowy landscape.

Text discussing the relationship between spirituality and ecological crisis, with a focus on how recognizing human-driven planetary changes is influencing spiritual narratives. It poses the question: "How might you physically engage with the Earth today?" and invites thoughts in the comments. The background is an aerial view of a landscape.

"Baja a la Tierra,
que no es tan terrible vivir aquí.

Come down to earth,
It’s not so terrible to live down here."

- Kevin Johansen and Lila Downs

Visit the link in our bio and check out this article from Juan Pablo Restrepo, featured in Special Issue #03: Contemplative Ecology!

A book cover titled "Contemplation + Sensemaking" by Pir Zia Inayat Khan. The background features a close-up of a leaf with red veins, and there is a black-and-white circular portrait of Pir Zia Inayat Khan at the bottom right corner.

A quote on a textured background reads: “I’ve never regarded this universe as a solely, or even primarily, physical phenomenon. I’ve always had the feeling of inhabiting a multidimensional universe.” – Pir Zia Inayat Khan. Below is the title "Contemplation +", described as an ongoing series of dialogues exploring intersections of contemplation with diverse topics.

In this installment of Contemplation +, we sat down with Pir Zia Inayat Khan to discuss his path in Sufism, the layered dimensions that make up the world we live within, and more.

Check out the whole interview on Contemplative Currents, available at the link in our bio!

Cover image titled "Sky Divination: An Elemental Practice from the Unimpeded Sound Tantra" with a photo of an individual. The name "Devin Zuckerman" and "University of Virginia" are printed below.

A quote is written on a dark blue background bordered by abstract blue and green textures. The quote discusses divination through interpreting signs in earth, water, fire, and wind, manifesting as omens in the sky. Below the quote, there is a prompt asking "what do you look for in the clouds" and inviting comments.

Check out the link in our bio to read this amazing article from UVA’s Devin Zuckerman!

What do you look for in the clouds? Let us know below ⬇️

Graphic for a journal article titled "The Philosophy and Practice of Amulets in Tibetan Buddhist Tantra" by James Gentry from Stanford University. The graphic features an abstract background and a circular inset photo of an individual wearing glasses and a blazer.

A quote on a brown background discusses challenging perspectives on Tibetan Buddhist practices involving writing, wearing, and practicing tantric scriptures. Below, text invites discussion on the relationship between material objects and spiritual practices. All text reads: “This article aims to challenge this lopsided perspective by showing how Buddhists in Tibet integrated analytic contemplation into the practice of writing down, wearing, and putting into practice short tantric scriptures that claim to liberate through wearing. Consider: What’s the relationship between material objects and spiritual practices? Are they able to support each other? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!"

What's the relationship between material objects and spiritual practices? Let us know in the comments below, and read the full article from James Gentry at the link in our bio!

A cityscape with skyscrapers is visible behind a large, green park. The text reads "International Society for Contemplative Research 3rd Annual Conference Recap."

An event poster titled 'Keynote Speakers: The Arc of Life and Death.' It lists four speakers: Tawni Tidwell, PhD, TMD, with a talk on bridging worlds of body and consciousness in Tibetan Tukdam meditation, Anne Vallely on griefwork as contemplative practice, Robert W. Roeser, PhD, on developmental contemplative science, and Cheryl Woods Giscombé, PhD, on contemplative reflection on family and foundation for fostering harmony and well-being. At the bottom, there's a quote about the phenomena of life and death.

We had a wonderful time participating in the 3rd Annual International Society for Contemplative Research Conference last Fall! Read all about our key takeaways at the link in our bio 🔗

An image of the Boston, MA skyline at sunset. The top of a cable stayed bridge is visible in the foreground. White text positioned in the sky reads: American Academy of Religion 2025 conference recap

An orange background with white text that reads: Contemplative Studies Unit. Author meets critic, Flourishing Kin, Indigenous Wisdom for Collective Well-Being by Yuria Celidwen. Contemplative Epistemologies: Diverse methods and practices. Confucian Contemplative practices and self-cultivation. Contours of Freedom: Contempaltive Practices in Jain Thought and Literature. “...Contemplation as a category, as a way to collect voices, perspectives, and insights, is not just a recapitulation of tired and ingrained modes of academic pursuit.”

Last Fall, we convened with contemplative scholars at the 2025 American Academy of Religion annual meeting in Boston, MA!

Visit the link in our bio for a look back on what was discussed.

An image of a snowy landscape with a green shadow over the left side. Bold white text reads: Contemplative Practices and Soteriological Epistemology. Ashok Zaman.

A green background with white text that reads: Recovering the contemplative element of practice in philosophical thinking cannot but carry the phenomenological project forward."

A green background with white text that reads: Ashok Zaman. PhD Candidate at the University of Western Australia. In the bottom right corner is a circle frame is an image of Ashok's face.

Check the link in our bio to read more from Ashok Zaman's article for the Journal of Contemplative Studies!

An image of an icy waterway covered in snow, partially obscured by a blue-grey shadow. White text over the shadow reads: Review of The Words and World of Ge bcags Nunnery by Elizabeth McDougal. Review by Nicholas Hobhouse.

A grayish-blue background with an image of the cover of Elizabeth McDougal's "The Words and World of Ge bcags Nunnery," as well as an excerpt from Nicholas Hobhouse's review that reads: “No Tibetan Buddhist monastic institution like Géchak has previously been the subject of such a rigorous ethnographic study, and McDougal’s work therefore serves as a valuable counterweight to the multiple ethnographies focused on Tibetan Buddhist institutions with a scholastic orientation.”

A grayish-blue background with an image of Nicholas Hobhouse wearing a black shirt. White text reads: Nicholar Hobhouse is a researcher based at the University of Hong Kong.

Nicholas Hobhouse of the University of Hong Kong reviews Elizabeth McDougal's "The Words and World of Ge bcags Nunnery" for the Journal of Contemplative Studies.

Click the link in our bio to read the full review!

An image of a spirograph-esque design with white text that reads: Contemplation plus Education: an interview with Robert W. Roesner

A segment of Contemplation plus Education: an interview with Robert W. Roeser. White text reads: “I felt a yearning for something new, as I felt an absence of an education that attended to the head, the hand, and the heart. And I sensed in some way that our culture needed a new form of education if it were to survive in an increasingly materialistic age.”

Bio for Robert W. Roeser, featuring an image of him in front of green foliage. White text reads: Robert W. Roeser is the Alice Valli Professor of Compassion and Ethics, Professor of Behavioral Social and Health Education Sciences, and Research Director for the Center for Contemplative Science and Compassion-based Ethics at Emory University.

A promotional slide for the series "Contemplation plus." White text reads: Contemplation Plus: an ongoing series of dialogues that explores intersections of contemplation and diverse topics.

In the latest installment of Contemplation +, we sat down with Robert W. Roeser from Emory University to discuss how the role contemplation plays in a holistic education.

Read the full conversation at the link in our bio!

Background image: a satellite image of a snowy landscape. A blue shadow encompasses the left side of the image. White text reads: Martial Spirituality and the Ethics of Attention, by Michael L. Raposa"

A blue background with bold white text that reads: While many martial arts include meditation as a part of their practice, some are regarded as being essentially spiritual exercises. Moreover, in a variety of religious traditions, certain forms of prayer and meditation are conceived as preparation for engagement in “spiritual combat.”

a blue background with an image of the cover of the Journal of Contemplative Studies' Special Issue #02, Mindful Practices and Embodied Critical Thinking: Tensions and Transitions

Blue background with white text that reads: Michael L Raposa is a professor of religion studies and the E.W. Fairchild professor of american studies at Lehigh University. In the bottom left corner is the image of a man wearing a blue button up shit and a blue blazer with a bookshelp full of books in the background.

Visit the link in our bio to read more from Michael L. Raposa on the moral significance behind attention and one's capacity to control it.

Wolfgang Buttress, an artist, sitting on a bench in front of NINFEO, his illuminated art installation with vibrant blue and green lights made of hand-etched crystal blocks within the Contemplative Commons at the University of Virginia.

Group of people in the Conservatory within the Contemplative Commons at the University of Virginia. Some stand, while others sit, meditating with shut eyes. The lights in the room make the white canvas wall appear different shades of green and blue.

David Glowacki holds a guitar next to his piece, Tara Pachamama, a piece of art depicting a Hindu deity made of individual pieces, while an audience is gathered in the foreground on floor cushions.

Six individuals stand by Dell Pond facing various directions. All have some kind of headphones on, listening to a guided walkabout of the Contemplative Commons at the University of Virginia.

At SENSEmaking, music, art, and interaction were at the forefront of exhibits highlighting the relationships between the human senses and contemplation.

Hear panel discussions featuring the innovators who brought their talents to SENSEmaking at the link in our bio!

Panel discussion at an academic event with five speakers seated on stage, laughing and interacting in front of logos for the Contemplative Sciences Center at the University of Virginia, Journal of Contemplative Studies, and CIRCL: Contemplative Innovation + Research CoLab. Several audience members are visible in the foreground.

JoVia Armstrong, a music professor at the University of Virginia, speaking at a podium with a laptop, in the Contemplative Commons.

UVA Professor of music Matthew Burtner holds a microphone up to a plant on a table in front of an audience in the Contemplative Commons.

David Glowacki playing guitar for an audience seated in a room with large windows, in front of a colorful tapestry featuring a Green Tara, titled Tara Pachamama

Throwing it back to one of our favorite memories of the Fall - SENSEmaking: a Symposium on Contemplative Technologies!

Reignite your curiosity from October by revisiting the inspiring panels and presentations, available for view now at the link in our bio.

Click the link in our bio to read more from Noah Brown in the Harvard Gazette!
#meditation

Click the link in our bio to read more from Douglas E. Christie's "Love's Deepest Abyss" article! #contemplation

The JCS team is very excited to be attending @aarweb.bsky.social 's November 2025 conference this weekend! Highlighted here are the authors and panels we are excited to see. Click the link in our bio to read the full descriptions.

Last week, UVA's Contemplative Sciences Center held SENSEmaking, a symposium on contemplative technologies. Read Michael Overstreet's, a graduate research assistant with the journal, reflection of the conference by clicking the link in our bio!

Members of the Journal here at UVA are very excited to be attending the International Society for Contemplative Research’s 2025 conference next week! We hope to see you there.

The Journal of Contemplative Sciences is taking submissions for its latest special issue: Contemplative Computing!
Click the link in our bio to learn more.

Image credit: AI generated image using Adobe Firefly, with human edits.

Click the link in our bio to read more on this fascinating article!

Click the link in our bio to read more from this special issue article! #contemplation

We are very excited to announce our newest Special Issue: Contemplation in Education and Human Development. Click the link in our bio to explore it further!

In our next installment of Contemplation +, we spoke with Ian H. Solomon, Dean of the University of Virginia’s Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, about the relationship between leadership and contemplative practices. Read the full article at the link in our bio!

The journal is very excited to announce the newest special issue! This issue contains seven fascinating articles we can’t wait for you to explore. Click the link in our bio to read more.
#contemplation

Click the link in our bio to read one of the Journal's recent articles diving into the effects spiritual research has on the researchers.

Click the link in our bio to read more from out latest interview with author Bin Song!

Check out the next installment of Contemplation +! We talked to Fadel Zeidan from the Center of Pain Medicine about the intersections between pain management, neuroscience, & #contemplation. Click the link in our bio to read more.

Read this interesting article - and more! - by clicking the link in our bio. #contemplation

Read this fascinating conversation about #contemplation and #psychedelics by clicking the link in our bio!

Very excited to feature this article in our fourth special issue exploring #thai #buddhist #meditation! Click the link in our bio to read this article, or more like it!