Jordan Quaglia is Associate Professor of Psychology, Director of the Cognitive and Affective Science Laboratory, and Research Director of the Center for the Advancement of Contemplative Education at Naropa University. Conducted by Adam Liddle, a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Contemplative Sciences Center and the Associate Editor for the Journal of Contemplative Studies. JCS: Let’s start with our first question: What is contemplation? JQ: I think there’s a conventional sense or everyday usage of the term, contemplation. But there’s a bit of a disconnect between how cont ..read more

Michael Chase is Senior Researcher at the Centre Jean Pépin of the National Center of Scientific Research in Paris-Villejuif, France and adjunct professor of Greek and Roman studies at the University of Victoria. He is the author and translator of Ammonius: Interpretation of Porphyry’s Introduction to Aristotle’s Five Terms (2020). Conducted by James MacNee, a Doctoral Candidate at the University of Virginia and a Graduate Research Associate at the  Journal of Contemplative Studies. JCS: I’ll start by asking you, what is contemplation? MC: It’s a very tough question because it ..read more

Iya Funlayo E. Wood is a Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University, Founding Director of the African and Diasporic Religious Studies Association, and Guest Editor for Special Issue #05: Contemplation in Africana Traditions in the Journal of Contemplative Studies. Conducted by Adam Liddle, a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Contemplative Sciences Center and the Associate Editor for the Journal of Contemplative Studies. JCS: Thank you so much for joining us! Let’s jump into our first question: What is contemplation?  FW: Thank you so much f ..read more

Ariel Evan Mayse is an Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Stanford University, the senior scholar-in-residence at the Institute of Jewish Spirituality and Society, and an ordained rabbi. He is the author of Laws of the Spirit: Ritual, Mysticism, and the Commandments in Early Hasidism (2024), Speaking Infinities: God and Language in the Teachings of Rabbi Dov Ber of Mezritsh (2020), and Guest Editor for JCS Special Issue #03: Contemplative Ecology. Conducted by Devin Zuckerman, a Post-Doctoral Research Associate at the Contemplative Sciences Center and Guest Editor of JCS Special ..read more

“Hesychasm and Psychedelics: Altered States, Purgation, and the Question of Authentic Mysticism,” by Thomas Cattoi, Jesuit School of Theology at Santa Clara University Abstract: The purpose of this essay is to introduce the reader to the tradition of Hesychasm—a form of monastic asceticism rooted in the tradition of the Desert Fathers and given a systematic articulation by the Byzantine author Gregory Palamas (1296–1359)—and to consider how the mystical experiences described in Palamas’s Triads compare to the altered states at the center of contemporary psychedelic research. After reviewing th ..read more

Claire Petitmengin is Professor Emerita at the Institut Mines-Télécom and member of the Archives Husserl (Ecole Normale Supérieure) in Paris. Her research focuses on lived experience and micro-phenomenological methods enabling us to become aware of experience and describe it.  Conducted by Erin Burke, a doctoral candidate at the University of Virginia and a Research Assistant at the Journal of Contemplative Studies. JCS: What does contemplation mean to you?  CP: I would first say I don’t use this word very often—contemplation.  JCS: That’s interesting—do you prefer a ..read more

Samuel Grimes is the Shinjo Ito Postdoctoral Fellow in Buddhist Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, and author of the article, “Portrait of a Poison: Datura in Buddhist Magic,” in the Journal of Contemplative Studies: Special Issue on Psychedelics, Contemplation, and Religion. Conducted by Adam Liddle, a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Contemplative Sciences Center and the Associate Editor for the Journal of Contemplative Studies. JCS: What was the driving question in your article on the substance, Datura?  SG: The reason I’m looking at Datura at all is th ..read more

Erik Braun is an Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Virginia and author of The Birth of Insight: Meditation, Modern Buddhism, and the Burmese Monk Ledi Sayadaw (2014). Conducted by Adam Liddle, a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Contemplative Sciences Center and the Associate Editor for the Journal of Contemplative Studies. JCS: What is contemplation? EB: Before our conversation started, I was thinking about the issue of contemplation as a term of art in Buddhist Studies. I realized that, while the term is very familiar, I don’t often encounter ..read more

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 well as foundational works of filmmaking released in the last few years. A few possible titles for which we are looking for reviewers include: The Mountain Path. One Mind Productions, Edward Burger, 2021 Free: Duc in Altum. Bosco Films, Santos Blanco, 2023 Dark Red Forest. Autlook Films, Huaqing Jin, 2021 Zen for Nothing. Zeitgeist Films, W ..read more

Muhammad Faruque is the Inayat Malik Assistant Professor and a Taft Center Fellow at the University of Cincinnati and a Visiting Scholar at Harvard University. He is the author of Sculpting the Self: Islam, Selfhood, and Human Flourishing (2021). Conducted by Erin Burke, a doctoral candidate at the University of Virginia and a Research Assistant at the Journal of Contemplative Studies. JCS: What is contemplation?  MF: Contemplation for me is a cognitive, spiritual activity in which the mind, body, and spirit work in unison to transform the self. There are a number of terms to t ..read more