Research on the Buddhist Practice of Emptiness with William Van Gordon

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William Van Gordon, PhD, is a Chartered Psychologist who lectures and conducts research in psychology at the University of Derby in the United Kingdom. He sits on the editorial board for various academic journals including Mindfulness and Mindfulness and Compassion.
He is also co-editor of two academic anthologies: Mindfulness and Buddhist-derived Approaches in Mental Health and Addiction, and The Buddhist Foundations of Mindfulness. William has over 100 academic publications relating to the scientific study of meditation. Prior to joining academia, William was a Buddhist monk for ten years.

Here he describes a multi-year research project involving advanced Buddhist meditators who were able to enter into a particular state of consciousness known as emptiness. This is something of a paradoxical state involving an investigation of the nature of the "self". A year was spent selecting and recruiting meditators who were skilled in this practice. Detailed descriptions were collected of this unusual state of consciousness. A battery of psychometric tests revealed that "emptiness" produced more profound changes in these meditators than did "mindfulness".

New Thinking Allowed host, Jeffrey Mishlove, PhD, is author of The Roots of Consciousness, Psi Development Systems, and The PK Man. Between 1986 and 2002 he hosted and co-produced the original Thinking Allowed public television series. He is the recipient of the only doctoral diploma in "parapsychology" ever awarded by an accredited university (University of California, Berkeley, 1980). He is past-vice-president of the Association for Humanistic Psychology, and is the recipient of the Pathfinder Award from that association for his contributions to the study of consciousness.

(Recorded on September 26, 2019)

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The achievement of "emptiness" is really something!

peggyharris
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A reminder that emptiness doesn't mean void. He said it could be considered fullness, which is an interesting description. Interbeing is another good description

seattletcj
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The best I can do is quiet my mind as much as possible. I'm frequently bombarded with images to break my meditation and that's all I say.

davidwise
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I thought of a concept called moss...😁getting my joy life getting easier..passing through a vortex of loving moss..

omniufo
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The mapping of self, really explains the connection between everyone, because once mastered you can clearly see how the effects of others show what's in existence. Asking questions reveals for the lack of self is to bring in new ideas that were not there before, but does not reflect as truth, except for a concept or physical idea. So the idea may already exist in its physical form not known to the seeker, or any entity. but to say that emptiness is anything other than non conformity to any rules other than the collective it embraces, is basically in denial of its true purpose.

goldrays
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I am a visual Artist when I Paint and I am “in the zone” I am spiritually and physically fused - “one with everything” I am beyond “happy” I am blissful - the same goes for a carpenter a teacher and so on, hence, be happy in your work and let the vocation choose you

sonnycorbi
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William quoting Mr Miyagi at the end deserves a like all by itself. 😎

fairytalejediftj
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Yes, please check with Christian contemplatives like Cynthia Bourgeault (kenosis or self emptying), James Finley, Ph.D., father Richard Rohr, Centering Prayer as taught by Father Thomas Keating. Would love to see the parallels/differences.

sunnyla
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To me mindfull is being aware of my action and thought and senses in combination to other excistence surrounding me, being empty is to me complete relaxation...so no action or thought, until we decide to snap out of such a state of course, 😊

vanollsum
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Maybe I missed it but he never described the emptiness meditation. How to do it.

grantdouglas
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Substitute the term “emptiness” ... the terms “spaciousness”, or “spacious potentiality” may be more helpful ... ❤️

nigelericogden
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2b honest, I believe if u are mindful and you focus in a meaningful activity ( meaningful to you ) like learning something chalenging, and see yourself thrive you then will understand that this mind state you're talking about is more like " ego " or "self jusgement" so if u put it away, you will achieve the point of view where "only the acts are real". and further with getting even deeper you'll see that " even those acts don't mean anything " and at this point I can tell you that you've achieved emptiness and can see yourself as only an unimportant dot in the line of history that won't exist a 100 yrs later.
then you will be at peace and won't justify your failures, since they don't even matter.

pladimir_vutin
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Interview Deepak Chopra ....Meta Human

taonow
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Thank u thinking allowed 🌈 for a simple conclusion on the impossible!

Its relied to believe everything else to be able to call the single experience as "emptiness." 🔵 How would you know? Biased like his sample of all Buddhist were?

I've attempted to experience emptiness for years💆 and it always turn into "Am i there?...no thats a thought" "or "am i astro? Or in the twilight zone( between being awake or sleep) but im still talking!"

Ima skip Buddishm from now as i sense i was becoming a non-cognitivist in which im picking and choosing parts of reality.
Such as the ol Buddah who said we are the source of suffering. True but how does reducing a thought into nothingness affect the reality of a world of suffering & wheres my responsibility? There wouldnt be any right.
It seems id be in fear, when practice doesnt measure to reality, keeping self from the UNKNOWN.
..Turns out, Ive actually been empty all my finite life and realized i need to do the opposite and get it all back.. 👋 bye Buddhism.

psuedonym
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Interesting. Especially as Derby psychology department has the worse post-grad teaching I have ever seen.

LeeGee
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Noself/Anatta becomes aware there is no self.. Thanks, Buddha. I guess..

profile
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It was utter horror.. as if the weight of the entire world is suddenly on yr shoulders..

The story must never be allowed to dye

blanktank
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Hi d.r Jeffery. You have lots sick people in your programs. .doctor. is that true.

mariomarkazi
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The problem is translation. "Emptiness" is a meaningless concept, all in all. Just the presence of "mind" itself is a refutation of "emptiness." People make Buddhism into such utter hogwash.

paineite
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Impossible. Never empty. Emptiness is illusion resulted by invention of 0.
"Oneness" 1ness

Sepantamino