Behavioral and Brain Sciences



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Does meditation swamp working memory?


Ilkka Pyysiäinen a1
a1 Academy of Finland and Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies, University of Helsinki, FIN-00014 Helsinki, Finland. ilkka.pyysiainen@helsinki.fi www.mv.helsinki.fi/home/ipyysiai/

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Abstract

Religionists often presuppose that “mysticism” aims at somehow emptying the mind. In the light of evidence, however, meditation seems rather to consist of ritualized action without an explicit emphasis on subjective experience. Boyer & Lienard's (B&L's) theory of ritualized action as “swamping” working memory thus might help explain the effects of meditation without postulating experiential goals the “mystics” obviously do not have.

(Published Online February 8 2007)