Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Figure meditating.

There has been growing interest in meditation adversities amongst mindfulness communities in recent years.

In this open access article, Francis McKay documents US meditator distress upon experiencing incoherence in the eclectic resources supporting their practice.

The article poses a question for the anthropology of ethics: how do we consider ethical self-cultivation practices when the traditions supporting them appear to fail? The author concludes that attending to that question requires further research on how moral bricolage can help make incoherent eclectic traditions morally productive.

The article is published as part of a special issue on mindfulness in Anthropology Today.

Mckay, F. (2022), Am I going mad?: Adverse meditation events and the anthropology of ethics. Anthropology Today, 38: 22-26. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8322.12710

Image credit: Katerina Jerabkova on Unsplash