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International Journal of Transpersonal Studies16 Bojner Horwitz, Stenfors, & Osika

Contemplative Inquiry in Movement:Managing Writers Block in Academic Writing

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies,32(1), 2013, pp. 16-26

Tis exploratory study stems from a meditation exercise in contemplative inquiry with trans-disciplinary researchers. A masters student with writers block was asked to perform bodymovements reflecting a thesis writing process over time. An interview with a phenomenologicalhermeneutic method was used to uncover the significance of the students experience duringthe exercise, including bodily sensations, feelings, and thoughts. New embodied knowledgehelped the student to enable identification and acceptance of both adverse and blockinginformation. By systematically using a thinking in movement approach after applying bodymovements, new self-confidence was generated in the writing process. Te interpretation ofthe study is called the Contemplation in Movement (CIM), and is considered as a riteof passage. Due to the use of CIM as a rite of passage, the following processes occurred:acceptance, identification of emotions/inner space, body/mind expansion, body memories,bodily metaphors, and symbols. Tis study suggests that non-verbal ways of learning can beapplied in research writing. Te conclusion is that embodied knowledge after contemplativeinquiry with body movements may be helpful both in student supervision and in the researchwriting process to move through obstacles in the academic writing process.

Writers block is a common obstacle in studentthesis writing (Ferrari, Johnson, & McCown1995), and procrastination tends to increase

as students advance in their academic careers (Ferrari,1991). Students fear of not succeeding in their academicwriting is an obstacle to progression in writing skills,and may be one of the reasons why some studentsabandon their education (Sinclair, 2005). Writers blockis sometimes described as a form of procrastination, andearlier research has focused on examining the intrinsic(e.g., boredom) and extrinsic task factors (e.g., penaltiesassociated with failures to complete the task in time)

of procrastination behaviors (Pittman, ykocinski,Sandman-Keinan, & Matthews, 2008). Schraw,Wadkins, and Olafson (2007) suggested that fear offailure is a dominant theme in qualitative interviewsamong those who rate high in procrastination behaviors.Furthermore, Pierro et al. (2011) have pointed out that themode of assessment (defined as the tendency to evaluateand compare) and the mode of locomotion (defined asthe emphasis on movement), respectively, are essential in

regulation of human behavior, and specifically relevantin procrastination. Individuals rating high in theassessment orientation are characterized by tendencies tocritically evaluate themselves and others, relate past andfuture actions to critical standards (Higgins, Kruglanski,& Pierro, 2003) and tend to end in self-criticism,stagnation, and eventually procrastination (Beck,Koons, & Milgrim, 2000). Additionally, individualscharacterized as high in procrastination behaviors appearto have difficulty in self-regulating performance undertime pressure, which leads to dilatory behavior (Ferrari,2001), thus jeopardizing the fulfillment of primary task

goals, such as proceeding with thesis writing.In Acceptance and Commitment Terapy(AC), procrastination attitudes are discussed asreminiscent of experiential avoidance and fear (Hayes,Stroshal, & Wilson, 2012). Experiential avoidance andthe associated cognitive entanglement are key featuresin psychological inflexibility, which are seen as majorcauses of psychological suffering, and thus are targetedin AC in order to improve functioning and well-

Eva Bojner HorwitzUppsala UniversityUppsala, Sweden

Cecilia StenforsStockholm UniversityStockholm, Sweden

Walter OsikaKarolinska InstitutetStockholm, Sweden

Keywords:Academic writing, contemplative inquiry in movement, embodiedknowledge, phenomenological-hermeneutic, procrastination, writers block


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International Journal of Transpersonal Studies 17Managing Writers Block in Academic Writing

being (Hayes, Stroshal, & Wilson, 2012). Psychologicalflexibility is learned and supported via various techniquesencouraging presence in the moment and awareness ofongoing events, cognitive diffusion, acceptance, andcommitment to values-based action. AC has beenshown to be successful in increasing functioning andwell-being in many different conditions and situations(Hayes & Smith 2005; Hayes, Stoshal, & Wilson, 2012);therefore, it may be valuable to theoretically assess themethod of AC in regards to the aim of this study.

Discovering that self-assessment and self-criticism is so obstructive in the writing process couldlead to compassion towards oneself, which might allowone to develop trust in ones abilities, while diminishingself-attacking and shame (Gilbert & Procter, 2006).Wohl, Pychyl, and Bennett (2008) showed that self-forgiveness for procrastination could reduce futureprocrastination by decreasing negative affect related toprocrastination.

Our experience regarding students procras-tination is that ordinary verbal supervision mightnot always be sufficient to help students overcome thefear of writing. It may hinder reflections upon andintegration of information from the students emotionalbody and mind that may be less accessible at a verballybound intellectual level (Lorey et al., 2009), but whichnevertheless is affecting behavior. Valuable informationmay be accessed through the bodys sensations andsignalsthis has been termed embodied knowledge,and attention to this kind of knowledge may facilitatenew insights (Sheets-Johnstone, 1999). Increasing accessto and utilizing embodied knowledge in service of theattainment of valued goals is thus desirable. Bodilymovements may be particularly useful in facilitatingawareness and acceptance of non-verbal knowledge andpersonal events that have not yet been conceptualized,as well as getting away from the cognitive entanglementthat one is stuck in. Acceptance of personal events maybe supported by bodily movements, as bodily positions

and movements can act as symbolic cues to memoryand support the holding of information and experiencesin conscious awareness (i.e., in working memory).In support of this, it has been shown that workingmemory performance can improve if bodily gestures arealso utilized to aid in imprinting memories (Cartmill,Beilock, & Goldin-Meadow, 2012).

Similarly, the use of bodily movements mayaid the conceptualization and integration processes of

an otherwise complex, chaotic, or disintegrated web ofexperiences. For example, children spontaneously userepresentational gesturing as an aid to finding the rightverbal concepts when conceptualization load is high(Melinger & Kita, 2007). Research has suggested thatwhen participants are asked to convey more complexinformation with competing representations, gesturingaids in the conceptual planning and packaging ofinformation into a verbal description or message (Kits& Davies, 2009). Furthermore, children have shownimproved conceptualization and understanding ofinformation when conceptually-associated gesturing isencouraged in the context of mathematics learning. Suchbenefits of utilizing body movements in aiding cognitiveprocesses make it highly attractive as an additional toolfor cognitive flexibility in general, and also for handlingcognitive and behavioral blockage specifically.

Contemplative exercises are used more andmore in higher education in the USA (Palmer & Zajonc,2010).Contemplative pedagogy is a young and growingapproach in Western education which invites newpossibilities for the emergence of creativity and promotesdepth of understanding and a more personal relationshipwith course content (Palmer & Zajonc, 2010). As such,bodily movement in contemplative exercises may beutilized both for exploring personal events and accessingembodied knowledge, as well as for facilitating greaterintegration, experiential engagement, and acceptancevia aiding memory and conceptualization processes(Anderson, 2001).

According to Zajonc (2008), the quintessenceof contemplative inquiry is to deepen understandingof research questions and supervision processes andgain new insights on how to tackle a certain problemin the research process. Contemplative inquiry consistsof the relaxation and scanning of the body, mind, andthe emotions; this mode of inquiry is set by focusingon curiosity, openness, and humility, then shiftingbetween focused attention on the topic of inquiry and

open awareness. Te exercise ends with journaling andconsideration of how to integrate any insights fromthe contemplation into real life. Te combination ofcontemplative exercises together with the pursuit ofembodied knowledge has not yet been described in theliterature.

Terefore, the purpose of this study wasto conduct an exploratory single case study with astudent experiencing writers block using the method


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of contemplative inquiry described above, but with theintegration of bodily movements, in order to incorporateembodied knowledge into the contemplative inquiry.

Method

his single case study investigated the effects ofusing a novel version of contemplative inquiry (CI):CI with bodily movement (CIM), performed with astudent for the purpose of dealing with writers block.CIM utilizes embodied knowledge via performing themeditation in movement, rather than in stillness.

A Masters student with writers block wasasked to perform CIM when reflecting on a thesiswriting process. During three different occasions, each90 minutes in duration, the student focused on keywords and text units from the thesis so far written.Whilst focusing on the blocked text units, the studentperformed body movements and shifted focus repeatedlybetween focused attention and open awareness. Oneach occasion, the student repeated this pattern whileperforming bodily movements in an improvised manner.Te student decided herself which text units were to bethe focus of each occasion. Te exercise ended with aperiod of integration of the insights from the CIM inthe form of a body statue and journaling, in which aparticular pose is momentarily held and then reflectedon through journaling. Te student was also allowedto use the CIM technique at home when experiencingwriters block.

An interview was conducted utilizing aphenomenological hermeneutic method (BojnerHorwitz, Teorell, & Anderberg, 2003; Lindseth &Norberg, 2004) at the end of the students thesis writingand subsequent examination. Te aim of the interviewwas for the researcher to uncover the significance of thestudents experiences during the CIM exercise, whichincluded the analysis and interpretation of the studentsverbal descriptions of bodily sensations, feelings, andthoughts, and how these may have affected the studentswriting process.

Procedure

he interview was tape-recorded and the studentwas invited to speak as freely as possible abouther experiences of using a CIM during thesis writing.Questions were asked like: In what way could CI inmovement be helpful when writing your texts? and ellme about experiences when your texts were blocked?Comments like: What do you mean? and Can you developthat? were offered in order to prompt the student to

focus on the research question. Te interviewer repeatedwords made by the student and asked for explanationsif necessary. Te students gestures and emotional statesduring the interview were also considered. Te interviewlasted for 90 minutes.Te Phenomenological-Hermeneutic Method

A phenomenological hermeneutic method(Bojner Horwitz, Teorell, & Anderberg, 2003;Lindseth & Norberg, 2004), inspired by the theory ofinterpretation presented by Paul Ricoeur (1976), wasused in the study. Te phenomenological-hermeneuticmethod is a qualitative method in which the researcherattempts to uncover the significance of the texts fromthe interview; in this case the focus of the textualanalysis was the students experienced thoughts andfeelings concerning CIM and writers block. Te textsare processed in such a way as to attempt to capture thesignificance of the statements in the interview; the taskwas not only to understand how the student experiencedthe situation but also how the interviewer understoodand interpreted the situation of the student. Teinterpretation of the students experiences as representedby the interview text were affected by the study leaders(EBH) prior experience working with CIM. In ahermeneutic phenomenological method, the experienceand education of the researcher is considered as an activeinfluence on the interpretation of study participantsexperiences (Kristensson & Uggla, 1994; Ricoeur, 1976).Analysis and Interpretation

Te interview of the student was recordedon a cassette tape. Te text from the interview wastranscribed verbatim by the study leader (EBH). Tephenomenological and hermeneutic analysis uncoveredthe meaning of the subject relationship between CIMand writers block, as well as an understanding of themeaning of such a relationship in connection to the pre-existing literature.

Te analysis started with a nave reading(by thestudy leaderEBH) of the interview in order to capture

a general comprehension of the experiences. Te textfrom the nave reading then served as an inspiration anda direction into the structural analyses. Te results fromthe structural analyses (the complete interpretation) werethen related to results from other researchers.

Te stages of analysis of the interview were:1) Navereading (consisting of several uncritical readings of thetext as a whole); 2) Structural analyses (consisting ofmeaning units, condensed meaning units, sub-themes


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and themes); and 3) Comprehensive understanding(consisting of the consideration and reflection on thepre-understanding of the researcher in relation to theresearch question).

Results

Nave Reading

By carefully analyzing the whole interview,the researcher was able to make a short statement and

conclusion, here called a nave reading. Te completepicture of the nave reading is presented in able 1.Te Structural Analysis

Te interview was read several times in orderto distinguish different meaning unitsuncovered partlywith respect to the research questions and partly withrespect to the results of the nave reading. A meaningunit could consist of a particular meaning or an assertion

able 1. Results of the Nave Reading

Coming from an artistic background where words were not frequently used

Facilitating a space for movements, in whichone can tune in to an emotional bodily state and convey a message

which previously lacked words

One could put words to perceived bodily knowledge and thereby create comprehension on a non-verbal level

A movement space opened up through the use of contemplation and reection

All previous bodily experiences were of great signicant help in the physical reection, since both movements and

text were present

Danced at home on my own, in order to cope with the writing process

Without a physical connection, further writing would havebeen impossible

The inner bodily anchoring was detrimental, it was at the crossroad between the inner and outer self that the essay

child was created

Everything becomes much easier when we use embodiment

Like pottery making in which thoughts and ideas are transformed into materia, just like our body movements

become shapes a kind of materia

Emotions are converted to images that become materia itself

To be inside the movementspace createsan expansion of everything

If an emotion is taken through a physical level and up again (to a cognitive level), the essence is included, which

makes the difference

A bodily-experiencedword becomes more comprehensive irrespectively of whetherit is academic or artistic

When the bodily world of experiences are included, it also becomes more exciting to listen

Writersblock does not imply alack of words only a blocked state of mind

To expand within the inner self means facing your fear

How do you make yourself understood when words are lacking?

The fear of being stupid was the greatest concern the oneswith words are the oneswith power

To watch oneself on video is like building bridges between different conscious levels

The primary goal was to open up for reection in the movement space and to get access to bodily emotions and

to express them

What is the body telling us?

A present state of mind in the physical body especially in healthy parts is to create acceptance

The dancing movement helps to open up inner rooms and the conscious presence and movement became the

bridge between the inner brain and the prefrontal brain.

Emotion thoughts and body are three dimensional

When we get increased access to ourselves, we also get increased commitment and greater mental presence

An agreement helped to open up the movement space and increased self-condence anyone can create

self-condence to keep that feeling alive and not allow criticism to take over

When appropriately used, the body is always a resource


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from the interview. Te content of each meaning unitwas then condensed and organized into sub-themes,themes, and main themes. Te results of these analyticaland hermeneutic processes are called the completeinterpretation, which is the main result of the study.

Results of the structural analyses consist of sixthemes. Each theme from the result is exemplified byexcerpts from the interview presented within quotationmarks.

1. Emotional and psychological obstacles to

writing.

Coming from an artistic background, where thefocus has not been on the written word

I had plenty of fear of my ability to write

Tere was difficult to find words although I couldaccess them through my body

If I believe in fear and in my doubts, it leads toa problem, sort of an obstacle which leads to a selfcriticism destroyer. I will instead believe in my bodyemotions

Te student starts an identification process after CIMin which different cognitive, emotional, and bodilyobstacles to writing were clarified. Background factors,in this case an artistic-oriented and non-academicbackground, and the fear of not managing the writingprocess and an inability to find the appropriate words,

created obstacles for the students writing process. Byidentifying these obstacles through CIM, the studentsbodily knowledge was made visible, which opened upnew avenues of comprehension for the writing process.

2. Gaining new self-confidence through a

sense of body confidence

I could handle the fear by verbalizing bodilyknowledge

One can create a self confidence, which I did nothave concerning my writing

If I believe in the body sensation and can keep thatfeeling alive, I will manage

I look upon my body as a resource

Words from the students bodily knowledge are easier toverbalize than creating a text. Making use of the bodilyexpressions and words from movement creates a newself-confidence. A new meeting takes place between the

students inner body and self-confidence and it is thanksto the newly acquired bodily perception through CIM.Te vitalization and belief in the bodily emotion isconnected to the students self-esteem. Te students bodymovements trigger and start the process of managing thewriting process.

3. Body/mind expansionmeeting with and

hosting of the fear (of being insufficient)

Te existence expands the space within

Te lived and experienced word becomes moreaffluentit is not only concerning an artistic textbut also an academic

Te students bodily expansion of an experience makesthe words more comprehensible. But what is themeaning of bodily expansion? o the student the body/mind expansion is of the space within the body, that is,

the facing of fears that reside within the body, in spacesthat can be otherwise ignored, such as deep within thechest cavity or the gut region.

Expansion the space involves facing with fear

Facing fear opens bodily knowledge

o leave the past behind is to expand. It is about daring toexpand, and for that rites of passages are needed (see point6 below). Existence in CIM expands the space within,which releases the students feeling of an inability to write.

Te one who possesses words has the power

Being excluded because having knowledge on adifferent level

One can have knowledge on different levels and learnto accept these values equally. CIM grants appreciationfor how the use of bodily expansion allows access to newlines of thinking, in which acceptance of all there ismay occur. CIM brings the body forth into acceptanceof emotional content and allows the writer to proceedwith writing.

4. aking advantage of lived body experienceand knowledge from previous (artistic) body (work)

memory

Great support with physical reflection where bothmovement and text were included

In the meeting point between my body materialand my movements the thesis child was born


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Emotions, thoughts, body; there I have threecomponentswhich gives me more parts of myselfwhich can participate in the process of reflection

If I only get words from a PowerPoint presentationI need to spend time afterwards in order to makethe message comprehensible

By using emotions, thoughts, and the body to gainaccess to the process of reflection reminds the student ofthe learning-by-doing process. Trough movement thestudent makes the context comprehensible. Movementmakes it understandable. Just like a PowerPoint presen-tation, a physical transfer is required to make the contextcomprehensible.

o leave the past and expanda passage of rites isneeded

CI in movement became a safety belt which helpedme stay in presence

A rite of passage is required to be able to expand. A lackof rites of passage means an inability to expand, whichimplies a deadlock. Writers blockoccurs in the absenceof a rite of passage between emotion, the body, andthinking. A lack of a passage of rites creates a writersblock. Te students CIM freed her writers block.Complete Interpretation

In the final step, the complete interpretation,the text is considered as a whole again. Tis includes theresults from the nave reading, the research questions,the whole structural analyses and the pre-understandingof the researcher. Te complete interpretation of thisstudy is called the Contemplation in movement as rites ofpassage (writes of passages!).

By systematically using a thinking in movementapproach after applying contemplative body movements,new insights are gained that the student can use in orderto proceed with developing the writing project.

Due to the use of CIM as a rite of passage, the

following processes occur: acceptance, identificationof emotions/inner space, body/mind expansion, bodymemories, bodily metaphors, and symbols. Te supervisiongives the student access to the use of the rites of passage inorder to dissolve the obstacles in the writing process. Writersblock is dissolved through the rites of passage of CIM.

Discussion

In what way can a student who is trapped in writersblock proceed with and also enrich the writing process

with contemplation and embodied knowledge? Tis wasour focus when we designed this single case study, and thegeneral conclusion is that embodied knowledge tappedvia Contemplative Inquiry in Movement (CIM) wasvery helpful for the student to finish the thesis writingprocess. CIM is here considered as a rite of passage, inwhich insights are stimulated, involving different bodilyprocesses encouraged through movement, which aid inunlocking the block of writing. A rite of passage has beendescribed as a ritual event that marks the transition fromone status to another, such as between childhood and fullinclusion into a tribe, but also between other transitionalmilestones in an individuals life (van Gennep,1909/1960). As discussed in another study (Landsman-Dijkstra, Van Wijck, & Groothoff, 2006), greateraccess to embodied knowledge/information can enableidentification and acceptance of both adverse emotionsthat block the writing process (e.g., self-handicappingassessments, fears, and shame) as well as empoweringfeelings and information (e.g., strengths, motivation,and self-confidence), resulting in an increased ability toproceed in acting towards valued goals. Awareness of onesown embodied tendencies towards assessment, harsh selfcriticism, and shame, which can lead to writers block,could be reached by literally allowing the body come intolocomotion, which also can be a means of getting outof physical, emotional, and intellectual stasis (Pierro,Giacomantonio, Pica, Kruglanski, & Higgins, 2011).

Based on the results of this study, we concludedthat there is a meeting between movement memoryand body memory, and that the student was aided inacceptance of thoughts and emotions through theawareness and movement of certain body parts, whichprovided tangible benefits to the thesis writing process.Awareness of emotions and explicitly identifying them isan important part of unlocking the block; Kerr, Josyula,and Littenberg (2011) called this kind of awareness theobserving attitude. Te student in this study utilized theobserving mind and made embodied memories available

through body movements in the practice of CIM.Te phrase could experience shame in mymovements seemed to be a key finding of this study;Gilbert and Procter (2006) described shame as a corephenomenon in several negative states. By acceptingthe emotions and cognitions which are unraveled anddefused by the CIM, the writers block is unlockedand the writing process could be resumed (Pierro,Giocomantonio, Pica, Kruglanski, & Higgins, 2011). Te


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gaining of a new self-confidence through body confidencehas also previously been explained, by way of patientsinterpretations of video recordings of their own bodymovements (Bojner Horwitz, Teorell, & Anderberg,2004; Bojner Horwitz, 2004). Te rites of passage thatoccur through CIM foster the observing attitude andvideo interpretation can easily be used as a complementto the journaling practice suggested in CIM.

Te findings in this case study build on earlierwork in transformational pedagogy which states thattransformative learning only occurs when changes inones font of knowledge, sense of self, and motivationtake place, moving one beyond the current (and oftenhabitualized) context (Kegan, 1994). As seen in CIM,a rite of passage may help to visualize and enact a newphysical, emotional, and intellectual context.

In this study, the student went beyond her currentcontext through bodily expansion and acceptance ofemotions and thoughts through bodily contemplation,opening a new reflective space in which a novel contextcould be experienced. Researchers and practitionersdo not often stray from their narrow fields, and as aresult, their students often dont benefit from cross-functionality and cross-curricular thinking and activitiesthat could offer potential integration of many ways ofknowing and understanding (Kegan, 1994). CIMmayhelp to expandthe experiences of, and flexibility of,bothbody and mind, as seen in this study. Terefore, withinfuture contemplative and transformational pedagogy,combinations of, for example, Acceptance CommitmentTerapy (AC) and body movements/dance may proveto be interesting and novel research approaches withincross-curricular learning programs.

Furthermore, this study suggests that CIMpractices may be useful as a tool in the student supervisionprocess, and an optional compliment to verbally-boundsupervision. However, it is key, as seen in these results,that the student together with the supervisor create a safeplace/situation so that the student will be able to discover

and accept the (often difficult) emotions and thoughtsarising from the body/movement practice.Anderson (2001) has described a similar practice

of retrieving embodied knowledge in the writing processin her work on embodied writing. Anderson explainedembodied writing as a form of writing which involves allsenses and bodily experiences into the writing process.Writers attune not only to inner movements from the bodybut also to outer stimuli, which trigger a transformation

that can nourish the individuals presence in the world.Te act of embodied writing portrays experiences fromthe lived body in general, but has not been presented as aresult from lived body movements specifically, as seen inthis study. One has to invite the life and experience of thebody into all of the phenomena of existence (Bullington,1999).

Another useful area of research to consider inthe context of this study is the current work done onmindfulness and meditation. First, mindfulness andmeditation practices have been shown to increase cognitiveflexibility (Moore & Malinowski, 2009). Second,Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR; firstintroduced by Kabat-Zinn, 2005) is a popular trainingin which practitioners learn to use the observing attitude,which allows reflection instead of immediate emotionalreaction (Kerr et al., 2011). In academic work, scholars havea strong tendency towards working while in assessmentmode, forgoing reflective awareness (Langer, 1997). Asseen in this qualitative interview, locomotion helped thestudent to gain access to the kinesthetic memory fromher movements, which provided a form of embodiedknowledge that might have been missed if reflectiveawareness had not been open to it. Cognition is embodied;bodily experiences contribute to thoughts, and the brainis not the sole source of these cognitions, as philosophers(e.g., Merleau-Ponty, 1945; Varela, Tompson, & Rosch,1992; Borghi & Cimatti, 2010) and neuroscientists (e.g.,Damasio, 1999) have clarified. Te human mind is inmany ways determined by the human body.

Contemplative knowing (Palmer & Zajonc,2010) is of key value in approaching both new and oldideas in the human sciences. Instead of dividing theworld in order to study it, contemplative knowing beginsby considering the world, and all of its phenomena,as interconnected. Te processes of analysis andcontemplation begin within the body, and not justwithin a disembodied mind. By exploring mood and howit relates to thoughts and actions (Kabat-Zinn, 2005),

and by connecting emotions to our inner movementspace, giving the intellect a moment to remain silent,kinesthetic memory may be recognized and integrated.In CIM, the inner movement space is moved by outerbodily movements.

Tis study suggests that the power of non-verbalways of knowing and learning can be applied in theacademic writing process.In the future, the facilitationof unlocking embodied cognition could be used in


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student education in parallel with the development of acontemplative pedagogy, as a complement to traditionalstudent academic supervision.

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About the Authors

Eva Bojner Horwitz, PhD, PhT, and Reg DMT,

is a cultural health researcher and specialized inpsychosomatic medicine and creative arts at theDepartment of Public Health and Caring Sciences,Uppsala University, and is co-founder of the Centerfor Social Sustainability, CSS, Karolinska Institutet,Stockholm, Sweden. Dr. Bojner Horwitz is a boardmember of the Swedish Association for Contemplationin Education and Research and author of a number ofbooks and articles including Te Cultural Health Boxamong others. Dr. Bojner Horwitz lectures on culturalhealth, embodiment, emotional learning, and creativearts. E-mail: [email protected]

Cecilia U. D. Stenfors, PhD,is a psychologist, researcherand lecturer, specialized on stress and cognition. Dr.Stenfors earned her bachelors and masters degree inpsychology at the University of St. Andrews in Scotlandand conducted her doctoral work at the Department ofPsychology and the Stress Research Institute at StockholmUniversity in Sweden. Dr Stenfors research concernsthe interrelationships between cognitive functioning(self-perceived and objective) versus psychosocial workenvironment, physiological and biological markers ofstress, and vulnerability factors. Dr. Stenfors has anintensive interest in how a variety of factors and methods,including contemplative activities, may contribute toincreased emotional and cognitive health, well-being,and performance.

Walter Osika, MD, PhD,is a researcher and physicianspecialized in internal medicine, cardiology, andpsychiatry, and is a consultant at the Stress Clinic,

Stockholm, Sweden. He is also co-founder and director ofthe new Center for Social Sustainability, at the KarolinskaInstitutet, Stockholm, Sweden, and co-founder of theSwedish Association for Contemplation in Educationand Research. Dr. Osika is the author of a number ofarticles and books, including PsychosomaticsTeoryand Practice and Te Stressed Heart. Dr. Osikalectures on stress physiology, the science of compassion,and social sustainability, among other topics.

bojner horwitz

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