Intense Meditation-Related Experiences (IMREs) and Perceived Impacts on Self and Worldview: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

Intense meditation-related experiences (IMREs) can suddenly alter a person's sense of self, worldview, and emotions, but their meaning often shifts as meditators reflect and interpret them over time within their social and cultural context. Through in-depth interviews with 13 participants, four themes emerged: watching the self and world transform; emotional explosions leading to insight; deciding whether to share the experience or remain silent; and developing new perspectives and agency. Most participants found that the meaning of their IMREs became clearer through conversation with others, using concepts from science and meditation traditions. These experiences were transformative, offering new ways of perceiving and acting in the world.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Abstract Objectives Meditation can elicit intense experiences that change the sense of self, alter worldview, and evoke strong negative and positive emotions, impacting daily life. These intense meditation-related experiences (IMREs) often begin suddenly but their emotional impact and meaning can change significantly as meditators reflect on and interpret them over time, shaped by an interplay of embodied and conceptual experience in ecosocial context. Unanswered research questions revolve not just around the onset and trajectories of IMREs, but also their interpretations and potentially transformative impacts on life. Method This study employed Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), a methodology that allows for in-depth inductive analysis. Semi-structured interviews with 13 participants analyzed phenomenological lived experience, meaning-making, and perceived impacts of IMREs. Results Four main themes describing meditators’ experience and meaning-making process were developed through the analysis: (1) Watching the self and the world transform; (2) From exploding emotional experiences to receiving insight; (3) Weighing what to say: finding solace or falling silent; and (4) Towards new perspectives and agency. The themes illustrate how meditation sparked transformative experiences that changed how these meditators see themselves and exercise agency in the world. Conclusions Discussion of findings explores how meditators were impacted by IMREs while exercising agency in how they chose to understand and respond to them. The meaning of experience for some was immediately clear while for most it clarified through conversation with others over time. Meditators used concepts from science and meditative practice traditions to make sense of their experiences. Participants’ IMREs were transformative experiences that afforded new ways of perceiving and acting in the world.