The Developing Mind: A Qualitative Multicase Study of the Intra- and Interpersonal Learning Experiences and Practices of Mindfulness-Based Practitioners

This naturalistic study explored the intrapersonal and interpersonal learning experiences of nine mindfulness-based practitioners during and between individual and group meditation sessions. Grounded in the science of autopoiesis---the mind and body connection---as well as affect and the neurosciences, its purpose was to explore the first-person and group learning experiences of mindfulness practitioners. Because nothing is permanent, the findings represent an emerging process with each lived experience creating conceptual and perceptual affect in the developing mind.;The major findings of this research study implicate that all learning---cognitive, affective, and evolutionary---is transformative. Mindful practitioners actively participate in that transformative process through mind/body awareness, imagery, creative exploration, reflection, and behavioral changes. The study provides empirical evidence supporting the benefits of mindfulness-based meditation in awareness of the mind/body connection, the heightened level of emotional and social intelligence, and the ability to understand and connect with the inner wisdom that all of us have access to, but few know how to reach.