Research
Some research ideas...
Breema & addictions
I have found that Breema meets deep needs in me that I sometimes attempt to meet through addictive behavior (food etc). A study could include a group of people in treatment for addictions, where half receive regular Breema sessions and the other is a control group. Is there a short term and/or long term difference in the groups?
Breema and well-being/quality of life
Randomly assign people to Breema, Tai Chi, Yoga, swimming, no special activity, etc. Is there a difference between the groups? If so, what?
Lo-Jong/Mind Training and Empathy
Explore the effects of Buddhist mind-training techniques on empathy, quality of life, etc.
Effects of meditation on personality etc.
Study of long-term meditation practitioners, compared to non-meditators and new meditators. Possible flaw: difference to begin with between those motivated for long-term practice and those not.
Meditation and well-being/quality of life/empathy etc.
Is there a connection between meditation and well-being, empathy, etc?
Acupuncture and Psychology
Effects on acupuncture on well-being, reduced depression/anxiety etc. (using control groups)
Meditation/Breema and Youth
Teach meditation and/or Breema to high-school students, and see if there is an effect (socially, quality of life, academically, etc).
Near death and/or mystical experiences
How many has had near-death and/or spontaneous mystical experiences? What effect, if any, did it have on their life?
Cancer and personality/coping approaches
Continuing along a line of existing research.
Of course, for many of these topics the challenge will be to sort out any cause/effect relationships. Is it possible to randomly assign people to Breema, mind training, etc. and expect them to do it with sincerity? If people are self-assigned, then how can we sort out personality from practice effects? Maybe personality/initial motivation is a key factor and random assignment is a mistaken approach?