I am Researching Meditation in Graduate School - What Area Should we Research More?

[Insightful27]

I am in the process of applying to Psychology PhD programs, the entire aim of my career is to expand the scientific understanding and application of meditation and psychedelics. What areas do you think most deserve more research? The research proposal is for a grant from the National Science Foundation, so try to keep suggestions on the "sciency" side of things. I will take all recommendations seriously, I figure that there isn't a better place to ask for feedback than here.

As a side note, I took Leo's life purpose course the year before I started college and it is surreal how all the insights/inspiration I got from that course have come to fruition. This summer I am getting paid thousands of dollars to travel to different monasteries and research meditation, something I would pay to do. I highly recommend the course, the money was a drop in the bucket compared to the value I have gotten from Leo over the years.

I look forward to playing a small role in legitimizing meditation/psychedelics into the mainstream, so that others may benefit the same way we have benefitted. 🙂

Edited June 21 by Insightful27
typo

[Carl-Richard]

You think I will give that shit away for free? 🤣 I'm in the same boat, soon. Do you have any ideas yourself? 😂

Edited June 21 by Carl-Richard

[Insightful27]

@Carl-Richard Lmao maybe we can brainstorm together then. Are you also on the psychology side on things or more neuroscience? There are a lot of different options for neuroscience...

[Carl-Richard]

6 minutes ago, Insightful27 said:

@Carl-Richard Lmao maybe we can brainstorm together then. Are you also on the psychology side on things or more neuroscience? There are a lot of different options for neuroscience...

I'm primarily a psychology guy but with specialization in neuroscience. My masters now is an RCT and an fNIRS study on a kind of music+mindfulness practice. I did an interview about it here (it's in Norwegian but there are English subtitles):

 

Edited June 21 by Carl-Richard

[UnbornTao]

How would you frame or phrase a particular area to be researched? I assume it needs to be fairly specific and somewhat technical.

[SamC]

On 2025-06-21 at 6:56 PM, Insightful27 said:

I am in the process of applying to Psychology PhD programs, the entire aim of my career is to expand the scientific understanding and application of meditation and psychedelics. What areas do you think most deserve more research? The research proposal is for a grant from the National Science Foundation, so try to keep suggestions on the "sciency" side of things. I will take all recommendations seriously, I figure that there isn't a better place to ask for feedback than here.

As a side note, I took Leo's life purpose course the year before I started college and it is surreal how all the insights/inspiration I got from that course have come to fruition. This summer I am getting paid thousands of dollars to travel to different monasteries and research meditation, something I would pay to do. I highly recommend the course, the money was a drop in the bucket compared to the value I have gotten from Leo over the years.

I look forward to playing a small role in legitimizing meditation/psychedelics into the mainstream, so that others may benefit the same way we have benefitted. 🙂

Shambavi mahamudra

[James123]

On 6/21/2025 at 7:56 PM, Insightful27 said:

I am in the process of applying to Psychology PhD programs, the entire aim of my career is to expand the scientific understanding and application of meditation and psychedelics. What areas do you think most deserve more research? The research proposal is for a grant from the National Science Foundation, so try to keep suggestions on the "sciency" side of things. I will take all recommendations seriously, I figure that there isn't a better place to ask for feedback than here.

As a side note, I took Leo's life purpose course the year before I started college and it is surreal how all the insights/inspiration I got from that course have come to fruition. This summer I am getting paid thousands of dollars to travel to different monasteries and research meditation, something I would pay to do. I highly recommend the course, the money was a drop in the bucket compared to the value I have gotten from Leo over the years.

I look forward to playing a small role in legitimizing meditation/psychedelics into the mainstream, so that others may benefit the same way we have benefitted. 🙂

 

 

[Puer Aeternus]

Would it be helpful to connect it to something you already have interest in or prior experience with? Granted, it still has to be relevant enough in the field so don't get too crazy obscure with it.

Like make a general list of your interests. Can you connect with any of that?

Any life altering experiences or disabilities you have? Could potentially apply meditation to that.

Is there any research areas/sub-fields within meditation you're interested in? You could just read through other peoples research and expand off of where you see any holes/interesting new possibilities not yet explored. If doing that is allowed in the profession of course.

Are you interested in a specific type of meditation or technique? You could focus on that and trying to see how that produces a certain desired outcome.

What psychedelics can you test with? Any? Can you combine them with meditation in novel ways and test the results, comparing and contrasting outcomes?

[Raze]

Join the EPRC or the SEMA lab

[Insightful27]

@Raze Thanks for these suggestions! I just learned about the EPRC a couple weeks ago but SEMA is new and definitely something I will look into more.

 

[Insightful27]

@UnbornTao Well if I can get ahold of a general aspect of meditation that I could research then it is easy to break it down and make it specific/technical. For example, I want to do a comparison of Metta Meditation and Christian Prayer. This breaks down to technical concepts like mirror-neurons firing, oxytocin-dopamine-serotonin serum levels, etc. 

[Insightful27]

18 hours ago, Puer Aeternus said:

What psychedelics can you test with? Any? Can you combine them with meditation in novel ways and test the results, comparing and contrasting outcomes?

Yeah actually there was research being done at Insight Meditation Society where they were micro dosing meditators on retreat and then measuring various signs of meditation progress. I would LOVE to do something like this. Thanks for your ideas! 

[UnbornTao]

45 minutes ago, Insightful27 said:

@UnbornTao Well if I can get ahold of a general aspect of meditation that I could research then it is easy to break it down and make it specific/technical. For example, I want to do a comparison of Metta Meditation and Christian Prayer. This breaks down to technical concepts like mirror-neurons firing, oxytocin-dopamine-serotonin serum levels, etc. 

Maybe the occurrence of insight during intense meditation retreats. How come intense meditation seems to facilitate insight - both minor and life-altering - and presence (mindfulness)? Insight in the context of retreats. Something along those lines, perhaps.

Edited June 23 by UnbornTao

[Davino]

I'd research meditation like vipassana, it does have a power to rewire the brain and it seriously transforms the mind body connection.

I'm also sure kundalini somehow activates the production of endogenous chemicals, it's like accessing the inner drug lab.

Psychedelics maybe I'd sell it in two points: making the unconscious conscious. Interconnecting the brain in novel ways. 

[Carl-Richard]

12 hours ago, Davino said:

I'm also sure kundalini somehow activates the production of endogenous chemicals, it's like accessing the inner drug lab.

Finding the physical correlates of kundalini energy (or inventing new methodologies to capture it) is something I would like to research one day. There are things like nadis which are subtle phenomena and not physically measureable (as far as I know), but surely it could be possible to find something physical going on that would be particular to kundalini and which could explain or predict it.

Edited June 24 by Carl-Richard