Abstract:

Although researchers and clinicians in the field of mainstream psychology often view the transformative potential of religious experience as outside the scope of clinical practice, this author proposed that participation in a specific spiritual practice, Zen Buddhist meditation, may positively transform adults' internal working models of attachment, as defined by Bowlby. Hence, using the lens of integral inquiry, this research explored how Zen Buddhist practice affects the attachment styles and autobiographical component of American practitioners' internal representations of early attachment experiences as compared with those of non-Buddhists. Participants' attachment styles were measured using the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised Adult Attachment Questionnaire (ECR-R ), and MANOVA analysis showed no statistically significant difference between the attachment patterns of Zen Buddhists and non-Buddhists. A chi-square test also revealed that attachment styles do not appear to change over time as a function of Zen Buddhist meditation or other religious affiliations. Categorical-content narrative analysis, however, illuminated a finding that Zen Buddhists experienced the highest degree of emotional resolution in regard to early attachment-related memories. Narrative analysis also illustrated that Zen Buddhists more frequently articulated themes of agency when sharing childhood memories and significant life events, whereas non-Buddhists more often portrayed themes of communion. Holistic-form narrative inquiry additionally indicated that religious individuals feel greater emotional resolution in regard to early attachment experience when compared with those who do not engage in religious practice. As such, continued participation in organized religion appears to confer increased flexibility in how childhood attachment memories are remembered and affectively experienced. These findings suggest that transpersonalists may be better served by expanding on knowledge of how long-term participation in organized religious systems impacts daily, ordinary life over the long term, rather than by focusing on decontextualized, discrete spiritual experiences and the phenomenological effects of those experiences.