SEEKERS OF THE QUIET MIND : A STUDY OF MEDITATORS IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

In this exercise, I intend to illuminate how and why people meditate and what meaning meditaion has for them. The findings obtained thereof could help us understand about some of the transitions current in our society, both within the local context of Singapore as well as the wider global setting. Since I have been teaming meditation and relaxation techniques from 1982, I am able to be both both the studier and the studied. Through this exercise, I wish to contribute two things. My first objective has been stated above. The second aim is that, while looking at the phenomenon under study, I wish also to throw light on the issue of methodology. The problematic of methodology interms of reflectivity is one which all of us in the social science disciplines must confront with. The hotter the fire, the purer the gold. As meditation is a highly experiential phenomenon, studying it would provide an excellent opportunity to put the problematic of methodology to the test. Behind the two aforesaid objectives, is my personal interest. In using sociological and anthropological approaches for this study, I hope to understand more about the social world I live in and the acedemic disciplines I was trained in.