In a groundbreaking study recently published in Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, researchers Pillai, Manimaran, Mannheim, and colleagues have unveiled a pioneering experiential framework for understanding Bhāvanā, an ancient meditative tradition often translated as “mental cultivation” or “development.” This scholarly work challenges conventional notions of meditation by moving beyond simple attention regulation, instead portraying Bhāvanā as a dynamic, embodied, and deeply personal path of inner transformation. Central to this conceptual leap is the newly devised PAL framework, which synthesizes insights from long-term practitioners of the IAM®-35 meditation method, offering a richly textured lens through which the nuances of meditative experience can be appreciated and studied.
The PAL framework represents a triadic structure consisting of foundational capacities (PI), embodied engagement (MACK), and non-linear deepening (CITLO), each of which encapsulates distinctive elements of meditative practice. These components illuminate how Bhāvanā unfolds as a lived, evolving process rather than a fixed set of techniques. Foundational capacities include perseverance and affective memory—critical psychological mechanisms that sustain engagement over time and cultivate an emotional landscape conducive to transformation. Embodied engagement underscores the multisensory imagination and creative adaptation practitioners employ, highlighting how meditation integrates the body and senses in ways often overlooked by traditional cognitive models.
Perhaps most intriguing is the dimension of non-linear deepening, encapsulated in the term CITLO, which conveys the iterative and often unpredictable deepening of meditative states, occasionally punctuated by glimpses of non-duality. This aspect acknowledges that Bhāvanā does not progress in a simple linear fashion but rather weaves through complex experiential layers that challenge dualistic perceptions of self and world. Such insights have profound implications not just for contemplative studies, but also for psychological research and applied mental health fields, suggesting new pathways for cultivating resilience, creativity, and well-being.
Drawing from the lived experiences of IAM®-35 practitioners—individuals committed to extensive meditation practice over many years—the study adopts a grounded theory approach. This qualitative methodology allows the researchers to derive theory directly from detailed, richly narrated personal experiences, avoiding preconceived frameworks that might limit understanding. The result is a model that honors the subjective richness and pragmatic realities of meditative cultivation, presenting Bhāvanā as a nuanced journey shaped by both internal and external conditions.
Conventional meditation studies have often prioritized attention control or mindfulness as primary outcomes, focusing predominantly on single cognitive faculties. However, the PAL framework disrupts this narrow lens by foregrounding a multidimensional practice that involves the body, emotions, creativity, and a nonlinear trajectory of growth. This holistic perspective better aligns with how many practitioners report their experiences—dynamic, embodied, and intimately intertwined with personal meaning and context.
The inclusion of affective memory within the foundational capacities is a particularly novel contribution, positioning past emotional experiences as fertile ground from which new meditative insights can emerge. This conceptualization integrates affective neuroscience with contemplative theory, suggesting that emotions are not mere distractions but vital components of sustained spiritual work. Embracing this interrelation could help researchers reconceptualize therapeutic modalities to address emotional memory more effectively.
Embodied engagement, captured through the acronym MACK, highlights specific qualities such as multisensory imagination and creative adaptation. These components reveal how meditation is not simply about shutting down sensory input but rather about engaging with a richly textured and adaptive inner landscape. The body’s role is central, serving as a medium through which subtle shifts in awareness and affect can be cultivated and manifested, which complicates previously dominant mind-body dichotomies in contemplative science.
CITLO, representing the non-linear deepening process, acknowledges the complex and sometimes unpredictable nature of meditative progress. This challenges reductive views of meditation as a steadily ascending ladder of achievement, instead proposing a dynamic path where breakthroughs may happen sporadically or unpredictably. The recognition of non-duality glimpses within this phase points to moments when the practiced sense of separateness between self and other dissolves—a hallmark of many contemplative traditions difficult to capture in empirical research.
The implications of the PAL framework extend well beyond academic theory; it carries potential to influence clinical practices and mental health interventions. By recognizing meditation as an embodied, affective journey with personal significance, mental health professionals might better support clients in integrating these experiences therapeutically. Moreover, this model could guide the design of more nuanced contemplative training programs that are responsive to the complexities of lived experience rather than rigid protocols.
This research also enriches the ongoing discourse within contemplative psychology by bridging the gap between phenomenological descriptions and psychological mechanisms. The grounded, experiential insights derived from dedicated IAM®-35 practitioners serve as a valuable empirical base, advancing efforts to articulate the qualitative texture of meditation in a rigorous scientific framework. As a result, future investigations may benefit from integrating such frameworks to explore underexamined aspects of contemplative practice.
It is noteworthy that the authors eschew mechanistic or purely cognitive-behavioral explanations. Instead, their balanced attention to embodied, affective, and personal meaning-making processes opens new doors for interdisciplinary dialogue. For instance, scholars in philosophy, anthropology, and neuropsychology may find fertile ground for cross-pollination with the PAL model’s conceptual richness and methodological rigor.
The study’s innovative approach exemplifies the potential of experiential models to revitalize contemplative research, shifting the focus from isolated mental functions to a holistic view of human development. The incorporation of creative adaptation and perseverance illustrates how meditative practice is an adaptive, resilient process that responds to the practitioner’s evolving inner and outer world, framed as a continual process rather than a final goal.
Long-term IAM®-35 practitioners’ narratives provide essential richness, underscoring the importance of longitudinal perspectives. These narratives emphasize that sustained meditative engagement is crucial for unfolding the deeper dimensions of Bhāvanā conceptualized in the PAL framework. The study thus implicitly calls for more long-term empirical and qualitative work to fully appreciate meditation’s transformative potential over time.
Finally, by redefining Bhāvanā as an evolving inner cultivation, the research invites a reevaluation of how contemplative traditions are integrated into contemporary mental health and wellbeing initiatives. Rather than seeing meditation as a mere skill to acquire, it proposes understanding it as an intimate, ongoing journey of transformation that weaves together perseverance, embodied imagination, creativity, and profound experiential insights into the nature of self and reality.
The PAL framework’s revelation marks a significant advance in contemplative studies, promising to inspire future interdisciplinary scholarship and practice. As the mental health field increasingly recognizes the importance of embodied and affective dimensions in psychological well-being, such nuanced frameworks hold promise for creating more impactful therapeutic interventions. The integration of ancient wisdom and modern scientific inquiry embodied in this study exemplifies the exciting potential of meditation research in the 21st century.
Subject of Research:
The experiential and theoretical modeling of Bhāvanā (meditative cultivation) through the PAL framework based on long-term IAM®-35 practitioner’s lived experiences.
Article Title:
Defining Bhāvanā through the PAL framework: grounded theory insights from long-term IAM®-35 practitioners.
Article References:
Pillai, S., Manimaran, H., Mannheim, G.B. et al. Defining Bhāvanā through the PAL framework: grounded theory insights from long-term IAM®-35 practitioners. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 12, 1487 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05783-y
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