that meditation changed depressive’s dysfunctional thoughts without addressing them as in
cognitive therapy which focused just on these thoughts. If depression is caused by dysfunctional
thinking, why do the same thoughts return with relapses and are they really cognitively
restructured? And why does the meditation which doesn’t address cognitive restructuring have
the same effect? Is CT an elaborate form of attentional training, i.e., meditation?!!
I gave all participants the SHCS Stanford Hypnotic Clinical Scale thinking the good meditators
may have greater absorption and be better able to let intrusions float by. We had no correlation
with results and hypnotic ability.
Lerner, M. [Recent medical research on yoga and states of concentration]. Acta siquiatr Psicol
Am Lat, Mar 1975, 21(1):56-63. [In Spanish.]
___. Yoga concentration and psychotherapy. Acta Psychiat Am Lat. 1971, 17:410ff.
Lesh, Terry V. Zen meditation and the development of empathy in counselors. In D. H. Shapiro,
and R. N. Walsh, eds., Meditation: Classic and Contemporary Perspectives. New York: Aldine
Publishing, 1984, pp. 152-187.
Leskowitz, E. Seasonal affective disorder and the yoga paradigm: A reconsideration of the role
of the pineal gland. Med Hypotheses, Nov 1990, 33(3):155-158.
Abstract: Seasonal Affective Disorder is a psychiatric disorder whose pathophysiology and
clinical presentation are poorly understood. By applying the ancient paradigm of yoga
psychology to this subject, new understandings of the syndrome emerge regarding the possible
role of the pineal gland, the clinical presentation of the syndrome, and the possible mechanism of
action of phototherapy. The energy depletion model presented here ties together such diverse
elements as: dose-response aspects of phototherapy, anergia as a primary symptom of SAD,
“spring fever,” myofascial pain disorder, the anti-gonadotrophic effect of melatonin, and pineal
supersensitivity in bipolar patients. Clinical predictions are made, and simple research protocols
are suggested which can directly test the hypotheses generated by this paradigm.
Lester, D. Zen and happiness. Psychol Rep, Apr 1999, 84(2):650.
Leung, Paul. Comparative effects of training in external and internal concentration on two
counseling behaviors. In D. H. Shapiro, and R. N. Walsh, eds., Meditation: Classic and
Contemporary Perspectives. New York: Aldine Publishing, 1984, pp. 188-195.
Levenson, M. R., P. A. Jennings, C. M. Aldwin, and R. W. Shiraishi. Self-transcendence:
conceptualization and measurement. International Journal of Aging and Human Development,
Jan 2005, 60(2): 127 - 143. PMID: 15801386. Author email: [email protected].
Abstract: Self-transcendence has been hypothesized to be a critical component of wisdom
(Curnow, 1999) and adaptation in later life (Tornstam, 1994). It reflects a decreasing reliance on
externals for definition of the self, increasing interiority and spirituality, and a greater sense of
connectedness with past and future generations. The Adult Self-Transcendence Inventory was
administered to 351 individuals along with the NEO-FFI Personality Scale (McCrae & Costa,
1989). A principal axis factor analysis identified two factors: self-transcendence and alienation.
The relationships between self-transcendence and neuroticism, openness to experience,
extraversion, and agreeableness were significant, although modest, suggesting that self-
transcendence cannot be accounted for in terms of positive personality traits alone. As expected, a