Mindfulness Training Encourages Self-Transcendent States via Decentering

Self-transcendence is theorized to be a core, mechanism of mindfulness. Yet, no known empirical study has investigated the process by which self-transcendent experiences emerge in novice practitioners. To address this gap, this study explored whether changes in decentering in response to mindfulness training translated into increases in self-transcendence over the course of five mindfulness training sessions. Participants (N=26) were randomly allocated to either a mindfulness training condition or an active listening condition. Results indicated that mindfulness training increased both decentering (p=.023) and self-transcendence (p=.001) relative to the active listening condition. Furthermore, greater decentering at the mid-point of training predicted greater self-transcendence at the training’s end, suggesting that those participants that become better able to non-reactively observe their thoughts, feelings and physical sensations while meditating were also more likely to experience self-transcendence. This study provides the first empirical evidence that mindfulness training can cultivate self- transcendent experiences through the process of decentering from internal phenomena.