Qualitative enquiry into mindfulness of death meditation among experienced practitioners : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Psychology at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand
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Date
2025
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Massey University
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Abstract
The benefits of meditation and mindfulness-based interventions are widely known and have been studied extensively since the end of the last century. However, mindfulness of death is a less researched practice, and appears to be less common among mindfulness practitioners. In non-clinical populations mindfulness of death has been linked to greater self-awareness, decreased death anxiety and increase in prosocial attitudes and values. Given the positive reports for using this practice, further research into its effects and mechanisms could be of benefit. The current study is a qualitative enquiry into mindfulness of death among experienced practitioners. The research is directed at exploring individual motivations to participate in such practice, its effects and challenges. Semi-structured interviews with six individuals from Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia were completed. Transcripts of the interviews were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), an appropriate qualitative methodology for analysing subjective experiences of meditation. Three group experiential themes emerged from the dataset: (1) close and personal with death, (2) transformation and (3) controlled losing of the mind. The results of this study indicated that mindfulness of death was an important practice that contributed to how participants understood their relationship with dying and living. It had contributed to their focus on values-based living and mindfulness in relationships. The participants also reported deepening their metacognitive and emotion regulation abilities. Identified challenges were around frequency and intensity of the practice, as well as one’s emotional readiness to confront mortality. Practical implications of the findings are discussed. There is room for future quantitative research exploring the themes generated from this study using a larger statistically significant sample to test generalisability. Aspects such as intensity and frequency of this practice can also be explored further.