The interplay between being and belonging through meditation: A grounded theory methods study

ABSTRACT

The relationship between the concepts of being and belonging, that is how connecting with oneself (being) interacts with connecting with others (belonging), remains to be studied in detail. In addition, the processes that take place in meditation, as an occupation, remain relatively unstudied in occupational science literature. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore what the experience of meditation, practised in the Buddhist Triratna tradition, can reveal about the interplay between being and belonging. We conducted interviews with six meditators and analysed the data using constructivist grounded theory methods. We found that being and belonging were experienced as interconnected and co-arising. Belonging provides learning opportunities for how to be, and being provides time and space to work out how to belong with others. The interplay between being and belonging through meditation is captured in the category “growing as individuals, with others; becoming more fully human”. We believe this study to be the first to detail the relationship between being and belonging, and argue that occupational science should further utilise this conceptualisation for a richer and more authentic understanding of occupation. Examples of the implications for research design and data analysis are given, as well as recommendations for further research.

KEYWORDS:

• Occupational science
• Being
• Belonging
• Meditation
• Grounded theory

Acknowledgements

The researchers thank the participants who took part in this study, and the gatekeeper who supported the ethics and recruitment processes.

Disclosure

No funding was received for the research. The authors declare no competing interests.

ORCID

Ellen Chisman http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7335-7831

Rob Brooks http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7104-0099