ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Consciousness Research
Mindfulness and Devotion in Tantric Yoga: Evidence of a Strong Trait Association
American Psychological Association, Washington D.C., United States
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Abstract
Meditation research has focused primarily on secular forms of mindfulness meditation rather than spiritual forms of meditation, and rarely on devotion in meditation. This study sought to gain broader understanding of the psychological characteristics (mindfulness, mysticism, self-actualization, positive affect and negative affect) and practice characteristics (minutes per day and years of practice) that are associated with devotion within a form of Tantric Yoga meditation. A cross-sectional correlational research design was used to examine questionnaire responses to standardized psychological tests, and information concerning meditation practice. Devotion was found to have the strongest partial correlations (age removed) with trait mindfulness, and trait mindfulness was the only variable to predict devotion in an exploratory multiple regression. This strong relationship of devotion and trait mindfulness may arise from the shared value of developing a one-pointed focus of attention within traditional Buddhist practices and within the bhakti (devotional) meditation practices of Tantric Yoga.
Summary
Keywords
Ananda Marga, Buddhism, devotion, Meditation, mindfulness, Spiritual, Tantra, Yoga
Received
20 December 2025
Accepted
05 February 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Maxwell. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Richard W. Maxwell
Disclaimer
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