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Contemplative psychology is defined as the body of “psychological insights and methods that are – often implicitly – present in the vision and practices of religions and that clarify and guide one’s contemplative or religious development”. As such, contemplative psychology is an intrinsic part of the contemplative traditions of most world religions. Within the contemplative traditions themselves, in some cases more than one millennium old, these insights and methods are not necessarily called ‘psychological’ as the concept of ‘psychology’ is recent. Religious phenomenon that could be considered as contemplative in nature are mindfulness, meditation, reflection, and possibly reflective prayer.

Development
Contemplative psychology is not based on academic psychological theories that discuss contemplation, religion, or religious behavior from the outside. Rather than focusing on the psychological mechanisms of mindfulness, contemplative psychology focuses on the positive or beneficial outcomes of meditation and self-awareness.

It became visible in the Western sphere of psychology when researchers began studying the methods used to help individuals understand their own mind, emotions, and motivations. The goal of these practices is to improve the quality of ones own life (and, by extension, the quality of other people's lives). Research began at Naropa University, and was developed extensively by Dutch PhD Han F. De Wit. He has written many journal articles and books on this subject, including "Contemplative Psychology" and "The Spiritual Path: An Introduction to the Psychology of the Spiritual Traditions".

Thus far, mindfulness has been the contemplative practice of most research. Mindfulness is a practice that allows one to exist in the present moment without being judgmental of it This meditative absorption, often referred to as samadhi in many eastern traditions, is the equivalent of contemplation in Christian tradition. Gerald G. May expands on this notion in his book Will and Spirit by differentiating between willfulness and willingness. Willfulness, he explains, is one's attempted mastery over the psyche, while willingness is a surrender of one's self to a way of being. Contemplative practices allow persons to cultivate meaningful experiences intrinsic to religious and spiritual traditions that are virtually absent in modern, mechanistic psychology alone.

Uses
An example of using contemplative psychology would be using Buddhist concepts such as brilliant sanity (or buddha-nature), ego, mindfulness, and interconnectedness as framework for interpreting psychological experiences, as is done in the contemplative counseling program at Naropa university. The same could be applied to other faiths, as May used the Christian concept of Grace as a framework for explaining our psychological surrender to a cosmic order.