ABSTRACT
This chapter is an example of applying contemplative methods. It includes a description of collaborative research that was done together with students during a class entitled “Contemplative Sociology. Experiencing Self, No-Self, and the Lifeworld.” The goal of the research was to introduce the students to contemplative methods that could be used to research lived experiences and the vision of the lifeworld through contemplation of the mind, bodily sensations, and emotions. A project was started on experiencing the cemetery space. The space for experiencing was chosen to sensitize the students to concerns such as death, religious holidays, everyday life, and suffering, among others. These topics can be investigated from the first-person perspective by using contemplation as an alternative to surveys methods, sociological methods, psychological methods, and ethnography. The students learned the contemplative meditation techniques, body awareness, self-observation, and self-description to face their concerns, including the ultimate concerns. However, the main focus was the role of the mind, body, and emotions in cognition and creating the mood.
