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Meditation is not a tool or technique and yet it can be a gateway into the deeper dimensions of learning. Contained in this personal narrative are the revelations of a graduate student in international education as she carries out cross-cultural empowerment fieldwork with Cambodian women refugees on the Thai-Cambodian border. After a disorienting rejection by a Cambodian-American colleague she discovers the value of Buddhist meditation practice in navigating the difficult terrain of her attachment to a belief system based on theories about oppression and her attitude toward engagement in participatory educational methods. In the moment-to-moment awareness of meditation practice is revealed the constructed nature of the egoic self and the ways in which belief structures are solidified, defended, and let go. The implications of the contemplative journey for transformative and integrative learning are investigated in the light of insight gleaned from this experience.
PURPOSE: To determine whether non-physical activity mind and body practices reduce the severity of fatigue in patients with cancer or hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients compared to control interventions. METHODS: We included randomized trials which compared non-physical activity mind and body practices compared with control interventions for the management of fatigue in cancer and HSCT patients. RESULTS: Among 55 trials (4975 patients), interventions were acupuncture or acupressure (n=12), mindfulness (n=11), relaxation techniques (n=10), massage (n=6), energy therapy (n=5), energizing yogic breathing (n=3) and others (n=8). When combined, all interventions significantly reduced fatigue severity compared to all controls (standardized mean difference -0.51, 95% confidence interval -0.73 to -0.29). More specifically, mindfulness and relaxation significantly reduced fatigue severity. CONCLUSIONS: Mindfulness and relaxation were effective at reducing fatigue severity in patients with cancer and HSCT recipients. Future studies should evaluate how to translate these findings into clinical practice across different patient groups.