What is Contemplation? What are the Contemplative Creative Science?

What does it truly mean to contemplate? Do we contemplate naturally, or is it something we learn to do? Why would we choose to contemplate in the first place? And how, in practice, do we cultivate a contemplative way of being?

These questions open the doorway to a deeper exploration of mind and experience. Contemplation is not merely thinking or reflecting—it is a disciplined, compassionate, and embodied inquiry into the nature of reality. It invites us to pause, to observe with awareness, and to perceive the interconnection between self, others, and the living world.

This is where Contemplative Creative Science begins: as a path of first-person exploration into the embodied mind, integrating the wisdom of contemplative traditions with the creative process as a method of direct insight and transformation.

Contemplation is a word and concept that originated from the Greek and Latin languages.

Let us look at a definition of CONTEMPLATION (Wikipedia, 2022) :

"The word contemplation is derived from the Latin word contemplatio, ultimately from the Latin word templum, a piece of ground consecrated for the taking of auspices, or a building for worship. The Latin word contemplatio was used to translate the Greek word θεωρία (theōría).

Contemplation was an important part of the philosophy of Plato; Plato thought that through contemplation, the soul may ascend to knowledge of the Form of the Good or other divine Forms The Neoplatonists the word theoria, attached to it the idea expressed by the Hebrew word da'ath, which, though usually translated as "knowledge", is a much stronger term, since it indicates the experiential knowledge that comes with love and that involves the whole person, not merely the mind. In Eastern Christianity, Contemplation (theoria) literally means to see God or to have the Vision of God".

In our modern day, when we talk of contemplation, it is often synonymous with thinking, reflecting, debating, deliberating, and sometimes even meditating. However, in Buddhist psychology and the framework of embodied mind training, contemplation is a practice in itself.

Sun Mountains Enso and Meditator

As Thupten Jinpa explained in his book "A Fearless Heart: How the courage to compassionate can transform our lives" (2015, pp. 71-87), in the traditional Tibetan Buddhist structure for practice, you:

1. Set an Intention

2. We receive a teaching

3. We contemplate the teaching

4. We 'set conscious intention' for the meditation

5. We practice meditation with an object

6. Dedication

Defining Contemplative Creative Science

Contemplative Creative Science (CCS) is a discipline of first-person, experiential inquiry into the nature of the embodied mind and its interrelationship with the living world. It employs methods of refined concentration, mindfulness, compassion, and introspection to directly observe states of consciousness and mental processes in relation to the self, others, and the natural environment.

As articulated by the Center for Contemplative Research (2021), “Contemplative science offers the rigorous, replicable methods—the contemplative technology—that science needs to expand its scope and encompass all of reality, including the subject pole of experience.” Center for Contemplative Research (CCR), 2021 This view highlights the essential integration of subjective and objective dimensions of knowing that underpins the CCS paradigm.

The theoretical foundations of CCS draw from diverse streams of contemplative science and artistic practice, rooted in traditional and modern Buddhist thought—particularly philosophy, psychology, and epistemology—as well as contemporary research in neuroscience, mindfulness, acceptance, and compassion studies.

CCS proposes a holistic and integrative framework that unites contemplative inquiry with creative expression as a means of training and transforming the embodied mind. Its inspiration is drawn from the interdisciplinary curriculum of Nālandā University (5th–13th century, India) and the contemplative art lineages of the School of Zen and Shambhala International, both of which emphasize the inseparability of wisdom, creativity, and compassionate action.

Contemplative Creative Practices (CCP) are forms of meditation situated along a continuum of mindfulness, compassion, and awareness-based practices. They are informed by Buddhist methods of inquiry such as contemplation, deconstruction, and meditative analysis, and are designed to cultivate insight into the nature of mind and experience.

The contemplative creative process shares many similarities with the methods of creative arts therapy. Comparable modalities—such as brush painting, collage, journaling, body movement, clay work, natural arrangements, installations, and photography—are used to observe and contemplate the mind, while also cultivating value-based and prosocial qualities (Ates, 2017, 2022).

At the LOJONG Centre for Contemplative Creative Science, these modalities are integrated within a contemplative framework, encompassing brushwork, contemplative photo collage, the Contemplative Mandala Method, contemplative writing, contemplative movement, clay and natural arrangements, and contemplative photography. Natural arrangements, in particular, are bio-based practices inspired by seasonal cycles and the five elements—water, air, fire, earth, and space—as pathways for embodied exploration and contemplation.

Through these contemplative creative modalities, the practitioner learns to bridge inner awareness with outer expression, allowing creativity to become a direct path of insight. The act of creating is not aimed at aesthetic outcome, but at cultivating presence, compassion, and embodied understanding. Each medium—whether movement, image, word, or natural form—becomes a mirror through which the mind can be observed and transformed.

In this way, Contemplative Creative Practices (CCPs) serve as both a method and a metaphor for integrating meditation into daily life. They invite the practitioner to experience art as meditation-in-action, where awareness unfolds through the simplicity of gesture, perception, and participation in the living world.

Within the context of mental health and psychotherapy, these practices nurture emotional regulation, resilience, and embodied self-awareness—core dimensions of healing within the Contemplative Creative Therapy (CCT) model. They offer clinicians and contemplative practitioners a pathway to deepen their experiential understanding of the embodied mind and to translate this awareness into compassionate, integrative care.

At The Lojong Center, our training programs in Contemplative Creative Therapy and Contemplative Creative Science are dedicated to this purpose. They provide a space for clinicians, educators, and contemplative practitioners to cultivate mindfulness, compassion, and embodied mind training through direct experience, study, and creative exploration.

May your own journey in contemplative creative practice continue to unfold with clarity, curiosity, and care.

Emma JM. Ates