Alums pen meditation study

The interest began early for James Carson — first as a mental tug drawing an adolescent to books on spiritual enlightenment.

Later it became a steady pull, beckoning a UNC student to study meditation and become a monk in India.

Finally, it brought an older, wiser man back to UNC for a doctorate, where he and his wife, Kimberly, found a unique use for his meditation studies.

Last fall, the Carsons, who now work at Duke University, published the results of a study they completed for James Carson’s dissertation in 2000. They found that couples engaging in “mindfulness” meditation improved aspects of their relationship functioning and personal well-being by about 50 percent, on average.

“We found that this really cemented our relationship and made it much stronger,” James Carson said.

The article, published in Behavior Therapy, also was written by UNC psychology professors Donald Baucom and Karen Gil.

The study, which used 44 couples already experiencing good relationships, revealed that the effects lingered even months after the study.

It was conducted during the course of a year and a half while the Carsons were graduate students at UNC.

In addition to mindfulness meditation classes, couples were given outside assignments.

Using techniques such as controlled breathing and yoga exercises, couples were taught to focus on the present and on each other.

“Instead of your attention being drawn away from the moment-to-moment of life, we focus our attention on the here and now,” James Carson said of the technique.

Practitioners gently focus on their goal rather than try to push away all other thoughts, James Carson said.

“When we try and cut them off, they’re going to naturally intrude,” he said. “The approach is something more subtle and gentle.”

And the technique, despite or perhaps because of its subtlety, has stood the test of time: Its origins date back to ancient Sanskrit texts, which have existed for thousands of years.

Though the techniques have been applied to various studies in complementary medicine, the Carsons said they think their study is the first to extend its benefits to relationships.

Gil shares the enthusiasm for the project. “I think the research is exciting,” said Gil, James Carson’s dissertation adviser during the study. “And the fact that a doctoral student was able to get his research published is amazing.”

The Carsons both had been practicing mindfulness techniques for years before they met at UNC.

Kimberly Carson had been a long-time student of yoga and mindfulness meditation before she met James Carson as a graduate student.

James Carson, who studied at UNC in the 1970s, had an interest in meditation and spiritual enlightenment going back to when he was 12 years old.

“I began to have experiences of a higher consciousness,” he said. “A consciousness that all of us have that we’re unaware of.”

In 1972, he decided to put his education on hold to find a meditation master.

He spent the next 20 years studying as a monk, until he decided to return to UNC and apply his interest to academia and helping relationships — including his own.

“It gave us a depth to our relationship and a basis for understanding one another that we found very rich,” James Carson said.

Contact the Features Editor at features@unc.edu.