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Visited by spirits – ‘Betwixt and between’ in meditation and solitary confinement in Myanmar

Gaborit, Liv LU (2020) In Incarceration 1(1).
Abstract
This article takes as its starting point the similar, yet differing, experiences of hearing voices among prisoners in Myanmar. It discusses why the experience of hearing voices described by prisoners is regarded as an occasion to share compassion when it occurs during meditation retreats and as torture when it occurs in solitary confinement. The article uses the concept of liminality to make sense of variations in these spiritual experiences and focuses on three factors: the presence or absence of communitas; a master of ceremony or other guidance; and whether the experiences take place at the volition of the person or is forced upon him. This leads to the conclusion that solitary confinement, due to its forced nature and the absence of... (More)
This article takes as its starting point the similar, yet differing, experiences of hearing voices among prisoners in Myanmar. It discusses why the experience of hearing voices described by prisoners is regarded as an occasion to share compassion when it occurs during meditation retreats and as torture when it occurs in solitary confinement. The article uses the concept of liminality to make sense of variations in these spiritual experiences and focuses on three factors: the presence or absence of communitas; a master of ceremony or other guidance; and whether the experiences take place at the volition of the person or is forced upon him. This leads to the conclusion that solitary confinement, due to its forced nature and the absence of communitas and guidance, represents a situation in which the prisoner is at risk of prolonged liminality and social harm which can unhinge him from his interrelational self. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Myanmar, Prison, Ethnography, Liminality, solitary, meditation
in
Incarceration
volume
1
issue
1
publisher
SAGE Publications
ISSN
2632-6663
DOI
10.1177/2632666320936431
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
7af8fb73-8330-4a08-b3a2-2538791090e3
date added to LUP
2021-02-15 11:47:29
date last changed
2021-02-15 15:53:40
@article{7af8fb73-8330-4a08-b3a2-2538791090e3,
  abstract     = {{This article takes as its starting point the similar, yet differing, experiences of hearing voices among prisoners in Myanmar. It discusses why the experience of hearing voices described by prisoners is regarded as an occasion to share compassion when it occurs during meditation retreats and as torture when it occurs in solitary confinement. The article uses the concept of liminality to make sense of variations in these spiritual experiences and focuses on three factors: the presence or absence of communitas; a master of ceremony or other guidance; and whether the experiences take place at the volition of the person or is forced upon him. This leads to the conclusion that solitary confinement, due to its forced nature and the absence of communitas and guidance, represents a situation in which the prisoner is at risk of prolonged liminality and social harm which can unhinge him from his interrelational self.}},
  author       = {{Gaborit, Liv}},
  issn         = {{2632-6663}},
  keywords     = {{Myanmar; Prison; Ethnography; Liminality; solitary; meditation}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  publisher    = {{SAGE Publications}},
  series       = {{Incarceration}},
  title        = {{Visited by spirits – ‘Betwixt and between’ in meditation and solitary confinement in Myanmar}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2632666320936431}},
  doi          = {{10.1177/2632666320936431}},
  volume       = {{1}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}