Chenrezig Sadhana VR: A Novel Arousal-Based Virtual Reality Neurofeedback Meditation System.

This paper introduces a novel arousal-based virtual reality (VR) neurofeedback meditation system based on Buddhist visualization techniques, which generates meditation imagery based on the users state of physiological arousal. Therapists have increasingly incorporated mindfulness-based VR meditation systems into their interventions to treat a wide range of psychological conditions, however the effectiveness of mindfulness based VR meditation systems is still unproven. We propose that visualization based meditation presented in VR will have greater efficacy for the improvement of psychological well-being than mindfulness based VR meditation. We base this on the hypothesis that the visual affordances of VR and the arousal of the autonomic nervous system it produces through the phenomenon of virtual presence, links the technology directly with visualization based meditation techniques found in Buddhism which also induce arousal in the body. We have designed a pilot study where participants practice a Buddhist visualization meditation technique using our arousal-based VR neurofeedback system, while a control group will experience a VR mindfulness system. We hypothesize that the visualization based VR experience will have greater efficacy for improving psychological well-being than the mindfulness based systems.