NOM

Michael R. Sheehy

Affiliation

Director of Research | Research Associate Professor | Principal at the CIRCL, Contemplative Innovation + Research Co-Lab, Contemplative Sciences Center, University of Virginia 

Role in NOM

Investigator, Phenomenology and Buddhist Studies

Profile 1
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Goal(s) in the NOM

Characterization of the nature of mind (NOM) based on Tibetan meditation manuals and neurophenomenology. Phenomenological disambiguation of remarkable experiences (REs) that emerge in meditation and nature of mind. 

Education

Ph.D., Buddhist Studies, California Institute of Integral Studies, concurrent at University of California-Berkeley 2007; M.A. Buddhist Studies, California Institute of Integral Studies, concurrent at Columbia University 2003; B.A., cum laude, Religious Studies and Psychology, Wheaton College 1998

Relevant Experience 

  • 30 years experience studying Tibetan Buddhism.
  • 10+ years experience facilitating transdisciplinary meditation research. 
  • Trained in a Buddhist monastery in Tibet with meditation masters and scholars, and extensive experience with long-term advanced meditators.
  • Expertise in nondual meditation practices of Tibetan Buddhism – namely, Dzogchen, Mahāmudrā, and Zhentong.
  • Expertise in the phenomenology of meditation, including microphenomenology and related phenomenological methodologies applied to query and analyze meditative experiences.  
  • Expertise in historical Tibetan Buddhist meditation manuals, contemplative literature and lexicons. 
  • Experience in the study of contemplative sleep practices, namely dream yoga and dreamless sleep clear light. 

Relevant Publications

  • Sheehy, Michael R., Gupta, Naina, and Sacchet, Matthew D. Under review. “Persistent Meditative Endpoints, Advanced Meditation, and Tibetan Buddhist Dzogchen: A Review and Theoretical Framework for the Scientific Study of Nondual Awareness (NDA).”
  • Sheehy, Michael R. Forthcoming. “Meditation as Medicine: Dispelling Obstructions, Enhancing Practice, and the Cultural Cognition of Contemplative Experience in Tibet.” Mind, Body, and Culture group, special issue on Differential Wellbeing and Resilience in Cultural Practices in Ethos: Journal of the Society for Psychological Anthropology.
  • Sheehy, Michael R. 2025. “Dreaming Oneself Awake: Psychological Flexibility, Imaginal Simulation, and Somatic Awareness in Tibetan Buddhist Dream Yoga.” In Dreaming, a journal of the American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/drm0000302. 
  • Sheehy, Michael R. 2023. “Cognitive Illusion, Lucid Dreaming, and the Psychology of Metaphor in Tibetan Buddhist Dzogchen Contemplative Practices.” International Journal of Transpersonal Studies. DOI: 10.24972/ijts.2023.42.2.63. 
  • Deroche, Marc-Henri and Sheehy, Michael R. 2022. “The Distinctive Mindfulness of Dzogchen: Jigme Lingpa’s Advice on Meta-Awareness and Nondual Meditation.” In Religions 13, 7, 573. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13070573.