BLiSSSS Meditation: Conceptualization, Possible Strain Regulation, and an Artificial Intelligence–Based Exploratory Evaluation

Abstract

Overview: Mind wandering is a common challenge during meditation practice and may limit the sustenance of attentional focus. Coordinated regulation of sensory (physical), systemic (physiological), cognitive (mental), emotional (affective), behavioral (action-related), and energetic (metabolic) processes may facilitate sustained present-moment awareness. Mantra-based meditation is traditionally used to anchor attention; however, approaches that balance sensory engagement—avoiding both sensory overload and sensory deprivation—by actively engaging multiple sensory modalities during meditation remain underexplored. BLiSSSS Meditation (Play the mantra, and Breathe, Listen, See, Say, and Sense Synchronously) is proposed as a multisensory form of Mantra Meditation designed to help an individual sustain present-moment awareness. The framework integrates synchronized engagement of vision (seeing), audition (hearing), respiration (breathing), articulation (saying), and sensation (sensing or mindful awareness), together with sustained attention, aiming to reduce attentional drift during meditation. Features of a mobile phone application, such as Dolby On, may be utilized to support guided mantra playback and sensory synchronization during BLiSSSS Meditation. The mantra played via the mobile application Dolby On, when presented through earphones or headphones, may enhance attention to the task-relevant sound while reducing the influence of ambient noise. A stick-shaped support or fingertip, positioned gently on the closest point of the nasal bridge at eye level, may facilitate ocular stillness and inhibit involuntary movements associated with mind wandering. An artificial intelligence (AI)–based exploratory evaluation was conducted to assess the feasibility and applicability of BLiSSSS Meditation, along with its plausible effects on mind wandering and mental stress, and the anticipated user experience and safety considerations. This approach was employed to generate a structured conceptual rationale to inform and support progression toward subsequent human-based validation studies of BLiSSSS Meditation. BLiSSSS Meditation is proposed as a form of balanced attention meditation. The methodological steps in BLiSSSS Meditation and their potential role in the dynamic regulation of strains that contribute to sustained present-moment awareness are discussed. BLiSSSS Meditation may help an individual realize present-moment-specific identity by reducing the fostering of distraction-driven identities. Finally, it is hypothesized that an individual can adapt the functional elements of BLiSSSS Meditation into a playful, game-based format known as Play BLiSSSS (Play by Breathing, Listening, Seeing, Saying, and Sensing Synchronously), and sportively learn to sustain present-moment awareness through interpersonal engagement. Conclusions: BLiSSSS Meditation was conceptualized to potentially avoid both sensory overload and sensory deprivation through synchronous engagement of an individual’s five senses with mantra chanting, thereby sustaining present-moment awareness throughout meditation. The mobile application Dolby On, along with earphones or headphones and the ‘eyedle stick’, may serve as accessible tools to support the sustenance of present-moment awareness during BLiSSSS Meditation. An artificial intelligence (AI)-based evaluation supported the feasibility and acceptability of BLiSSSS Meditation, suggested plausible reductions in mind wandering and mental stress, and indicated a favorable user experience, warranting progression to human-based studies. The functional elements of BLiSSSS Meditation were hypothetically adapted into a meditation-based game, Play BLiSSSS, to help individuals cultivate present-moment awareness through playful involvement. Due to the distribution of attention across multiple sensory modalities, BLiSSSS Meditation may be conceptualized as a form of balanced attention meditation. The efficient regulation of multiple strains—arising from sensory, systemic, cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and energetic processes—may support the maintenance of present-moment awareness by reducing the emergence of distraction-driven cognitive processes. Future Prospects: BLiSSSS Meditation is conceptualized as a multisensory-engagement-based, balanced-attention meditation in which the sensory activities are coordinated toward a single task: mantra chanting. When awareness is associated with distracted consciousness, BLiSSSS Meditation can help redirect awareness toward individual consciousness. Effective learning of BLiSSSS Meditation, a meditation learning technique, through the use of tools/gadgets/accessories described in this manuscript—such as a mobile phone application, Dolby On, headphones or earphones connected to the mobile phone, and the eyedle stick—may further enable individuals to practice meditation independently without continued reliance on such tools/gadgets/accessories. During BLiSSSS Meditation, mental visualization of the linguistic material may engage linguistic and phonological representations, contributing to the generation of internally represented speech sounds or inner speech, followed by auditory/phonological processing of the internally generated representation and, when external mantra playback or audible chanting is present, processing of the corresponding external auditory input: Therefore, during BLiSSSS Meditation, the sequence of sensory coordination and engagement can be described as follows: During discontinuous, urge-based nasal inhalation: Sensing (somatosensation/action) → Breathing (respiration) → Seeing (vision) → Saying (articulation) → Listening (audition) During oral exhalation: Seeing (vision) → Saying/Breathing (articulation/respiration) → Listening (audition) → Sensing (somatosensation/action) When an activity involving sustained sensation/action generates continuous task-assisting sounds through physical movement, touch, impact, or friction, and these sounds are subsequently perceived through audition, the functional sequence of sensory engagement within BLiSSSS may be described as: Breathing (respiration) → Sensing (somatosensation/action) → Listening (audition) → Seeing (vision) → Saying (articulation)/Savoring (ingestion) Here, breathing involves practicing COBRA Breathing (coordinating respiration with the activity) while performing the activity; sensing (coordinating sensation with the activity) involves awareness of tactile and other somatosensory sensations generated during the performance of the activity, including those arising from touch or friction; listening (coordinating audition with the activity) involves awareness of task-assisting sounds or audible manifestations of vibrations generated during the performance of the activity, including those resulting from touch or friction; seeing (coordinating vision with the activity) involves physical or mental visualization, as appropriate, directed toward the region or source associated with the generation of sound during the performance of the activity; and saying/savoring (coordinating articulation/ingestion, where appropriate, with the activity) involves physical or mental articulation of the ongoing progress of the activity or, when appropriate, ingestion associated with the activity. The elemental components of BLiSSSS—Breathing, Listening, Seeing, Saying/Savoring, and Sensing/Acting Synchronously—can be functionally integrated into routine activities, such as walking, washing, reading, hearing, and eating, to facilitate synchronous multisensory awareness and potentially enhance task efficiency while reducing unnecessary cognitive effort, other forms of strain, and associated fatigue: BLiSSSS Walking (Walk by Breathing, Listening, Seeing, Saying, and Sensing/Acting Synchronously) can potentially integrate all the functional elements of BLiSSSS during walking. BLiSSSS Walking can be adopted by practicing COBRA Breathing (engaging and coordinating respiration with walking) while walking; sensing (engaging and coordinating somatosensation with walking) the bodily movements and associated somatic sensations generated during walking; listening (engaging and coordinating audition with walking) to the sounds or audible manifestations of vibrations generated during walking, including those arising from foot–ground contact and touch or friction associated with leg movements; maintaining the head and eyes in an aligned gaze position (with the orientation of the head and direction of gaze aligned toward the same region) while looking ahead, such that the real-time movements of the feet remain within the field of vision and are therefore at least partially visualized (engaging and coordinating vision with walking) while walking; and mentally articulating (engaging and coordinating articulation with walking) the overall progress of walking while maintaining present-moment awareness without becoming engaged with distracting thoughts associated with mind wandering. BLiSSSS Washing (Wash by Breathing, Listening, Seeing, Saying, and Sensing/Acting Synchronously) can potentially integrate all the functional elements of BLiSSSS during washing activities, such as washing utensils. BLiSSSS Washing can be adopted by practicing COBRA Breathing (engaging and coordinating respiration with washing) while washing; sensing (engaging and coordinating somatosensation with washing) the real-time movements of the hands involved in washing; listening (engaging and coordinating audition with washing) to the sounds generated during washing, including those arising from hand–scrubber–utensil contact and the touch or friction associated with scrubbing movements; maintaining the head and eyes in an aligned gaze position (with the head orientation and direction of gaze directed toward the same region) while seeing (engaging and coordinating vision with washing) the region associated with the generation of sou