Spiritual information and meaning-making: exploring personal narratives of residents at a contemplative spiritual retreat centre

Abstract

This study aimed to understand the role of information in the domains of contemplation, spirituality, and meaning and purpose. These domains can be a significant aspect of people’s lives and rich in information phenomena. We used narrative analysis, specifically the analysis of online videos in which people were interviewed about their lives after taking residence at a contemplative spiritual retreat centre. We interpreted the interviews through a lens of meaning-making and used a context-centric model to identify the information phenomena at a contemplative spiritual retreat. The findings: (1) Support prior research, which has identified that people engage with spiritual information as a result of a change in worldview, significant events, mystical glimpses, and to gain spiritual knowledge; (2) Deliver an account of the sources and kinds of spiritual information at a contemplative spiritual retreat centre; (3) Provide insights into how people interact with spiritual information during a contemplative spiritual retreat; (4) Suggest that residents at a contemplative spiritual retreat centre seek spiritual information primarily for affective outcomes. We demonstrated meaning-making as a helpful lens to interpret information interactions in the domains of contemplation, spirituality, meaning and purpose, and value in life.