Embodied Meaning and Integration: Overcoming the Abstracted Grip on Meaning in Theory and Practice

by Robert M. Ellis

Embodied meaning is a new approach to understanding the significance of all symbols, including those of language, as association in human experience. It has been developed since the 1980's, but its full practical significance has rarely been applied, nor have the full challenges that it presents to entrenched assumptions been followed through.



Robert M. Ellis here develops a detailed multi-disciplinary account of the role of embodied meaning in the Middle Way as a practical path. This includes criticisms of some ways that embodied meaning has been confused with belief. At the heart of his practical case for applying embodied meaning in our lives are the concepts of fragmentation and integration of meaning. A variety of practices, including the arts, enable us to develop our meaning resources, both 'cognitively' and 'emotionally', and thus create the imaginative conditions for provisionality of belief.

376 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 1, 2025

About the author

Robert M Ellis is the author of more than 20 books on Middle Way Philosophy, which is a practical philosophy focused on making the most of our experience in all our judgements. Initially inspired by the Buddha's Middle Way and Buddhist practice, he completed a Ph.D. on the Middle Way in 2001 that marked the beginning of his work exploring the universal Middle Way in relation to Western philosophy, psychology, systems, embodiment, and a range of other disciplines. He is now on the second wave of development of Middle Way Philosophy, in a new series being published by Equinox, beginning with 'Absolutization' (2022) and 'The Five Principles of the Middle Way'. (2023) He has also published books about the Middle Way in relation to Buddhism, Christianity, and Jungian archetypes, as well as the introductory book 'Migglism' (2014), the short argument 'Buddhism and God' (2021), parable fiction, and poetry. He now lives in Wales, where he runs a retreat centre and is cultivating a forest garden.