What is Mindfulness? It is being fully alert to the present moment, what you are doing, what you are experiencing. Undistracted by worrying thoughts, painful memories, disruptive emotions. It is the opposite of sleep-walking through life. Conscious, awake to the moment, doing things with clear intention, not out of habit, guilt, or a vague sense of obligation.
Mindfulness requires discarding efforts to accomplish many things all at once. (Multi-tasking is a destructive, counter-productive myth; pursuing the illusion of multi-tasking actually causes us to get less done, less efficiently, less effectively, and damages our psychological and physical health.)
Mindfulness and Health
Research has established that Mindfulness is effective for reducing symptoms of anxiety, depression, stress, insomnia, substance abuse, and other psychological concerns. Mindfulness has also been shown to lower blood pressure, reduce the risks associated with heart disease, and improve outcomes with cancer and diabetes treatment. Chronic pain and chronic fatigue are better managed with Mindfulness practice, reducing the need for medication, and improving overall functioning and quality of life.
Mindfulness and Psychotherapy
The following excerpts are from a summary of psychological research into Mindfulness, and its use in psychotherapy.
from: Hart, R., Ivtzan, I. and Hart, D. (2013) Mind the Gap in Mindfulness Research: A Comparative Account of the Leading Schools of Thought. Review of General Psychology 17 (4), 453–466)
“Shapiro and colleagues (S. L. Shapiro et al., 2006; S. L. Shapiro et al., 2008) described three mechanisms that underlie therapeutic meditation-based interventions: (a) attention - observing internal or external experiences as they occur; (b) intention - the “why” behind mindfulness practice; and (c) attitude - the qualities that a person brings to mindfulness practice. “ (pg. 455)
“Brown et al. (2007) discussed mindfulness as a quality of consciousness, and identified six components that make up the attention mechanism highlighted above: (a) present-oriented consciousness of what is occurring; (b) clarity of awareness of one’s inner and outer realms; (c) nonconceptual, nondiscriminatory awareness of one’s own constructions of reality; (d) flexibility of awareness and attention (switching at will between an overall and a detail-focused perspective); (f) empirical stance toward reality (factual, value free, and nonjudgmental); and (g) stability of attention (fewer incidences of mindlessness). “(pg. 455)
“Kabat-Zinn (2003) clarified that “mindfulness meditation practices. . . however important and essential . . . are merely launching platforms or particular kinds of scaffolding to invite cultivation and sustaining of attention in particular ways. They are the menu, so to speak, not the meal” (p. 147). Meditation, according to Kabat-Zinn (2003), is therefore a training process, which is meant to develop meditators’ abilities to monitor and regulate their consciousness, thereby enabling them to prolong periods of mindfulness in everyday life.” (pg.455)
“Mindfulness and its cultivation, however it is defined, induced, or measured, can elevate positive psychological aspects of well-being and improve functioning among healthy people, as well as alleviate an array of physical and psychological disorders among clinical patients. Importantly, our findings revealed that self-regulatory processes are central to both types of interventions, and seem to mediate the impact of mindfulness interventions.” (pp. 461-2)
Mindfulness requires discarding efforts to accomplish many things all at once. (Multi-tasking is a destructive, counter-productive myth; pursuing the illusion of multi-tasking actually causes us to get less done, less efficiently, less effectively, and damages our psychological and physical health.)
Mindfulness and Health
Research has established that Mindfulness is effective for reducing symptoms of anxiety, depression, stress, insomnia, substance abuse, and other psychological concerns. Mindfulness has also been shown to lower blood pressure, reduce the risks associated with heart disease, and improve outcomes with cancer and diabetes treatment. Chronic pain and chronic fatigue are better managed with Mindfulness practice, reducing the need for medication, and improving overall functioning and quality of life.
Mindfulness and Psychotherapy
The following excerpts are from a summary of psychological research into Mindfulness, and its use in psychotherapy.
from: Hart, R., Ivtzan, I. and Hart, D. (2013) Mind the Gap in Mindfulness Research: A Comparative Account of the Leading Schools of Thought. Review of General Psychology 17 (4), 453–466)
“Shapiro and colleagues (S. L. Shapiro et al., 2006; S. L. Shapiro et al., 2008) described three mechanisms that underlie therapeutic meditation-based interventions: (a) attention - observing internal or external experiences as they occur; (b) intention - the “why” behind mindfulness practice; and (c) attitude - the qualities that a person brings to mindfulness practice. “ (pg. 455)
“Brown et al. (2007) discussed mindfulness as a quality of consciousness, and identified six components that make up the attention mechanism highlighted above: (a) present-oriented consciousness of what is occurring; (b) clarity of awareness of one’s inner and outer realms; (c) nonconceptual, nondiscriminatory awareness of one’s own constructions of reality; (d) flexibility of awareness and attention (switching at will between an overall and a detail-focused perspective); (f) empirical stance toward reality (factual, value free, and nonjudgmental); and (g) stability of attention (fewer incidences of mindlessness). “(pg. 455)
“Kabat-Zinn (2003) clarified that “mindfulness meditation practices. . . however important and essential . . . are merely launching platforms or particular kinds of scaffolding to invite cultivation and sustaining of attention in particular ways. They are the menu, so to speak, not the meal” (p. 147). Meditation, according to Kabat-Zinn (2003), is therefore a training process, which is meant to develop meditators’ abilities to monitor and regulate their consciousness, thereby enabling them to prolong periods of mindfulness in everyday life.” (pg.455)
“Mindfulness and its cultivation, however it is defined, induced, or measured, can elevate positive psychological aspects of well-being and improve functioning among healthy people, as well as alleviate an array of physical and psychological disorders among clinical patients. Importantly, our findings revealed that self-regulatory processes are central to both types of interventions, and seem to mediate the impact of mindfulness interventions.” (pp. 461-2)