What is mindfulness meditation?
Institute of Meditation and Psychotherapy defines
Mindfulness as “awareness of present
experience, with acceptance”. It is opposite of forgetfulness. It is not a mind "full of the past and the future", but one fully aware of the here and the
now. It is a variety of “analytical
meditation” in which we use mindfulness ( as opposed to reason or imagination)
as a tool to find our object of meditation and hold on to it. Object of
meditation may be an image, a sound, states of mind such as loving kindness and
compassion or concepts such as impermanence, inter-being, emptiness etc.,
Right mindfulness or samyak smriti is Step 3 in
Buddha’s 8 Noble Truths. Buddha himself elaborated this in his Satipattana
Sutta. In the Pali language the word Sati means attention and remembering, akin
to the Sanskrit word smriti. Mindfulness meditation is based on this
famous Sutta. This has become one of the more popular methods of meditation
because of the work of Rev.Thich Naht Hanh and his school of Buddhism. More
recently, Dr.Jon Kabat-Zinn adapted this to practical use in the modern world
in the form of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction program. Others have modified
other aspects of this method and use it as part of Mindfulness based Cognitive
Therapy programs.
Mindfulness meditation is for the modern human living in a
complex world, skeptical and stressed out, to bring the body and the mind
together. It is to have increased self-awareness, a true acceptance and
understanding of one’s self without judgment or grasping, thus leading to
self-transformation. It is to help reduce stresses of modern-day life and thus
reduce pain and suffering. It is to develop loving kindness and compassion and
experience a feeling of oneness with the cosmos.
Mindfulness meditation techniques are easy to practice. Guided
meditation practices have been developed over the years to learn to calm one’s
mind, to focus on the here and now, to look deeply into one’s own body and mind
without judgement, to learn forgiveness, to learn gratitude and to learn how to
develop compassion. Anyone belonging to
any faith system can practice these as part of daily life.
Why is mindfulness meditation so popular?
Of the several kinds of meditation practices, the
Mindfulness Meditation based practices have been the best tested using
scientific methods. Therefore, these methods have become part of Wellness and
Mind-Body programs in Medical Schools, Industries and Educational institutions.
For example, in a study of 70 physicians in primary care, many of them felt a
sense of general well-being with reduced mood changes, reduced burn-out, and
greater focus on patient centered care following 8 weeks of intensive training
in mindfulness techniques followed by 10 monthly sessions. In another study of
physicians, those who practiced mindful meditation experienced better quality
of life, less burn-out and found greater meaning in their work.
In a large well controlled study of middle school children
from a center city, children who took part in a 12 week course on Mindfulness Based
Stress Reduction program had significantly less depression, negative affect, somatization and post-traumatic stress
disorder.
In addition to these clinical studies, neuroimaging and
neurophysiological studies have shown differences in function and connectivity
between different areas of the brain of meditators different from those of non-meditators. These
studies also show that relevant areas of the brain show structural changes
following even few weeks of meditation practice. Long term practitioners show
greater changes than short term practitioners. In other words, some of the
mental habits emphasized in meditation techniques can be learnt with demonstrable effects on the structure and function of our brain. This is what is called neuroplasticity.
There have been several studies to show that meditation techniques can be used as an adjunct to other forms of therapy in patients with chronic pain. These methods cannot make the pain go away. But will help develop a sense of self-control, reduce the need for addictive painkillers and help lead a more normal life by changing one’s attitude to pain. In fact, many Cognitive Behavior Therapy programs based on meditation techniques are currently available. (to continue)
(Here is an excellent introductory text to help you get started with meditation. This is from the University of Wisconsin. Hopefully you can use these guidelines and start your practice. http://projects.hsl.wisc.edu/SERVICE/courses/whole-health-for-pain-and-suffering/Script-Mindful-Breathing.pdf )
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