An Introduction to Mindfulness Practice and benefits

An Introduction to Mindfulness Practice and  Benefits

In his book Siegel quotes Jon Kabat Zinn as defining mindfulness as: “The awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment.”

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness can be described as paying attention to what we are experiencing in this moment, and doing so with a particular attitude: One of curiosity, openness, acceptance and warmth. Simply observing what we are experiencing, right now, and bringing a warm curiosity to whatever arises.  In formal mindfulness practices our intention is often to center our awareness on one particular experience, such as the sensations involved in breathing or the sounds that we can hear, or to widen our awareness to incorporate a range of experiences simultaneously, or to watch where our attention goes without getting caught up in particular experiences. Mindfulness is also something that we can bring to any aspect of our day to day life, cultivating the same qualities of curiosity, acceptance and warmth.  

The benefits of Mindfulness include

Helping individuals to:

a)    Recognise, slow down or stop automatic and habitual reactions.

b)   Respond more effectively to complex or difficult situations

c)    See situations more clearly.

d)   Become more creative.

e)    Achieve balance and resilience at work and at home.

f)     Have an easier and lighter life

Mental Health benefits of Mindfulness course

Mindfulness course has helped people to reduce their stress levels and has proven to reduce their levels of anxiety and depression, even when measured after one month after completing the course.

Here are the averaged results for everyone who has completed the Course.

Average Stress Reduction 39%

ANXIETY

Average Anxiety Reduction 53%

DEPRESSION

Average Reduction in Depression 52%

http://www.bemindfulonline.com/results/

The Following discussion on mindfulness on its definition, practice, benefits d everyday mindfulness an is taken from online content (with references provided). One hopes the reader will gain deeper understanding of this useful practice. One hopes that they will get motivated practice and be to learn mindfulness and benefit from the knowledge and practice. 

An introduction to Mindfulness

http://teach-yourself-mindfulness.com/what-is-mindfulness-the-definition-of/

Have you ever been eating a snack bar, and after one or two bites, noticed that all you were holding was an empty wrapper? Perhaps you have noticed that when you’re driving somewhere, you arrive at your destination only to realise that you remember nothing about the journey, sometimes not even which route you took? Everyone has! These are common examples of “mindlessness,” or “automatic pilot mode”. In modern life, we find ourselves so busy that we must constantly multi task just to keep up. It becomes increasingly easy to lose awareness of the “now”, the present moment we exist in as we become lost in in our efforts to juggle work, home, family, finances, and other conflicting demands.

As humans, we often find ourselves “not present” in our own lives. We frequently fail to notice the good things about our lives, ignore what our bodies are telling us, or poison our minds and attitudes with toxic self-criticism.

The human mind is easily distracted, habitually reviewing and examining past events to anticipate the future. While it may not sound obviously helpful to become more aware of our thoughts, feelings and emotions, learning to do this in a way that suspends judgment and self-criticism can have an incredibly positive impact on our lives.

Mindfulness is a way of clearly seeing the now, paying attention to whatever is happening in our lives. It will not eliminate life’s pressures, but rather, help us respond to them in a calm manner that benefits out heart, mind, and body. It teaches us to recognize and pull back from habitual, often unconscious emotional and physiological reactions to everyday events. It provides us with a scientifically researched approach to cultivating clarity, insight, and understanding; practicing mindfulness allows us to be fully present in our life and work, improving our quality of life.

“Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way; 

On purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally.”

Paying attention “on purpose”

First, understand that mindfulness involves paying attention “on purpose”. Mindfulness involves consciously directing our awareness. We sometimes (me included) talk of “mindfulness” and “awareness” as if these two terms are completely interchangeable, but that is not a good habit to get into. Even if I’m aware that I’m irritable, that doesn’t mean that I’m being mindful of my own irritability. Instead of being just vaguely or habitually aware, mindfulness means that I am purposefully aware of myself. Knowing that I’m eating is not the same thing as eating mindfully.

Let’s look closer at the example of eating. When we are fully aware (mindful) of eating, we are consciously aware of the process of eating. We’re deliberately noticing the sensations of the experience, and our responses to those sensations. We’re also noticing the mind wandering, and purposely bringing our attention back to the moment.

As a contrast, when we’re eating unmindfully, we may in theory be aware of what we’re doing, but we’re probably also distracted from the experience by a hundred and one other things, maybe watching TV, talking, or reading — or even all three at once! Only a very small part of our awareness is absorbed with eating, barely aware of the physical sensations and even less aware of our own thoughts and emotions.

Thus, because we’re only dimly aware of our thoughts, they wander unrestricted. There is no conscious attempt to bring our attention back to eating, intentional choice is lacking.
This intentional choice (purposefulness) is a vital part of mindfulness. Having the purpose of staying with our experience: the feeling of your breath, a particular emotion, or something as simple as eating, means that we are actively engaging and shaping the mind.

Paying attention “in the present moment”

When left to itself, the mind wanders through all kinds of thoughts — including thoughts expressing anger, depression, craving, self-pity, revenge, etc. As we indulge in these kinds of thoughts, we reinforce those emotions in our hearts, causing ourselves to suffer. Mostly, these thoughts are about the past or future, but the past no longer exists and the future is just a fantasy until it happens. The one moment we can actually experience — the present moment — is the one we seem to avoid the most.

So in mindfulness, we’re concerned with noticing what’s going on right now. This doesn’t mean we can no longer think about the past or future, but when we do, we do it mindfully, aware that right now we’re thinking about the past or future.

However, in mediation, we’re concerned with what thoughts are arising in the present moment. When we start to “space out” and when thoughts about the past or future take us away from the present moment’s experience, we try to notice and come back to the present.
By purposefully directing our awareness away from such thoughts and towards our “anchor” or our present moment’s experience, we begin to decrease their effect on our lives, creating a space of freedom where calmness and contentment can grow instead.

Paying attention “non-judgmentally”

Mindfulness is an emotionally non-reactive state. We don’t judge this experience as good or that one as bad, or if we do make those judgments, we notice it and let go of them. We don’t get upset because we’re experiencing something we don’t want to be experiencing, or because we’re not experiencing what we would like to be experiencing. We simply accept whatever arises, observing it mindfully. We notice it arising, passing through us, and then ceasing to exist.

Whether it’s a pleasant experience or a painful experience, we treat it the same way.

Cognitively, mindfulness means that we are aware certain experiences are pleasant and some are unpleasant, but on an emotional level, we simply do not react. We call this “equanimity” — stillness and balance of mind.

The benefits of Mindfulness include

Helping individuals to:

 Recognize, slow down or stop automatic and habitual reactions.
 Respond more effectively to complex or difficult situations.
 See situations more clearly
 Become more creative
 Achieve balance and resilience at work and at home
 Have an easier and lighter life

What does mindfulness involve?

Practitioners of mindfulness learn how to pay attention on purpose by practicing and using specially developed mindfulness meditation practices. With practice, they learn to slow down or stop brain chatter and automatic, habitual reactions, experiencing the present moment in fullness as it really is.

When practicing mindfulness, everyone, regardless of how much they practice, will experience everyday thoughts creeping into their heads uninvited. This is perfectly normal and okay – it’s just what our brains do. It’s how we respond to these thoughts that is important.

If we begin to think about the thought, or get annoyed with ourselves for not being able to retain our focus, it stops us from paying attention and takes us away from the present moment. But when we just acknowledge the thought and release it without judgment, we retain our focus, remaining fully in the present moment.

As with all new skills, the more we practice it, the easier and more natural it becomes. Canadian psychologist Donald Hebb coined the phrase, “Neurons that fire together, wire together.” In other words, the more we practice mindfulness, the more we develop neurological pathways in the brain associated with being mindful, thus making it easier to be fully present in each and every moment as you experience it.

By learning to experience the present moment as it really is, we develop the ability to step away from our habitual, often unconscious emotional and physiological reactions to everyday events. We learn to see things as they really are, responding wisely and consciously instead of relying on “auto pilot”.

Who is mindfulness for?

Mindfulness is for everyone, young and old, from all walks of life. Mindfulness is not a religion and there are no necessary religious components to mindfulness – anyone, with any belief system, can enjoy the benefits of mindfulness.

Although mindfulness may have its origins in the east, the benefits of mindfulness and meditation are now relatively mainstream and the scientific community has found data positively correlating mindfulness and meditation to stress reduction.

The Meaning of Mindfulness

http://www.thebestbrainpossible.com/the-meaning-of-mindfulness-2/

Mindfulness is one of those fashionable terms that you see getting used just about everywhere, but what exactly does it mean?

In his book, The Mindful Brain: Reflection and Attunement in the Cultivation of Well-Being, Daniel J. Siegel, Director of the Mindsight Institute, Co-Director of the UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center and the author of several books, writes:

Mindfulness in its most general sense is about waking up from a life on automatic, and being sensitive to novelty in our everyday experiences.  With mindful awareness the flow of energy and information that is our mind enters our conscious attention and we can both appreciate its contents and come to regulate its flow in a new way.  Mindful awareness, as we will see, actually involves more than just simply being aware: It involves being aware of aspects of the mind itself.  Instead of being on automatic and mindless, mindfulness helps us awaken, and by reflecting on the mind we are enabled to make choices and thus change becomes possible.

Being mindful is not only being aware, it is being aware of awareness. It is approaching the present experience with a reflective awareness including the qualities of curiosity, openness, acceptance, and love.  Siegel has coined the acronym COAL to remember these.

In the book, Siegel quotes Jon Kabat Zinn as defining mindfulness as: “The awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment.”

Another definition he offers which comes from  The Innerkids Program, designed to teach young children basic mindfulness skills, is: “Being aware of what is happening as it is happening.”

Five Basic Factors Of Mindfulness

In mindfulness studies, there are five basic factors that tend to comprise mindfulness

§  Nonreactivity to inner experience (e.g., perceiving feelings and emotions without having to react to them);

§  observing/noticing/attending to sensations, perceptions, thoughts, feelings (e.g., remaining present with sensations and feelings even when they are unpleasant or painful);

§  acting with awareness/not on automatic pilot, concentration/nondistraction (e.g., breaking or spilling things because of carelessness, not paying attention, or thinking of something else);

§  describing/labeling with words (e.g., easily putting beliefs, opinions, and expectations into words);

§  nonjudgmental of experience (e.g., criticizing oneself for having irrational or appropriate emotions).

Almost every culture and religion have practices that encourage and help people to develop awareness of the present moment or mindfulness including meditation, prayer, yoga, tai chi and qui quong.  These practices share the common intent to consciously focus awareness in a very specific way.  Siegel writes: “Direct experience in the present moment has been described as a fundamental part of Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Jewish and Taoist teaching.”  Mindfulness is not associated with any one religious orientation nor does it conflict with any.

Research has shown mindfulness to significantly improve a wide range of conditions from borderline personality disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and anxiety disorders.  It has shown to be helpful in the prevention of relapse with chronic depression and substance abuse.  I know that it has sure changed my life dramatically for the better as it helped me recover from depression and a serious brain injury resulting from a suicide attempt.  It can your change your life for the better too.

MENTAL HEALTH BENEFITS OF MINFULNESS COURSE

http://www.bemindfulonline.com/results/

Not only has the Be Mindful online course been proven to help people reduce their stress levels, but it's been proven to help reduce their levels of anxiety and depression, even when measured one month after completing the course. 

Here are the Averaged Results for everyone who has completed the Be  Mindful course to date.

Average Stress Reduction 39%

Average Anxiety Reduction 53%

Average Reduction in Depression 52%

Published Research Studies

The Be Mindful online course is recognized and substantiated by leading academic institutions. Independent research shows the effectiveness of Be Mindful in helping people with their mental health. Here are the research studies that have been published in scientific journals to date, with highlights of their significant findings:

Reducing Anxiety & Depression 

The effectiveness of the online course was the subject of a highly significant research study by Oxford University published in BMJ Open. The reported average outcomes for completers of the course show participants enjoying reductions of 58% in anxiety and 57% in depression.

http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/3/11/e003498.full

Reducing Fatigue & Rumination

In a research study of the University of Surrey, School of Psychology evaluating the effect of the Be Mindful course on work-related rumination, chronic fatigue and sleep quality, it was found that the Be Mindful course had a significant positive influence on all factors. Course completers enjoyed a 25% decrease in rumination, a 26% reduction of chronic fatigue and 33% improved sleep quality. The findings not only show the great benefits of mindfulness, but also strongly support the effectiveness of online mindfulness training.  This seminal research study was published in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology.

http://psycnet.apa.org/index.cfm?fa=buy.optionToBuy&id=2016-17140-001

Reducing Stress

A research study evaluating the feasibility of the Be Mindful online course and its impact on stress by the Department of Psychiatry, Oxford University in 2012 was published in BMJ Open. It showed that participants enjoyed a 43% reduction in stress.

http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/2/3/e000803.full.html 

Mindfulness as a way of life - Tips for living mindfully

© Monash University 2016             

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/mindfulness-wellbeing-performance

Mindfulness for Wellbeing and Peak Performance

Mindfulness as a way of life - Tips for living mindfully

Awareness

Just being able to recognise default mode is very important. It means that we

don’t get stuck in it quite as much, but start to have moments where we literally

“wake up” out of it. As we do so, we start to recognise this other way of being

called mindfulness. We can start noticing the benefits of being more engaged and

present with our lives, for both well being and performance. Simply observing the

effects each mode of attention has on our lives naturally leads us towards

developing more mindfulness – the capacity for nonjudgmental awareness of each

moment.

One thing that is important to remember is that simply noticing the tendency to

be in default mode, without even having the intention the intention to change it,

means that we are developing awareness and the ability to be present.

Attention

Attention is a central quality of mindfulness. Once we notice that our attention is

caught up in default mode, it becomes possible to bring it back to whatever is

happening in the present. We literally start ‘coming to our senses’. As we do so

repeatedly, through sustained effort in both meditation and informal

practices/applications (‘off the cushion’, so to speak), we find that it becomes

easier to do. We notice more often when we are in default mode, and are more

easily able to simply re-engage the attention on what is happening in the

moment. As we learn to do this without further thinking (i.e. following the

thought/distraction or judging/reacting to it), we get quicker at noticing mind

wandering and coming back. We spend more time in the present and start

experiencing more of the benefits and joys of living an engaged life.

Curiosity

One of the things that helps with the increased awareness and attention

regulation is curiosity. This is why we often say it is the second central quality of

mindfulness, after attention. While curiosity is an innate quality (we are born with

it – just watch little children and how they interact with the world), we lose touch

with it as life gets faster and we start to relate to the world through concepts

and ideas rather than directly through the senses, and as we start to take things

for granted and do them on automatic pilot.

But as we have seen, we can rediscover this quality through mindfulness.

Mindfulness is the exact opposite of taking things for granted. And when we

intentionally cultivate an attitude of curiosity and interest, we get back in touch

with this innate quality. In the course, we noticed how genuine curiosity engages

us in our senses, bringing us fully into the present moment. We noticed how

relaxing and enjoyable this can be, even when we bring this curiosity to mundane,

everyday objects like breathing, which we would normally take for granted. In

fact, especially when we bring curiosity to everyday experiences such as this.

When we bring curiosity we can notice new things as well, such as how our

breath is cooler on the inhalation and warmer on the exhalation. Things also tend

to seem more vivid – sounds clearer, images brighter, food tastier. We were

invited to explore other aspects of our lives in this way, through the informal

practices of mindfulness – bringing curiosity to everyday activities.

We noticed that when we did this, even simple things like brushing our teeth,

travelling and communication became mindfulness ‘practices’. How, when we

practiced in this way, we experienced the same sense of calming the mind and

sharpening the attention as when we sit in meditation. And so we learned how to

take mindfulness ‘off the cushion’ and out into our lives.

Perhaps most importantly, in any moment where we are genuinely curious about

something, we are not reacting to it. In the beginning of mindfulness practice, for

instance, we might at times think we are accepting some experience, but very

subtly be resisting it. This is easy to do and takes some work to recognize.

But when we open to the possibility of genuinely feeling them and relating to

them directly, as they are, we suddenly find that they don’t even need to go away

for us to be happy. We can relax and enjoy the very situation we are in, even if

some unpleasant experience e.g. strong emotions are part of that situation. This is

a very important thing to remember in our day-to-day life and is one of the deeper

truths of mindfulness.

Gentleness

Related to this is the idea of gentleness. Through the ‘puppy’ metaphor and an

intention to be gentler with ourselves in each moment, this has gone beyond

being a concept and become an actual experience. Even if we found that we

continued to be rough with ourselves, at least now we know we are doing it, and

can start to observe its effects.

But we may also have realised that when we let ourselves fully feel the

discomfort (or even pain) of being rough, and notice the times we were kinder and

gentler, we were naturally drawn to this kinder way of being. The mind starts to

calm down, we feel better, and we are less avoidant of difficulties (so we can

address them more effectively).

As you move forward after this course, become really curious about the difference

between these two ways of relating to yourself and the things around you. How it

feels, how others respond to you, that sort of thing. Noticing this will tend to

motivate you to be more gentle.

Compassion

And as we start being gentler with ourselves we experience not only a reduction

in stress but also a paradoxical increase in our effectiveness and productivity, as

we cease wasting energy fighting with ourselves.

Having recognised the benefits of this way of being for ourselves, it is common

for people practising mindfulness to then find themselves spontaneously bringing

a more compassionate attitude to others. Recognizing that people who are

difficult are simply caught up in default mode and stress reactions (often with

absolutely no idea that this is what is happening to them) tends to spontaneously

result in being gentler with them. Just as being willing to truly be with our own

difficult thoughts and emotions (perhaps by placing our hand on our heart and/or

being genuinely curious about what is coming up) leads to greater wellbeing,

bringing this same acceptance, presence and curiosity to others often has a way

of transforming the situation.

Or, at the very least, ensuring that we don’t make the situation even worse for

ourselves by getting into a stress reaction of our own. We may even like to

experiment with sending kind thoughts to the person, perhaps recognizing that if

they are difficult with us for 5 minutes, they are like that with themselves 24/7.

We will learn how to do a Sending Kind Thoughts meditation this week.

Letting go

Once we have started to experience gentleness and acceptance of what is

happening, we can start to understand what it really means to let go. If we had

jumped straight into the letting go part, there is a strong chance that we can

practice what we think is ‘letting go’ but is actually attempts to avoid or get rid of

certain experiences.

Consider a ladybird in your hand. We can open up our hand, and that is letting go.

Whether the ladybird flies away, or crawls around our hand for a while, or stays

exactly where it is, or even flies away and comes back a few times, nobody can

say for sure. All that is certain is that we can be holding on in some moments, and

letting go in others. We can continue to recognize when we are holding on by

noticing the tension (and, often, conflict) that comes with it, and taking a moment

to pause and get genuinely curious about what is happening in our mind.

Remember – letting go is a lifelong process, one which happens in each moment.

Moment by moment.

Communicating

We also explored what it means to communicate mindfully. We can even do this

with people we feel completely indifferent towards or have difficulty or conflict

with. So why not make a commitment to communicating more mindfully from now

on? To recognizing our tendency to go off into the automatic pilot of

‘communication’, and instead to intentionally bring full presence to others. To

really listen to what they are saying – not just the words, but to the nonverbal

component of communication (which actually makes up 80% of the overall

communication), such as the tone of their voice, the rate of their speech, their

posture and their eye contact.

And when we speak, to really feel into what we want to say, rather than just

talking, and perhaps taking a moment to pause after we have said it and check

whether what we just said was really what we were trying to communicate. Keep

communicating in this way and notice the effect it has on your relationships and

wellbeing.

Pausing

Remember that mindfulness is something we can do in each moment. Even the

more formal ‘meditation’ is scalable. We can sit for 5 or 10 (or more) minutes with

our eyes closed, or we can simply take moments throughout the day to pause. We

might close our eyes and meditate for 30 seconds. Or we might bring our

attention to our breath for a moment, or even just feel our feet on the ground. All

of these are ways of grounding ourselves. It is very useful to do this when we are

feeling stressed or overwhelmed, and also punctuating the day with brief pauses,

to disrupt the pattern of rushing from one thing to another in a blur. To stop and

smell the roses, so to speak.

Pausing in this way can be extremely powerful. The automatic pilot of the day can

get so strong and pervasive that at times we can be in it for large parts of the

day. Remembering to just stop and take a few breaths of look around once in a

while can break this pattern, and we then tend to find that we start

spontaneously having moments of presence at other times during the day. Often

when we least expect it. As Ferris Bueller said, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

Discipline

Prior to learning about mindfulness, most people tend to think about discipline as

being about forcing themselves to do things by criticising themselves for not

trying hard enough. But after experiencing how simply noticing the mind

wandering is a moment of awakening that allows (or even spontaneously results

in) a natural re engagement with the present, the meaning of discipline tends to

change.

Suddenly it is less about being rough with ourselves and more about recognising

when we are off in default mode. And then being firm but gentle as we bring our

attention back, knowing that any roughness will just agitate us further, and self-critical

thoughts take us even further into default mode and away from what is

actually happening in the present moment. Discipline, then, becomes a conscious

(and life-long) process of waking up.

Neuroplasticity

It can be extremely motivating to remember that practising mindfulness literally

rewires the brain for increased happiness, well being and productivity. That is why

we have explored it throughout this course. When we think about mindfulness

from the perspective of neuroplasticity, we recognise that in any moment we are

either practising waking up or we are practising being deeper in default mode.

Moments where we recognise that we are in default mode are very valuable: in

these moments we have literally ‘woken up’. And when we bring our attention

gently back to our senses once more, we form new connections in parts of our

brain associated with being present, especially the prefrontal cortex. This part of

the brain then grows, connection-by-connection, moment-by-moment, and

suddenly we start to find ourselves being spontaneously and effortlessly more

present at other times, when we are not even consciously practising.

Two great books on this topic are The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman

Doidge and Buddha’s Brain, by Rick Hanson. You may like to read further on this if

you are interested, as a way of understanding what is happening in your brain as

you practice mindfulness, and/or as a way of motivating yourself to keep up this invaluable mental training.