Mindfullness
"The main cause of a happy life is within you" Dalai Lama
Attention is like a puppy
It wanders around, sniffing aimlessly It doesn’t stay where you want it to It makes messes It brings back things you didn’t ask for The Essential Guide to Burnout Andrew Procter, Elizabeth Procter |
Modern day mindfulness practice can trace its origin back to Buddhist meditation technique, although in recent years it has become far more accepted practice in western culture and is often linked to stress management rather than spiritual enlightenment.
It is taught to some extent in schools, embraced by athletes seeking the winning edge and it is provided freely to employees of more forward-thinking business and institutions. So, what does it look like? I have read widely and attended workshops and Mindfulness courses, I am a firm believer in the science behind the practice. Mindfulness looks different and the same for everyone, at its core it is a practice of kind/positive attention. This practice can be done sitting standing, running, on retreat anywhere your mind happens to be. It is not about a physical location it’s about a mental state. For you to start to understand the practice and what it entails, I like the analogy to the left to give you a good understanding of where most of our minds start. Mindfulness is a practice to train the metaphorical puppy to be attentive to the moment and not the distractions. |
JuMindfulness is born through practice, a practice that focus the mind with a positive Attitude, with specific Intention, on the development of Attention.
When you practice you grow, What do want to grow?
A mind that grows on shame and Judgement or compassion and empathy.
Your attention to kindness will help you grow
Ideas generated from the works of Shauna Shapiro
When you practice you grow, What do want to grow?
A mind that grows on shame and Judgement or compassion and empathy.
Your attention to kindness will help you grow
Ideas generated from the works of Shauna Shapiro
Research is increasing exponentially and an increasing numbers of studies have shown reasonably strong evidence for the positive impact of mindfulness on a wide range of mental and physical health conditions.
It has been shown to address physical health problems directly, and is effective in reducing pain, high blood pressure, in improving the symptoms of physical conditions such as psoriasis and fibromyalgia.
Mindfulness has also clearly been shown to be effective in improving mental health too, addressing problems such as substance abuse, stress, anxiety and recurrent depression, and to improve sleep.Mindfulness is not wishful thinking - there is sound evidence behind it. Some of that evidence comes from neuroscience which is adding to our knowledge of how mindfulness works to alter the way the brain works. The science of neuroplasticity reinforce the idea that mindful practice has a positive effect on the mind and body. Brain imaging studies on adults are showing that mindfulness meditation reliably and profoundly alters the structure and function of the brain to improve the quality of both thought and feeling. It produces greater blood flow too, and a thickening of, the cerebral cortex in areas associated with attention and emotional integration.
Although the most striking changes are observable in long term meditators, brain changes are clearly observable in people who have only been meditating for eight weeks for an average of under half an hour a day. In these subjects, imaging showed increased grey-matter density in the hippocampus, known to be important for learning and memory, and in structures associated with self-awareness, compassion and introspection. Participant-reported reductions in stress also were correlated with decreased grey-matter density in the amygdala, which is known to play an important role in anxiety and stress.
Although studies have not yet been done on children’s brains there is no reason to suppose the changes would not be similar.
Notes. Results obtained from a search of the term "mindfulness" in the abstract and keywords of the ISI Web of Knowledge database on Feb. 5, 2011. The search was limited to publications with English language abstracts Exeter university
It has been shown to address physical health problems directly, and is effective in reducing pain, high blood pressure, in improving the symptoms of physical conditions such as psoriasis and fibromyalgia.
Mindfulness has also clearly been shown to be effective in improving mental health too, addressing problems such as substance abuse, stress, anxiety and recurrent depression, and to improve sleep.Mindfulness is not wishful thinking - there is sound evidence behind it. Some of that evidence comes from neuroscience which is adding to our knowledge of how mindfulness works to alter the way the brain works. The science of neuroplasticity reinforce the idea that mindful practice has a positive effect on the mind and body. Brain imaging studies on adults are showing that mindfulness meditation reliably and profoundly alters the structure and function of the brain to improve the quality of both thought and feeling. It produces greater blood flow too, and a thickening of, the cerebral cortex in areas associated with attention and emotional integration.
Although the most striking changes are observable in long term meditators, brain changes are clearly observable in people who have only been meditating for eight weeks for an average of under half an hour a day. In these subjects, imaging showed increased grey-matter density in the hippocampus, known to be important for learning and memory, and in structures associated with self-awareness, compassion and introspection. Participant-reported reductions in stress also were correlated with decreased grey-matter density in the amygdala, which is known to play an important role in anxiety and stress.
Although studies have not yet been done on children’s brains there is no reason to suppose the changes would not be similar.
Notes. Results obtained from a search of the term "mindfulness" in the abstract and keywords of the ISI Web of Knowledge database on Feb. 5, 2011. The search was limited to publications with English language abstracts Exeter university
Mindfulness works to decrease cortisol, Mindfulness / Kind attention increases dopamine. Shauna Shapiro
"The mind is its own place, and in itself, can make a Heav’n of Hell, a hell of Heav’n" Milton, 1667
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