Mindfulness Is a Way of Life
I’m gratified by the peace and joy that I see in my Mindfulness Practice students as they learn to work with stress and their emotions. Through Mindfulness techniques they're able to decrease their reactions to the stress and achieve tranquility in their lives. Mindfulness is gaining wide adoption in our society, as shown by many recent articles in the mainstream media. Why this growing focus on mindfulness?Some supporters note the hectic pace of our daily lives, which tend to be overscheduled and rife with distractions and information overload. More than ever before, it seems, we look for tools and skills to maintain our sense of self amidst the noise and demands for our attention. Ironically, the “time saving” devices we use can be part of the problem. As Kate Pickert says in the February 3, 2014 issue of Time Magazine (paywall):
“In a time when no one seems to have enough time, our devices allow us to be many places at once--but at the cost of being unable to fully inhabit the place where we actually want to be.”
That constant pull away from the place where we actually want to be can take a toll on our sense of wellbeing, draining our resilience and frustrating our intentions to live life fully. Mindfulness practice can help! As Pickert observes,
“If distraction is the pre-eminent condition of our age, then mindfulness, in the eyes of its enthusiasts, is the most logical response. Its strength lies in its universality. Though meditation is considered an essential means to achieving mindfulness, the ultimate goal is simply to give your attention fully to what you're doing. One can work mindfully, parent mindfully and learn mindfully. One can exercise and even eat mindfully. The banking giant Chase now advises customers on how to spend mindfully.”
It’s true that whatever we’re doing, we can do it with intentional awareness. Even when we’re not “doing” something (maybe especially when we’re simply “being”), we can be intentionally aware of our own thoughts and feelings.I like to describe Mindfulness as “waking up to what is.” It’s a non-judging awareness in the present moment. It’s possible to bring mindfulness into all activities of daily life, both internal and external. Practitioners enjoy lower stress and greater calmness, in the mind and the body. We gain insight and wisdom into the habits of judging, thinking and reacting that are at the core of stress reactions.If the promises of improved wellness for mind and body seem too good to be true, consider the medical evidence that support these claims. In 1979 Jon Kabat-Zinn, the best-known proponent of mindfulness practice in this country, joined with three physicians to open a stress-reduction clinic at the University of Massachusetts that was based on meditation and mindfulness.
“Almost immediately, some of the clinic's patients reported that their pain levels diminished. For others, the pain remained the same, but the mindfulness training made them better able to handle the stress of living with illness. They were able to separate their day-to-day experiences from their identity as pain patients.”[i]
Kabat-Zinn’s program eventually became the curriculum that’s now used by hundreds of Mindfulness teachers. Numerous studies have been funded by Congress and the NIH to evaluate the effectiveness of MBSR [Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction]:
“… scientists have been able to prove that meditation and rigorous mindfulness training can lower cortisol levels and blood pressure, increase immune response and possibly even affect gene expression. Scientific study is also showing that meditation can have an impact on the structure of the brain itself. Building on the discovery that brains can change based on experiences and are not, as previously believed, static masses that are set by the time a person reaches adulthood, a growing field of neuroscientists are now studying whether meditation--and the mindfulness that results from it--can counteract what happens to our minds because of stress, trauma and constant distraction. The research has fueled the rapid growth of MBSR and other mindfulness programs inside corporations and public institutions.”[ii]
Whether you’re seeking tools to cope with chronic pain, or to find clarity, or to restore your sense of balance and inner peace, I urge you to consider Mindfulness practice. There are many resources available to help you get started:
- Jon Kabat-Zinn’s landmark book Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness was recently revised.
- My Mindfulness CDs are available for sale on this web site.
- I’d love to work with you one-on-one or in a Mindfulness Group – please contact me for more information.
Peace,Dr. Pamm