Whatever you are doing, ask yourself, “What’s the state of my mind?” – Dalai Lama, 1999

What is Mindfulness? Have you been paying attention to the room you are in? What is the temperature? How does it smell? What are you sitting on? Is it comfortable?

How does your body feel? Do you have any aches or pains? Are your muscles tight or relaxed? Is your stomach pleasantly full or is it painfully empty? There are many things going on right now, such as stimuli surrounding you, in your immediate environment, sensations in your body, and thoughts and feelings in your mind, of which, you probably were not consciously aware.

What Mindfulness Means to Others Thich Nhat Hanh “Mindfulness is the capacity to be aware of what is going on, and what is there. The object of your mindfulness can be anything.” Jonathan Kaplan A special way of paying attention. Disengaging from “automatic pilot,” we consciously turn our focus to what’s happening right now, in the present.

Jon Kabat-Zinn Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way; on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgmentally. This kind of attention nurtures greater awareness, clarity and acceptance of present moment reality. Zindel Segal In mindfulness practice, watching thoughts arise, rest and move through the mind allows a similar awareness of thinking as something that can be observed and does not have to be engaged with.

Mindfulness! Noticing your thoughts, feelings, and actions without judgment or criticism Observing what’s happening around you Being fully aware of your senses moment to moment Living in the here and now without resorting to old patterns and automatic reactions Exercising acceptance of your own experience, whether good, bad, or neutral

This is NOT Mindfulness Meditation!

What Do You Call It? mindfulness (Buddhism) awakened presence (Christian) awareness (Humanism) being in the here and now (many approaches) stopping the world and seeing (Toltec) love (Martin Buber) the language of being (Carl Rogers) the awakened state (classical and spiritual mystical traditions)

Psychology as a secular study Various scientific studies have identified the benefits of mindfulness and meditation in treating chronic pain, alcohol abuse, anxiety, and relapse in chronic depression (Kabt-Zinn 1990; Marlatt and Gordon 1985; Orsillo and Roemer 2005; Segal, Williams, and Teasdale 2002).

Brain Changes In a study that appeared in the January 30, 2011 issue of Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, a team led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers report the results of their study, the first to document meditation- produced changes over time in the brain's grey matter.

Results Participating in an 8-week mindfulness meditation program appears to make measurable changes in brain regions associated with memory, sense of self, empathy and stress.

“Put simply” Mindfulness is: Noticing your thoughts, feelings, and actions without judgment or criticism Observing what is happening around you Being fully aware of your senses moment to moment Living in the here and now without resorting to old patterns and automatic reactions Exercising acceptance of your own experience, whether good, bad, or neutral

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). There are a number of ways that mindfulness meditation can be a powerful tool in healing trauma. Mindfulness meditation helps free people (whether traumatized or not) from the seeming power of their thoughts, helping them stay in the present, rather than dwelling on the past or worrying about the future

MBSR An increased ability to relax Lasting decreases in physical and psychological symptoms Reductions in pain levels and an enhanced ability to cope with pain that may not go away Greater energy and enthusiasm for life Improved self-esteem An ability to cope more effectively with both short and long-term stressful situations.

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) Grew from MBSR work. Zindel Segal, Mark Williams and John Teasdale adapted the MBSR program so it could be used specifically for people who had suffered repeated bouts of depression in their lives.

Study on MBCT The UK National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) has recently endorsed MBCT as an effective treatment for prevention of relapse. Research has shown that people who have been clinically depressed 3 or more times (sometimes for twenty years or more) find that taking the program and learning these skills helps to reduce considerably their chances that depression will return. The evidence from two randomized clinical trials of MBCT indicates that it reduces rates of relapse by 50% among patients who suffer from recurrent depression. Ma and Teasdale 2004 Teasdale et al, 2000

Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention (MBRP) Prevention therapy as a technique for coping with urges Used to address substance use and other behaviors used to avoid trauma-related experiences Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, integrates meditation practice with Dr. Alan Marlatt’s Relapse Prevention program

Primary goals of MBRP are: Develop awareness of personal triggers and habitual reactions, and learn ways to create a pause in this seemingly automatic process. Change our relationship to discomfort, learning to recognize challenging emotional and physical experiences and responding to them in skillful ways. Foster a nonjudgmental, compassionate approach toward ourselves and our experiences. Build a lifestyle that supports both mindfulness practice and recovery.

“Forgiveness means giving up all hope for a better past.” Lily Tomlin