ehipassiko: Pali, “come and see”, “come and see for yourself”
“Stop right now, take a breath, and pay close attention to the present. Exactly in
the moment, are things, for the most part, okay? The future has not happened, the past is over, and right now, well, it just is.” (Smalley & Winston, 2010, p. 14)
Mindfulness has become a mainstream concept and technique in CBT, especially in the so called “third wave” approaches (DBT, ACT, MBSR, MBCT, MBRP, compassion focused therapy)
“Sati” is the Pali (Old Sanskrit) term often translated as “mindfulness”
the term sati connotes awareness, attention, and remembering (in the sense of continuously remembering to be aware and pay attention) (Pollak, Pedulla, & Siegel, 2014)
as used by Western psychologists and counselors it often refers to both a particular mental state and the practices which produce that state:
“the awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally” (Kabat-Zinn, 1990, quoted in Tirch, Silberstein, & Kolts, 2016, p. 88)
“awareness of present experience with acceptance” (Germer, 2013, p 7)
“nonjudgmental (or compassionate), present-moment awareness of what is going on inside us and around us” (Roemer & Orsillo, 2009, p.137)
“flexible, focused attention” (Wilson & DeFene, 2009)
“awake” (I can’t remember who offered this, it is not technically correct but does capture some aspect what “sati” connotes.)
STOP, an acronym used in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
S: remind yourself to STOP, whatever you are doing in this moment, pause
T: TAKE a breath. This reconnects you with your body
O: OBSERVE: what is happening for you in this moment, what do you notice in
your body? You can be aware of anything: posture, sensations, tension,
your breath, the sounds around you, even your thoughts or emotions
P: PROCEED: continue with whatever you were doing before you came to a STOP
(Smalley & Winston, 2010, pp. 71-72)
Every day mindfulness: “be here now”
RAIN, an acronym for working with emotions (Smalley & Winston, 2010, pp. 112-118)
R: recognition
A: acceptance
I: Investigation
N: non-identification
Meditation
Like mindfulness, no single definition can fully capture the meaning of a practice that spans over three millennia
One can picture a spectrum of meditative practices:
Concentration practices: a particular stimulus is focused on
Mantras: “Om”, “One [Benson’s alternative to TM]”, “Calm”
Koans: “What is the sound of one hand clapping?”
Loving Kindness meditations might be considered under this heading
(but are usually discuss as variations on mindfulness, no particular
reason, the world is just more complex than lectures make it out)
Open monitoring, open awareness, “mindfulness meditation”: awareness of whatever arises in the mind [without attachment to this, or judgment], mindfulness based meditation practice (yet even this often begin and may continue for months/years/forever with focusing on the breath)
Compassion meditation, loving kindness meditation (some, like Bill Morgan, offer this as a third “type” of meditation)
I would only note that our “Western” sensibilities like to have clear (and preferably simple) conceptual categories for a world that tends to be fuzzy and complex.
The practice: sitting, lying, standing, walking, writing
Sitting (I often use this term interchangeably with meditation)
Wu Ji: a T’ai chi standing meditation poise
Walking: deliberate, focused walking, with awareness; alone or with a group
The application
A paradox: what we seek and what we get
Meditation has consistently been shown to produce a wide range of beneficial effects, both medically and emotionally. Yet the best approach to meditation seems to be one of curiosity, discovery, and limited expectations. There is no magic about this practice but the outcome is not always as predictable as we would like our “techniques” to have.
Your own practice: (MBSR, MBCT, and many other practitioners are very committed to the idea that to teach mindfulness to others you should be engaging in your own practice). I rather dislike absolute rules but this one does make some sense to me. Again, meditation seems somewhat different than techniques such as progressive
muscle relaxation training, social skills training, or behavioral activation.
Someone (again, forgot who; maybe it was me) suggested that meditation was like writing the owner’s manual for your brain
The problems:
Making time for practice in your life
A clarification of motivation is helpful: Meichenbaum’s dentist: “you only have to only floss the teeth you want to keep.”
Religious issues: “Are you going to make my son/daughter a Buddhist?”
Judgmental comparisons (“striving”):
With others
With yourself
“The only sitting [meditation practice] that matters is the one you do today, the only was to mess up sitting is not to sit.” (me, today)
“Just to sit, that is enough.” (Suzuki, 2006, p. 167)
References: (there are many good books and other references on meditation and mindfulness, I think the Smalley & Winston is one of the best introductions to meditation and mindfulness)
Feldman, C. & Kuyken, W. (2019). Mindfulness: Ancient wisdom meets modern psychology. NY: Guilford Press.
Morgan, B. ((2016). The Meditator’s Dilemma. Boulder: Shambhala.
Pollak, S.M., Pedulla, T., & Siegel, R.D. (2014). Sitting Together: Essential skills for mindfulness-
based psychotherapy. New York: Guilford Press.
Roemer, L. & Orsillo, S.M. (2009). Mindfulness- & Acceptance-Based Behavioral Therapies in
Practice. New York: Guilford Press.
Smalley, S.L. & Winston, D. (2010). Fully present: The science, art, and practice of mindfulness.
Philadelphia, PA: De Capo Press.
Suzuki, S. (2006). Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind. London: Shambhala Press.
T.N. Hanh (1976). The Miracle of Mindfulness: An introduction to the practice of meditation.
Boston: Beacon Press
Tirch, D., Siberstein, L.R., Kolts, R.L. (2016). Buddhist Psychology and Cognitive-Behavioral
Therapy: A clinician’s guide. New York: Guilford Press.
Wilson, K.G. & Dufrene, T. (2008). Mindfulness for Two: An Acceptance And Commitment therapy approach to mindfulness in psychotherapy. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications.
Other references:
Flaxman, P.E., Blackledge, J.T., & Bond, F.W. (2011). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.
New York: Routledge.
Hayes, S.C., Strosahl, K.D., & Wilson, K.G. (2012). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: The
process and practice of mindful change. New York: Guilford.