DOCSLIB.ORG

Mindfulness and Its Role in Psychological Well-Being

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Mindfulness and Its Role in Psychological Well-Being Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Copyright 2003 by the American Psychological Association, Inc. 2003, Vol. 84, No. 4, 822–848 0022-3514/03/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.84.4.822 The Benefits of Being Present: Mindfulness and Its Role in Psychological Well-Being Kirk Warren Brown and Richard M. Ryan University of Rochester Mindfulness is an attribute of consciousness long believed to promote well-being. This research provides a theoretical and empirical examination of the role of mindfulness in psychological well-being. The development and psychometric properties of the dispositional Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) are described. Correlational, quasi-experimental, and laboratory studies then show that the MAAS measures a unique quality of consciousness that is related to a variety of well-being constructs, that differentiates mindfulness practitioners from others, and that is associated with enhanced self- awareness. An experience-sampling study shows that both dispositional and state mindfulness predict self-regulated behavior and positive emotional states. Finally, a clinical intervention study with cancer patients demonstrates that increases in mindfulness over time relate to declines in mood disturbance and stress. Many philosophical, spiritual, and psychological traditions em- Kabat-Zinn, 1990). To date, however, there has been little work phasize the importance of the quality of consciousness for the examining this attribute as a naturally occurring characteristic. maintenance and enhancement of well-being (Wilber, 2000). De- Recognizing that most everyone has the capacity to attend and to spite this, it is easy to overlook the importance of consciousness in be aware, we nonetheless assume (a) that individuals differ in their human well-being because almost everyone exercises its primary propensity or willingness to be aware and to sustain attention to capacities, that is, attention and awareness. Indeed, the relation what is occurring in the present and (b) that this mindful capacity between qualities of consciousness and well-being has received varies within persons, because it can be sharpened or dulled by a little empirical attention. One attribute of consciousness that has variety of factors. The intent of the present research is to reliably been much-discussed in relation to well-being is mindfulness. The identify these inter- and intrapersonal variations in mindfulness, concept of mindfulness has roots in Buddhist and other contem- establish their relations to other relevant psychological constructs, plative traditions where conscious attention and awareness are and demonstrate their importance to a variety of forms of psycho- actively cultivated. It is most commonly defined as the state of logical well-being. being attentive to and aware of what is taking place in the present. For example, Nyanaponika Thera (1972) called mindfulness “the THE NATURE OF MINDFULNESS clear and single-minded awareness of what actually happens to us and in us at the successive moments of perception” (p. 5). Hanh AND MINDLESSNESS (1976) similarly defined mindfulness as “keeping one’s conscious- Several authors (e.g., Averill, 1992; Mayer, Chabot, & Carl- ness alive to the present reality” (p. 11). smith, 1997) have distinguished consciousness from other modes Recent research has shown that the enhancement of mindfulness of mental processing—namely, cognition, motives, and emo- through training facilitates a variety of well-being outcomes (e.g., tions—that allow humans to operate effectively. Thus, one can be conscious of thoughts, motives, and emotions as well as sensory and perceptual stimuli. Consciousness encompasses both aware- Kirk Warren Brown and Richard M. Ryan, Department of Clinical and Social Sciences in Psychology, University of Rochester. ness and attention. Awareness is the background “radar” of con- This research was supported in part by a postdoctoral fellowship from sciousness, continually monitoring the inner and outer environ- the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, by grants ment. One may be aware of stimuli without them being at the from the Russell Sage Foundation and the Society of the Psychological center of attention. Attention is a process of focusing conscious Study of Social Issues to Kirk Warren Brown, and by National Institute of awareness, providing heightened sensitivity to a limited range of Mental Health Grant 59594 to Richard M. Ryan. We are grateful to Linda experience (Westen, 1999). In actuality, awareness and attention Carlson, Ed Deci, Jennifer LaGuardia, Martin Lynch, and Todd Thrash for are intertwined, such that attention continually pulls “figures” out their helpful comments on previous versions of this article. We also thank of the “ground” of awareness, holding them focally for varying D.S. Moskowitz, Joseph Schwartz, Joshua Smyth, and Harry Reis for lengths of time. statistical programming help; Chris Stevens and Bodhin Kjolhede for Although attention and awareness are relatively constant fea- participant recruitment assistance; and Linda Carlson for collecting the data presented in Study 5. tures of normal functioning, mindfulness can be considered an Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Kirk enhanced attention to and awareness of current experience or Warren Brown, Department of Clinical and Social Sciences in Psychology, present reality. Specifically, a core characteristic of mindfulness University of Rochester, Meliora Hall, Rochester, New York 14627-0266. has been described as open or receptive awareness and attention E-mail: [email protected] (Deikman, 1982; Martin, 1997), which may be reflected in a more 822 MINDFULNESS AND WELL-BEING 823 regular or sustained consciousness of ongoing events and experi- 1975). However, this form of awareness is defined by its focus ences. For example, in speaking with a friend, one can be highly rather than by its quality. Thus, high private self-consciousness attentive to the communication and sensitively aware of the per- may reflect preoccupation with internal states or an open recep- haps subtle emotional tone underlying it. Similarly, when eating a tivity to them. Recent research has, in fact, uncovered two factors meal, one can be attuned to the moment-to-moment taste experi- in this construct, internal state awareness and self-reflectiveness ence while also peripherally aware of the increasing feeling of (Cramer, 2000; Trapnell & Campbell, 1999). The former repre- fullness in one’s stomach. This is to be contrasted with conscious- sents sensitivity to ongoing psychological processes, a construct ness that is blunted or restricted in various ways. For example, that has greater conceptual overlap with mindfulness. Even more rumination, absorption in the past, or fantasies and anxieties about distinct from mindfulness is public self-consciousness, the ten- the future can pull one away from what is taking place in the dency to be concerned about the self as perceived by others, which present. Awareness or attention can also be divided, such as when may detract from present awareness. Several other approaches to people are occupied with multiple tasks or preoccupied with con- the measurement of self-awareness have also been developed, cerns that detract from the quality of engagement with what is including self-monitoring (Snyder, 1974) and reflection (Trapnell focally present. Mindfulness is also compromised when individu- & Campbell, 1999). als behave compulsively or automatically, without awareness of or Although distinct in the content that each examines, all the attention to one’s behavior (Deci & Ryan, 1980). Finally, mind- forms of self-awareness discussed above reflect cognitive opera- lessness, which we denote as the relative absence of mindfulness, tions on aspects of the self through self-examination, processes can be defensively motivated, as when an individual refuses to collectively termed reflexive consciousness (Baumeister, 1999; acknowledge or attend to a thought, emotion, motive, or object of Bermu´dez, 1998). Mindfulness directed inward differs from these perception. These forms of consciousness thus serve as concrete approaches in that its mode of functioning is perceptual or “pre- counterpoints to mindful presence and the attention to current reflexive,” operating on, rather than within, thought, feeling, and experience within and without oneself that such presence entails. other contents of consciousness. Rather than generating mental As presently defined, mindfulness bears some relation to other accounts about the self, mindfulness “offer[s] a bare display of constructs that have received empirical attention. For example, what is taking place” (Shear & Jevning, 1999, p. 204). Thus, emotional intelligence, as described by Salovey, Mayer, Goldman, whereas the modes of reflexive consciousness noted above con- Turvey, and Palfai (1995), includes perceptual clarity about one’s cern the focus of cognitive operations, mindfulness concerns the emotional states. Insofar as mindfulness involves receptive atten- quality of consciousness itself and, except for the inverse relation tion to psychological states, we expect it to be associated with such to public self-consciousness noted above, is theorized to have little clarity. In less mindful states, emotions may occur outside of or no inherent relation to reflexive thought. awareness or drive behavior before one clearly acknowledges them. Mindfulness also appears to relate to aspects of the Open- MINDFULNESS
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Presenter Disclosures MBSR Research Video
    2/4/2021 Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Dave Potter, PalouseMindfulness.com Chandana Halaharvi, DPM, AACFAS Samantha Ralstin, DPM 1 Presenter Disclosures Dave Potter Psychotherapist, Palouse Mindfulness Chandana Halaharvi, DPM, AACFAS Provider, Spring Branch Podiatry, Houston, Texas Membership Committee, ACFAS Peer Editor, Foot and Ankle Specialist magazine Samantha Ralstin, DPM PGY-2, John Peter Smith Hospital, Fort Worth, TX Membership Committee, ACFAS 2 MBSR Research Video (3min) 3 1 2/4/2021 Stress Test… 4 Robert Sapolsky Video (3min) 5 A five-minute taste of Mindfulness Meditation… 6 2 2/4/2021 7 Three Meditation Myths 8 Three Meditation Myths #1 The object is to clear your mind… 9 3 2/4/2021 10 11 Three Meditation Myths #1 The object is to clear your mind… You don’t eliminate thoughts/feelings, you change your relationship with them, and things settle down over time. 12 4 2/4/2021 Three Meditation Myths #1 The object is to clear your mind… You don’t eliminate thoughts/feelings, you change your relationship with them, and things settle down over time. #2 If you are doing it right, you will feel peaceful… 13 Three Meditation Myths #1 The object is to clear your mind… You don’t eliminate thoughts/feelings, you change your relationship with them, and things settle down over time. #2 If you are doing it right, you will feel peaceful… Difficult things may come up, but you can learn to be at peace with not feeling peaceful, and things, paradoxically, become more peaceful. 14 15 5 2/4/2021 Three Meditation Myths #1 The object is to clear your mind… You don’t eliminate thoughts/feelings, you change your relationship with them, and things settle down over time.
    [Show full text]
  • Pain Management Center Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Program
    Pain Management Center Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Program Home Practice Workbook: Awareness of Breathing Noticing the Physical Sensation of Breathing Locate where in your body you notice the physical sensation of breathing most prominently. That physical location will become the anchor point for your attention. Notice the sensations of the inhale, and then the exhale. Conscious Breathing Repeating silently to yourself: “Breathing in, I am aware I am breathing in. Breathing out, I am aware I am breathing out.” Counting the Breath Use silent labelling of the stages of the breath to help anchor attention. During the inhale, silently say “one.” During the exhale: “two.” During the next inhale: “three,” and so on, up to ten. Then return to one. If you lose your focus, return to one, without judging yourself! Candle Breathing Using the fingers of one hand as “five candles,” or perhaps just the index finger as “one candle,” imagine that you are systematically and gently blowing on the “flame,” but not so forcefully as to extinguish it. Continue, inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth onto “the flame.” MP3 Links to Sitting Meditations (Additional files guided by Jon Kabat-Zinn sent via email) 45 minutes • (Florence) https://Multimedia.umassmed.edu/cfm/Guided_Sitting_Meditation_FMM.mp3 • (Lynn) https://Multimedia.umassmed.edu/cfm/Sitting_Meditation_Lynn_Koerbel.mp3 • (Bob) https://Multimedia.umassmed.edu/cfm/stahl/sitting-meditation.mp3 30 minutes • (Florence) https://Multimedia.umassmed.edu/cfm/Florence_Guided_Sitting_Meditation_30min.mp3 ©2014 Stanford Health Care Pain Management Center 1 Pain Management Center Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Program Home Practice Workbook: Body Scan The Body Scan is intended to raise awareness of the body by using it as the focus for practicing mindfulness.
    [Show full text]
  • The Buddha Discovered Dhyana
    SD 33.1b The Buddha Discovered Dhyana The Buddha Discovered Dhyana 1b The nature of dhyana as a basis for liberation An essay1 by Piya Tan ©2010 1 Significance of dhyana Dhyana (P jhāna; Skt dhyāna) is as old as Buddhism itself, probably older. In early Buddhism, how- ever, it developed into a progressive four-stage suprasensory experience of altered consciousness, and has become uniquely Buddhist.2 The importance of dhyana in early Buddhism is attested by the fact that we have numerous discourses where the Buddha describes his experiences of them.3 In such discourses, the Buddha frequently admonishes his disciples to attain dhyana. In the suttas, we also see the word jhna used in both its two basic Buddhist senses: the general sense of “meditation,” and as “dhyana” or “mental absorption,” such as in this discourse: If a monk cultivates the first dhyana (jhāna) for even the duration of a mere finger-snap, then, bhikshus, he is called a monk who dwells as one whose meditation is not in vain (aritta-j,jhāna): a doer of the Teacher’s teaching, a follower of his advice. He does not eat the country’s alms in vain [for nothing].4 (Eka,dhamma Acchar,saghata Sutta, A 1.20/1:38) The well known meditation monk, Ajahn Brahmavaso, opens his insightful experiential paper on “The Jhnas” (2003) with this important declaration: In the original Buddhist scriptures, there is only one word for any level of meditation. Jhna designates meditation proper, where the meditator’s mind is stilled from all thought, secluded from all five-sense activity and is radiant with other-worldly bliss.
    [Show full text]
  • Expos 20: Buddhism, Mindfulness, and the Practical Mind Instructor
    Expos 20: Buddhism, Mindfulness, and the Practical Mind Instructor: Ezer Vierba Today, mindfulness is touted as a panacea, the secret to happiness and health, superb sex and unparalleled productivity. The hype is not entirely new, however. For decades, ostensibly Buddhist ideas have been tossed around in the West as recipes for success in just about any art or craft. But what hides behind this craze? Can Buddhist teachings offer us tools with which to achieve our goals, or are we corrupting Buddhism by using it in such a way? What have artists and practitioners thought of the use of meditative tools, and how have they integrated Buddhist terms like “bare awareness” and “emptiness” into their work? In order to answer such questions, we will start the course with a reading of the Satipatṭhāna Sutta, the Buddha’s instructions on mindfulness meditation. A close reading of the text in our first unit will give us a glimpse of the ancient Buddhist practice, its complexity and richness. In our second unit, we will read the text that gave the West the idea that Buddhism can allow us to “hit the mark” without trying to do so, Eugen Herrigel’s bestselling Zen in the Art of Archery. Using Edward Said’s classic work, Orientalism, we will ask if Herrigel was romanticizing Zen Buddhism, and if he was, what the consequences of such a romanticization have for Japan and the West. In our last unit, we will stage a series of class debates about "mcmindfulness," and use what scientists and Buddhist practitioners have said about the compatibility of Buddhism with its modern, secular appropriations to inform our arguments.
    [Show full text]
  • The Nature of Mindfulness and Its Role in Buddhist Meditation”
    “The Nature of Mindfulness and Its Role in Buddhist Meditation” A Correspondence between B. Alan Wallace and the Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi Winter, 2006 AW 1: Dear Bhante, I would first like to tell you how much I respect and appreciate the wonderful work you have done in translating the Buddha’s words and clarifying them for the modern world. You are truly an inspiration. The reason I am writing you now is to ask you about the meaning of sati in authoritative, pre-twentieth-century Pāli/Theravāda sources. As you well know, in the current Vipassana tradition as it has been widely propagated in the West, sati is more or less defined as “bare attention,” or the moment-to-moment, nonjudgmental awareness of whatever arises in the present moment. There is no doubt that the cultivation of such mindfulness is very helpful, but, strangely enough, I have found no evidence in traditional Pāli, Sanskrit, or Tibetan sources to support this definition of sati (smṛti, dran pa). Having looked in the Nikāyas, the Milindapañha, Visuddhimagga, Abhidharmakośa, Abhidharmasamuccaya, and various Tibetan Buddhist texts, I find that they are all in general agreement with this definition from Buddhaghosa: “By means of it they [i.e., other mental processes] remember, or it itself remembers, or it is simply just remembering, thus it is sati. Its characteristic is not floating; its property is not losing; its manifestation is guarding or the state of being face to face with an object; its basis is strong noting or the close applications of mindfulness of the body and so on.
    [Show full text]
  • COMMENTARY Mindfulness Constructs in Early Buddhism And
    COMMENTARY Mindfulness Constructs in Early Buddhism and Theravāda: Another Contribution to the Memory Debate Bhikkhu Anālayo The present is a pre-copyedit version (with pagination added in square brackets in accordance with the original) of an article published in 2018 under the above title in Mindfulness, 9.4: 1047–1051. The final version is available online at https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-018-0967-3 Introduction The present paper, which serves as a reply to Levman (2018), published in the same issue of this journal, starts off with the premise that we need to recognize the existence of different constructs of mindfulness among various Buddhist traditions (as well as, of course, in modern clinical usage). Hence, when speaking of mindfulness in early Buddhism, for example, it needs to be borne in mind that this does not simply equate to Theravāda notions of this quality. Not appreciating this difference can easily obfuscate an accurate appraisal of aspects of a particular construct of mindfulness, such as the question of its relationship to memory. In order to recognize the distinct characteristics of various Buddhist conceptualizations of mindfulness, adopting the text-historical perspective is vital. Moreover, when examining satipaṭṭhāna meditation, it needs to be borne in mind that here mindfulness or sati cooperates with other mental qualities, in particular with sampajāna, clearly knowing. This in turn implies that, rather than simply equating sati with satipaṭṭhāna, closer examination is required in order to appreciate the precise role and function of mindfulness in this context. Early Buddhism and Theravāda With the term “early Buddhism” I refer to approximately the first two centuries in the development of Buddhist doctrine in India, roughly from the time the Buddha would have lived (the exact dating of which is still debated) to the reign of King Aśoka in the third century BCE.
    [Show full text]
  • Right Mindfulness
    2 Right Mindfulness MEMORY & ARDENCY ON THE BUDDHIST PATH ≥HfiNISSARO BHIKKHU (GEOFFREY DeGRAFF) for free distribution 3 Inquiries may be addressed to: The Abbot Metta Forest Monastery PO Box 1409 Valley Center, CA 92082 USA Copyright © ≥h›nissaro Bhikkhu 2012 This book may be copied or reprinted for free distribution without permission from the publisher. Otherwise all rights reserved. 4 “Just as a royal frontier fortress has a gatekeeper—wise, experienced, intelligent—to keep out those he doesn’t know and to let in those he does, for the protection of those within, and to ward off those without; in the same way, a disciple of the noble ones is mindful, endowed with excellent proficiency in mindfulness, remembering & recollecting what was done and said a long time ago. With mindfulness as his gatekeeper, the disciple of the noble ones abandons what is unskillful, develops what is skillful, abandons what is blameworthy, develops what is blameless, and looks after himself with purity.” — AN 7:63 5 Contents Abbreviations Introduction PART ONE Chapter 1: Mindfulness the Gatekeeper Chapter 2: The Lessons of Fabrication Chapter 3: Experience Is Purposeful Chapter 4: The Burden of Bare Attention PART TWO Chapter 5: Mindfulness of Reading Chapter 6: The Structure of Breath Meditation Chapter 7: Fleshing out the Four Tetrads PART THREE Chapter 8: A Slice of Mindfulness Chapter 9: A Structure for Ardency Chapter 10: Why Appendix 1: The fin›p›nasati Sutta Appendix 2: The Mah› Satipa˛˛h›na Sutta Appendix 3: Jh›na & Right Concentration Glossary 6 Abbreviations AN Aºguttara Nik›ya Cv Cullavagga Dhp Dhammapada DN Dıgha Nik›ya Iti Itivuttaka MN Majjhima Nik›ya SN Saªyutta Nik›ya Sn Sutta Nip›ta Thag Therag›th› Thig Therıg›th› Ud Ud›na References to DN, Iti, and MN are to discourse (sutta).
    [Show full text]
  • Mindfulness Meditation
    In P. Lehrer, R.L. Woolfolk & W.E. Sime. (2007). Principles and Practice of Stress Management. 3rd Edition. New York: Guilford Press. Mindfulness Meditation JEAN L. KRISTELLER Mindfulness meditation is one of the two traditionally identified forms of meditative practice, along with concentrative meditation (Goleman, 1988). Mindfulness meditation, also referred to as "insight meditation" or "Vipassana practice," is playing an increas­ ingly large role in defining how meditation can contribute to therapeutic growth and per­ sonal development. Although all meditation techniques cultivate the ability to focus and manage attention, mindfulness meditation primarily cultivates an ability to bring a nonjudgmental sustained awareness to the object of attention rather than cultivating fo­ cused awareness of a single object, such as a word or mantra, as occurs in concentrative meditation (see Carrington, Chapter 14, this volume). Virtually all meditative approaches combine elements of both concentrative and mindfulness practice, but for therapeutic purposes, there are important differences in technique and application. In mindfulness meditation, attention is purposefully kept broader, utilizing a more open and fluid focus but without engaging analytical thought or analysis. Mindfulness meditation may utilize any object of attention-whether an emotion, the breath, a physical feeling, an image, or an external object-such that there is more flexibility in the object of awareness than there is in concentrative meditation and such that the object may
    [Show full text]
  • Mindfulness of Breathing
    Mindfulness of Breathing (Ánápánasati) Mindfulness of Breathing (Ánápánasati) Buddhist Texts from the Páli Canon and Extracts from the Páli Commentaries Translated from the Páli by Bhikkhu Ñáóamoli Buddhist Publication Society P. O . B o x 6 1 54, Sangharaja Mawatha Kandy, Sri Lanka http://www.bps.lk First published 1952 Sixth edition 1998 Seventh edition 2010 Copyright © 1964, by Buddhist Publication Society National Library & Documentation Centre- Cataloguing in Publication Data Ñáóamoli Bhikkhu Mindfulness of Breathing: Ánápánasati/Ñáóamoli Bhikkhu.- Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society inc. 2010 142p; 14 x 22cm.- (BP 502 S) ISBN 978-955-24-0167-4 i. 294.34435 DDC 22 ii. Title 1. Buddhism 2. Meditation, Buddhism ISBN 978-955-24-0167-4 Printed by Creative Printers & Designers, Bahirawakanda, Kandy. Contents Principal References and Abbreviations ............................... vi Translator’s Foreword to the First Edition .......................... vii Preface to the Second Edition ..................................................ix Part I ..................................................1 Introduction ................................................................................1 Mindfulness of Breathing .........................................................3 The Method: The Four Tetrads ................................................4 Perfection of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness .............5 Perfection of the Seven Enlightenment Factors .....................7 Perfection of Clear Vision and Deliverance ...........................9
    [Show full text]
  • On the Buddhist Roots of Contemporary Non-Religious Mindfulness Practice: Moving Beyond Sectarian and Essentialist Approaches 1
    On the Buddhist roots of contemporary non-religious mindfulness practice: Moving beyond sectarian and essentialist approaches 1 VILLE HUSGAFVEL University of Helsinki Abstract Mindfulness-based practice methods are entering the Western cultural mainstream as institutionalised approaches in healthcare, educa- tion, and other public spheres. The Buddhist roots of Mindfulness- Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and comparable mindfulness-based programmes are widely acknowledged, together with the view of their religious and ideological neutrality. However, the cultural and historical roots of these contemporary approaches have received relatively little attention in the study of religion, and the discussion has been centred on Theravāda Buddhist viewpoints or essentialist presentations of ‘classical Buddhism’. In the light of historical and textual analysis it seems unfounded to hold Theravāda tradition as the original context or as some authoritative expression of Buddhist mindfulness, and there are no grounds for holding it as the exclusive Buddhist source of the MBSR programme either. Rather, one-sided Theravāda-based presentations give a limited and oversimplified pic- ture of Buddhist doctrine and practice, and also distort comparisons with contemporary non-religious forms of mindfulness practice. To move beyond the sectarian and essentialist approaches closely related to the ‘world religions paradigm’ in the study of religion, the discus- sion would benefit from a lineage-based approach, where possible historical continuities and phenomenological
    [Show full text]
  • Mantra Meditation Mindfulness Worksheet
    1 of 3 Mantra Meditation Mindfulness Worksheet Date / Time: What have you brought mindful awareness to today? Check all that apply. Heart Mind Body Breath Environment To begin this Meditation, please bring kind awareness to ➤ why you chose this topic ➤ how your belly, chest, and head each feel when you reflect on this topic ➤ the emotions that you can associate with these visceral feelings ➤ the positive or negative impact of any stories you believe in regarding this topic ➤ the fact that many others are feeling similarly about this topic as you ➤ how you might feel with increased awareness around this topic ➤ when you can apply increased mindfulness to this topic in your day-to-day life PURPOSE / EFFECTS: Do you feel like you think too much, or that your thoughts are driving you crazy? Mantra meditation may be one way to help. Mantra meditation tends to slow down the mind, and cool out the thinking process. Many people report it to leave them feeling centered, refreshed, and relaxed. METHOD: Summary Mentally repeat a sacred word or phrase. Long Version ➤ The first step is to choose a mantra. A mantra is a word or phrase that is believed to have a sacred meaning and power. Mantras are typically quite short, in order to make repetition easy. Choose whatever short word or phrase works for you.If you cannot decide on a mantra, here are some favorites, categorized by the tradition from which they come: Download more mindfulness worksheets, guided meditation scripts, e-books and more at: MindfulnessExercises.com 2 of 3 Mantra Meditation Mindfulness Worksheet Hindu: Buddhist: OM OM MANE PADME HUM RAM NAM MYOHO RENGE KYO OM NAMAH SHIVAYA Sikh: Christian: WAHE GURU KYRIE ELEISON Muslim: Jewish ALLAH HU SHEMA YISRAEL ADONAI ELOHEINU ADONAI ECHAD Picking a mantra may be the hardest part! Once you have made your choice, the actual practice is simple: Take a reposed, seated posture.
    [Show full text]
  • Mindful Wisdom: the Sati-Paṭṭhāna-Sutta on Mindfulness, Memory, and Liberation
    Mindful Wisdom: The Sati-paṭṭhāna-sutta on Mindfulness, Memory, and Liberation Eviatar Shulman History of Religions, Vol. 49, No. 4 (May 2010), pp. 393 - 420 Eviatar Shulman MINDFUL WISDOM: THE SATI-PAˇˇH A NA-SUTTA ON MINDFULNESS, MEMORY, AND LIBERATION The Sati-pa††hana-sutta (The discourse on the establishing of mindfulness)1 is among the most important and well-known early Buddhist texts, a para- digmatic teaching of Buddhist meditative practice.2 In this discourse, the 1 The Sati-pa††hana-sutta (hereafter SPS) appears in the Majjhima Nikaya (hereafter MN) 10; i, 55 (the source of citations to and quoted passages from the Pali canon, here and throughout, is the Vipasanna Research Institute’s virtual edition, http://tipitaka.org; I use the citation system of the Pali Text Society’s critical editions, with sutta number [if cited] fol- lowed by volume number [in roman numerals] and page number; all translations from the Pali are my own, unless noted otherwise). The SPS is also reproduced in the Maha-sati- pa††hana-sutta of the Digha Nikaya (hereafter DN) 22; ii, 290–315. In this second text, the Sacca-vibhanga-sutta (The exposition of the [four] truths) (MN 141; ii, 248) is inserted in the penultimate section of the SPS, in which the Buddha relates the Four Noble Truths. In the discussion below, I will be referring to the SPS as it appears in the MN, although my basic arguments apply to the Maha-sati-pa††hana-sutta just as well. 2 I share with many other scholars the uncomfortable feeling that arises from the use of the term “early” in regard to Buddhist scriptures.
    [Show full text]