Mindfulness is a mind-body medicine practice, based on ancient Indian meditation techniques, that was popularized by Jon Kabat-Zinn, a researcher at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. According to Kabat-Zinn, mindfulness is an internal resource that all of us already have within us. The idea is to channel or direct this resource to transform our relationships with stress, emotions, pain, and illness. Indeed, controlled research studies suggest that mindfulness-based interventions can effectively reduce symptoms in people with chronic pain, recurrent depression, anxiety disorders, substance abuse, binge-eating, and many other health conditions. Mindfulness interventions have also been shown to change the brain's grey matter and reactivity to emotional stimuli in ways that promote greater conscious control over emotion.
Nine qualities are listed in the Psychology Today piece by psychologist Melanie Greenberg.
Focus on the Present Moment—When your thoughts get lost in thinking about the past or worrying about the future, you bring them back to what you are experiencing right now.
Being Fully Present—You are spaciously aware of whatever you are experiencing in the present moment as you go through your daily life.
Openness to Experience—Rather than dreading and shutting out your own feelings and experiences because you think you can't handle them, you welcome with curiosity any thoughts and feelings that naturally arise, knowing they are merely sensations in the moment and the next moment can be different.
Non-Judgment—You don't categorize your thoughts and feelings as good or bad, try to change them, or feel compelled to act on them.
Acceptance of Things as They Are—You don't try to force or change reality to fit your vision of what it should be, feel like a victim, or bemoan the unfairness of life.
Connection—You feel connected to all living things and nature in being part of a larger whole.
Non-Attachment—You do not try to hold onto things, people, or experiences, knowing that life is in constant flow.
Peace and Equanimity—You maintain an even-keel, not getting too swept up in life's highs and lows.
Compassion—You deal gently, kindly, and patiently with yourself and others.
Mindfulness is the art of observing your physical, emotional, and mental experiences with deliberate, open, and curious attention. And although it is an "art" that can be cultivated through a daily formal meditation practice, you can easily practice it instantaneously to be aware of your present-moment experience anytime in the course of a day.
Our bodies simply function as they always do: pumping blood, taking in information from the senses, and experiencing sensory and emotional responses to stimuli. Our minds interpret these direct physical experiences -- and often create stories around them -- in ways that may increase discomfort or suffering and create more reactivity in our minds. We can short-circuit this reactivity by returning our attention to the felt experience of our bodies.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/
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