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Nice piece, Thanks Pete!
The simple stuff always worth remembering, especially when we can be
'mindful' any-time we choose to be.
I'm more or less with the monks on this one however (re the article), as
trying to get something or do something with mindfulness sort of defeats
the essence of it, though loads of benefits can come out of it, using
the technique as a means to some conceptualised idealistic end is sort
of like expecting fruits before you plant the seeds...
In TROM speak we'd probably say something like: we're dealing with
industries who's primary goals have nothing to do with actual life
realisation or true enhancement of what is, so whatever method they use
will become distorted until they grasp some of the basic facts of
reality itself and the game played regarding it.
I find it ironic too that these people are usually the ones going around
telling everyone else they must 'face facts', often violently, of
course, as dictated by whatever holographic/hallucinogenic pattern
they're running en-mass at the time.
Still tricky territory this one for me, because the folks of industry we
cannot deny are holding together a certain means of distribution and
fulfilment which more 'spiritual types' probably could not achieve and
which would probably descend into chaos if they let go of the reigns
entirely at this stage.
However, it is clear most of these industrial perspectives will have to
give up the reigns eventually, and learn to trust reality more than
conceptual device, otherwise they'll never get what they're truly after,
technology they'll find does not deliver what they're after.
This is the paradox of technology I find... I'm very involved with it,
its more or less my business at this period, and yet I know it is
entirely obsolete, from the moment of conception in fact, never more
than a mimic of actual-ness. We already have innately everything (and
more) than tech will ever prove or provide...
Yet it seems we still must transition through the motions, the phases
and periods of mankind, unless of course there is something I'm missing
here? Another way to go about this?
I can certainly say I love learning all there is to know about these
things, real or unreal : )
~ Sean
On 07/04/14 16:46, [email protected] wrote:
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Today's Topics:
1. Mindfulness (Pete Mclaughlin)
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Message: 1
Date: Mon, 7 Apr 2014 08:41:05 -0700
From: Pete Mclaughlin <[email protected]>
To: TROM <[email protected]>
Subject: [TROM1] Mindfulness
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
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The mainstreaming of mindfulness meditationStressed-out Americans, from war
veterans to Google workers, are embracing mindfulness meditation. Does it
really work?By Frances Weaver | April 5, 2014
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Mindfulness: Not just for yogis anymore. (Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images for
lululemon athletica)
Why is mindfulness so popular?
It appeals to people seeking an antidote to life in work-obsessed, tech-saturated, frantically busy
Western culture. There is growing scientific evidence that mindfulness meditation has genuine
health benefits ? and can even alter the structure of the brain, so the technique is drawing some
unlikely devotees. Pentagon leaders are experimenting with mindfulness to make soldiers more
resilient, while General Mills has installed a meditation room in every building of its Minneapolis
campus. Even tech-obsessed Silicon Valley entrepreneurs are using it as a way to unplug from their
hyperconnected lives. "Meditation always had bad branding for this culture," says Evan
Williams, co-founder of Twitter. "But to me, it's a way to think more clearly and to not feel
so swept up."
What is mindfulness, exactly?
It's a meditation practice central to the Buddha's teachings, which has now
been adapted by Western teachers into a secular self-help technique. One of the
pioneers in the field is Jon Kabat-Zinn, an MIT-educated molecular biologist
who began teaching mindfulness in the 1970s to people suffering from chronic
pain and disease. The core of mindfulness is quieting the mind's constant
chattering ? thoughts, anxieties, and regrets. Practitioners are taught to keep
their attention focused on whatever they're doing at the present moment,
whether it's eating, exercising, or even working. The most basic mindfulness
practice is sitting meditation: You sit in a comfortable position, close your
eyes, and focus your awareness on your breath and other bodily sensations. When
thoughts come, you gently let them go without judgment and return to the focus
on the breath. Over time, this practice helps people connect with a deeper,
calmer part of themselves, and retrain their brains not to ge
t
stuck in pointless, neurotic ruminations about the past and future that leave
them constantly stressed, anxious, or depressed.
Does it work?
Scientific research has shown that mindfulness appears to make people both
happier and healthier. Regular meditation can lower a person's blood pressure
and their levels of cortisol, a stress hormone produced by the adrenal gland
and closely associated with anxiety. Meditation can also increase the body's
immune response, improve a person's emotional stability and sleep quality, and
even enhance creativity. When combining mindfulness with traditional forms of
cognitive behavioral therapy, patients in one study saw a 10 to 20 percent
improvement in the mild symptoms of their depression ? the same progress
produced by antidepressants. Other studies have found that up to 80 percent of
trauma survivors and veterans with PTSD see a significant reduction in
troubling symptoms. Walter Reed National Military Medical Center is also
teaching mindfulness as a form of treatment for patients with substance abuse
problems.
Why does it work?
MRI scans have shown that mindfulness can alter meditators' brain waves ? and even cause lasting
changes to the physical structure of their brains (see below). Meditation reduces electrical
activity and blood flow in the amygdala, a brain structure involved in strong, primal emotions such
as fear and anxiety, while boosting activity regions responsible for planning, decision-making, and
empathy. These findings have helped attract the more skeptical-minded. "There is a swath of
our culture who is not going to listen to someone in monk's robes," says Richard J. Davidson,
founder of the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds and a professor at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison, "but they are paying attention to scientific evidence."
Who are these converted skeptics?
Ironically enough, Silicon Valley's tech geeks are leading the way. "It seems
counterintuitive, since technology is perhaps the biggest driver of mindlessness and
distraction," says Ann Mack, a director at marketing communications brand JWT Worldwide.
Google now has an in-house mindfulness program called "Search Inside Yourself," and the
company has even installed a labyrinth at its Mountain View complex so employees can practice
walking meditation. Tech leaders flock annually to the Wisdom 2.0 conference, and there are now
countless smartphone apps devoted to the subject. But these developments have led to a growing
concern that mindfulness is being co-opted and corrupted.
Why is that?
Long-term adherents of mindfulness worry that what is fundamentally a spiritual practice is being
appropriated by new age entrepreneurs seeking to profit off it. Others are concerned that Fortune
500 executives are pushing meditation so that overworked employees can be even more productive
without melting down. But Westerners clearly need some sort of strategy to cope with a world now
filled with the inescapable distractions of technology. The average American now consumes 63
gigabytes of content, or more than 150,000 words, over 13.6 hours of media use every single day ?
and all indications are that those numbers will keep climbing. For Janice Marturano, founder of the
Institute for Mindful Leadership, mindfulness is not just a way of coping with the deluge of input;
it's a way of confronting the modern world head-on. "There is no life-work balance," says
Marturano. "We have one life. What's most important is that you be awake for it."
Rewiring the brain
Until recently, neurologists believed that a person's brain stopped physically developing
when they were 25 to 35 years old. From that point onward, the hardware was set. But a
growing body of research points to the possibility of lifelong
"neuroplasticity" ? the ability of the brain to adapt to new input ? and a 2011
Massachusetts General Hospital study found that those who meditate regularly for as
little as eight weeks changed the very structure of their brains. MRI scans showed that
by meditating daily for an average of 27 minutes, participants increased the density of
the gray matter (which holds most of our brain cells) in an area that is essential for
focus, memory, and compassion. Previous research had already shown that monks who had
spent more than 10,000 hours in meditation had extraordinary growth and activity in this
part of the brain. But it's now clear that even relative beginners at mindfulness can
quickly rewire their brains in a positive way.
Sent from my iPad
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