Concept Of Mindfulness Research Articles

Understanding the concept of mind and mindful awareness according to Indian scriptures

A human being is like a miniature world. By tuning inward, one can unravel the nature of the universe. The goal of human existence has been to harness and train the citta (mind) from time immemorial. Tracing back, Indian scriptures have references that guide us toward creating a mindful awareness. It elucidates mindful awareness as a practicable mode of being. Practice of pratyāhāra, accentuates mastery over sensory perceptions and citta's reaction to them. This is precisely why pratyāhāra can be a potent tool in comprehending citta that is caught in a web of thoughts. Citta is constantly grappling the deeply ingrained fear of – defeat, doubt, and uncertainty. By incorporating the practice of pratyāhāra, one can put to rest the elements of disturbance, distraction, and distortion of the perception of reality. In contrary to the concept of mindfulness that is prevalent in the clinical interventions, this study expounds the concept of mindful awareness as a means to transcend citta embarking on the practice of pratyāhāra. Here, the concept of pratyāhāra is explored with excerpts from the Bhagavadgītā, Yogasūtra, and Yoga Vāsiṣṭha, that lucidly show that mindful awareness can be embedded into everyday living with the practice of: stabilizing the citta, samatvam (reaching a state of equanimity), ātmavicāra (self-inquiry), vairāgya (renouncing of mental impressions), karma yoga (renouncing the fruits of the one's own action), control of prāṇa (restraint of the life-force) all of which fundamentally lead to the most dynamic technique of pratyāhāra (tuning inward), thereby bringing about mindful awareness.

Natal and Convert Buddhism and Mindfulness

Natal and convert practices of Buddhism and Christianity raise questions of authenticity. As second and third generations of children of American converts to Buddhism enter the practice, what constitutes natal Buddhism becomes complexified, and natal immigrants from places like Taiwan, as Carolyn Chen writes, often move away from Buddhism as a way of becoming Americanized. This paper examines these complexities using Mary Louise Pratt's concept of the "contact zone," in which cultures meet, and often collide, generating new forms, though in asymmetrical power relations. I, then, turn to mindfulness as a cultural practice in America. Mindfulness has become an industry in the United States. I argue that mindfulness may be an example of orientalist appropriation, and turn to the Buddha's teaching on mindfulness and a Franciscan Christian mode of mindfulness in contemplation. Recognizing the inevitable borrowing that occurs when cultures meet, this paper raises more questions than it gives answers, thinking through the effects on natal practitioners of convert borrowing and also through forms of mindfulness and what they offer convert practitioners in the multiple ways that modern American choose to belong, from dual belonging to borrowing.

A review of mindful parenting

The benefits of mindfulness are widely recognized, and it has received increasing research attention. Recently, researchers have extended the concept and practice of mindfulness to the parent–child relationship and proposed the construct of mindful parenting, that is, parenting with mindfulness. However, mindful parenting is a relatively new concept in the field of family studies, and the contents, psychometrically robust measures, outcomes, and cultivation methods of mindful parenting warrant in-depth exploration. This article presents a systematic review of mindful parenting. We first conceptualized mindful parenting by consolidating the existence of this construct. Then, we summarized various measurements to assess this construct, and reviewed theoretical models and empirical research on the roles of mindful parenting. We also illustrated the ways to enhance mindful parenting and provided current evidence regarding these methods. Further, we discussed the limitations in this field and proposed future research directions.

МАЙНДФУЛНЕС І ОБСЕСИВНО-КОМПУЛЬСИВНИЙ РОЗЛАД: КОРОТКИЙ ОГЛЯД

Mindfulness is non-judgmental awareness that arises as a result of conscious focus on the current moment. It may be seen as one of the useful therapeutic tools that helps to alleviate symptoms of OCD. In recent decades, there has been a growing interest in studying the concept of mindfulness as a psychological construct and as a form of psychotherapeutic intervention for the prevention and treatment of mental disorders. The purpose of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is to assist patients in developing awareness of their thoughts and reactions. MBCT teaches that the best way to spot these triggers and overcome stress and anxiety is to be aware of and accept the current moment. Instead of trying too hard to realize negative thoughts, fears, and anxieties, MBCT teaches to accept any thought in a non-judgmental way and allow it to disappear as easily as to appear. Mindfulness is a proven skill of awareness and a way of responding in a non-judgmental manner to unwanted thoughts, feelings, and urges. Clearing the mind, mindfulness helps to kill off habitual connections between neurons and develop new ones, to reduce the level of obsessive thoughts and stereotypes, to overcome automatic thinking and eradicate existing patterns of behavior that ultimately leads to a qualitatively new level of living and development of human abilities and talents. Complementing cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), the gold standard for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) enhances and improves the therapeutic effect and opens new horizons for further research. The paper aims to analyze the place and role of mindfulness in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorders.

An interpretative phenomenological study exploring the lived experiences of participation in a mindfulness and compassion course

The aim of this study was to examine the lived experience of an eight week or equivalent three–four day mindfulness and compassion course using participant diary entries to explore participant’s thoughts, feelings and emotions during the course. Sixteen participants (n = 14 females, n = 2 males; age group = between forty-five and fifty-four years old) participated in research during a mindfulness and compassion course. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to represent the experiences of the participants.Three superordinate themes were identified in the analysis: beginning the course; learning new skills and experiences; applications to everyday. Within the three themes there were twelve subordinate themes including expectations a person brings to mindfulness training; the social awkwardness of practicing in a group; meditation for beginners is hard work; the importance of the teacher in making it okay to experience uncertainty; the importance of metaphors/stories in making sense of mindfulness concepts; compassion: important but challenging; shifting awareness of body, place and mind; epiphanies/turning points/game changers: when it just makes sense; noticing suffering in everyday life; responding differently to suffering in everyday life; knowing the self-better: in a non-judgmental way; simple class vs. cluttered life: practicing in class is different to practicing in everyday life. The current study provides an understanding of the lived experience of participating on a mindfulness and compassion course.

The Effects of a Novel Mindfulness-based Intervention on Nurses’ State Mindfulness and Patient Satisfaction in the Emergency Department

IntroductionThe objective of this study was to examine the effect of a novel mindfulness-based time-out intervention on state of mindfulness among emergency nurses and, accordingly, on patient satisfaction. MethodsA pre-post intervention design among nurses in the emergency department was used with a between-subjects factor of patients who were nested within each nurse. The study was conducted between January 2017 and June 2018 among 48 nurses in the emergency department of a public tertiary academic hospital. For each nurse, a consecutive sample of 20 patients who attended the emergency department was recruited (n = 1920 patients; 960 in each phase). The mindfulness-based time-out intervention was based on theoretical mindfulness principles and carried out every 4 hours with direct communication to the patient at their bedside. Nurses’ sociodemographic and professional characteristics and trait mindfulness were collected preintervention. Pre- and postintervention, data was collected on patients’ sociodemographic and satisfaction, nurses’ state mindfulness, and ED workload. ResultsAn increase in nurses’ state mindfulness and patients’ satisfaction was found after the mindfulness-based time-out intervention compared with before the intervention (4.35 [SD = 0.64] vs 4.03 [0.82], P < .001 and 4.03 [0.41] vs 3.16 [0.44], P < .001, respectively). A positive correlation was found between patients’ satisfaction and nurses’ state mindfulness (r = 0.29, P < .001). The findings also demonstrated that state mindfulness was higher among nurses, characterized by high trait mindfulness, after the mindfulness-based time-out intervention implementation. DiscussionBy adapting mindfulness principles to the dynamic environment of the emergency department, we showed that the mindfulness-based time-out intervention was associated with a significant improvement in state mindfulness and patient satisfaction. The findings elucidate the interrelation among several conceptualizations of mindfulness that are increasingly reported in the literature, namely trait and state mindfulness, and interventions to promote mindfulness.

O Voluntário e o Involuntário na Atenção segundo a Fenomenologia da Vontade de Ricoeur

Paul Ricoeur considera o caráter voluntário e involuntário da essência da atenção: a duração. Alongando a fenomenologia da vontade à seletividade da atenção, é percetível um atender involuntário, pela factualidade de um corpo e pela existência de motivos subjacentes que motivam o querer, e um voluntário na decisão de atender. Ricoeur identifica um não-ser específico da vontade, aproximando-se da ontologia a partir deste não-ser. Sem extrair a essência do conceito de atenção, também a atenção apresenta um estatuto ontológico, sendo compreendida por Ricoeur como uma grande recetividade, o que vai ao encontro do conceito de atenção plena de Allan Wallace.

Partners' Relationship Mindfulness Promotes Better Daily Relationship Behaviours for Insecurely Attached Individuals.

Attachment anxiety and avoidance are generally associated with detrimental relationship processes, including more negative and fewer positive relationship behaviours. However, recent theoretical and empirical evidence has shown that positive factors can buffer insecure attachment. We hypothesised that relationship mindfulness (RM)—open or receptive attention to and awareness of what is taking place internally and externally in a current relationship—may promote better day-to-day behaviour for both anxious and avoidant individuals, as mindfulness improves awareness of automatic responses, emotion regulation, and empathy. In a dyadic daily experience study, we found that, while an individual’s own daily RM did not buffer the effects of their own insecure attachment on same-day relationship behaviours, their partner’s daily RM did, particularly for attachment avoidance. Our findings for next-day relationship behaviours, on the other hand, showed that lower (vs. higher) prior-day RM was associated with higher positive partner behaviours on the following day for avoidant individuals and those with anxious partners, showing this may be an attempt to “make up” for the previous day. These findings support the Attachment Security Enhancement Model and have implications for examining different forms of mindfulness over time and for mindfulness training.

The social engagement framework for addressing the chronic-disease-challenge

Abstract Background The Social Engagement Framework for Addressing the Chronic-disease-challenge (SEFAC) intends to empower citizens to self-manage chronic conditions by combining mindfulness, social engagement and ICT support. This study evaluates effects in terms of perceived effectiveness, utility, efficiency, sustainability and satisfaction with SEFAC intervention. Methods A prospective cohort study with 6-month pre-post design was conducted in Croatia, Italy and the Netherlands. A total of 270 citizens ≥50 and at risk of or with a chronic condition were recruited. Self-reported effects of SEFAC intervention were assessed post-intervention using 5-point Likert scale [Strongly disagree -Strongly agree] and overall satisfaction on a scale from 1-10. Results Post-intervention analyses of a preliminary sample of 98 participants showed the SEFAC intervention was effective. In particular, perceived effectiveness for stimulating the work towards a healthy lifestyle was found for: mindfulness training (63.3%; n = 62), social engagement (48%; n = 47) and ICT support (40.8%; n = 40). After the intervention, 57.1% participants (n = 56) reported having become more aware of moment-to-moment sensations, thoughts and emotions and being able to better accept them without getting lost in them. Most participants (73.5%; n = 72) found the intervention was beneficial (perceived utility). A total of 78.6% (n = 77) participants found it was worth the investment in time and effort (perceived efficiency) and 61% participants (n = 60) agreed the intervention led to sustainable changes/benefits that will last. Finally, satisfaction with the intervention was high overall (8.5 out of 10). Conclusions This is the first study to develop an intervention combining the concepts of mindfulness, social engagement and ICT support. By this combination, self-reported effects were satisfactory. We expect this intervention to be feasible and cost-effective to promote self-management and self-care of chronic conditions. Key messages This study provides an innovative intervention to promote self-management and self-care of citizens with chronic conditions. This is the first study to develop an intervention combining the concepts of mindfulness, social engagement and ICT support.

Mindfulness for Autism

An important complement to molecular treatments, psychological interventions for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are efficient and sustainable. The Western-influenced mindfulness concept is one such particularly powerful psychological construct with widespread benefits spanning health, education, and business spheres. By alleviating the difficulties inherent to certain rigid patterns of cognition and behavior, cognitively fluidifying mindfulness-based interventions anchored in training one’s attention to variability have emerged as promising for improving the well-being of individuals with ASD. The purpose of this paper is to review the evidence supporting these benefits and point to their potential underlying mechanisms. In this conceptual paper, we first review the broad evidence of the benefits of a range of Western-influenced mindfulness interventions for individuals with ASD, after which we deconstruct their underlying intra-individual processes and effects, and, finally, frame these psychological mechanisms in light of current core cognitive theories of ASD. This paper highlights the established importance and continued promise of Western-influenced mindfulness training in understanding and improving the psychological health and overall well-being of individuals with ASD. As such, we hope to lay the foundation for avenues of future research on mindfulness-inspired interventions aimed at non-invasively improving the lives of individuals and families affected by ASD. This work provides a brief overview bridging Western-influenced mindfulness and cognitive theories of ASD. In so doing, it sheds light on this ripe intersection highly amenable to therapeutic intervention.

MINDFULNESS SESSION: Being Intentional about Your Breaks (30 mins)

This session begins with a brief introduction into the concept of mindfulness and how mindful practices can enhance your quality of life and work. Mason resources for mindful practices will be shared and there will be time try some quick mindful movement activities. Mindful movements are gentle stretches that can help release tension and calm the mind. This practice includes fluid movements from qigong (similar to tai chi) and yoga poses. They are easy to do and just may offer a feeling of renewal.

Advancing the Study of Positive Psychology: The Use of a Multifaceted Structure of Mindfulness for Development.

Positive psychology, as a distinctive paradigm, focuses on the remedy of pathologies and, by contrast, the promotion of positive experiences and conditions in life (e.g., encouraging a state of flourishing). Positive psychology, in its simplistic form, may provide evidence and insightful understanding into the proactivity of human agency (Seligman, 1999; Seligman and Csíkszentmihályi, 2000). Drawing from this emphasis, we have developed the theory of optimization, which attempts to explain the achievement of optimal functioning in life (e.g., optimal cognitive functioning: academic performance). By the same token, in the course of our research development into the theory of optimization, we have also delved into a comparable theoretical orientation, namely: the multifaceted nature of mindfulness, consisting of three interrelated components – the psychological component of mindfulness, the philosophical component of mindfulness, and the spiritual component of mindfulness. This conceptualization of mindfulness is rather unique for its incorporation of both Western and Eastern knowledge, philosophical viewpoints, and epistemologies into one holistic framework. The main premise of this conceptual analysis article is to advance the study of positive psychology by specifically introducing our recently developed model of mindfulness, in this case, the multifaceted structure of mindfulness with its three distinct components. Importantly, we make attempts to highlight the significance of this multifaceted model by situating it within the theory of optimization for academic learning. Using philosophical psychology and personal-based teaching and research reasoning, we provide a valid rationale as to how aspects of our proposed model of mindfulness (e.g., reaching a state of enlightenment) could act to facilitate and optimize a person’s state of functioning (e.g., cognitive functioning). Moreover, we posit that our rationale regarding mindfulness as a potential “optimizing agent” for the purpose of optimal functioning could, indeed, emphasize and reflect the salient nature of positive psychology. In other words, we contend that an explanatory account of mindfulness from the perspectives of Confucianism and Buddhism could, in this analysis, coincide with and support the meaningful understanding and appreciation for the study of positive psychology in educational and non-educational contexts. We conclude the article by exploring the complex issue of methodology – that is, for example, how would a researcher measure, assess, and/or empirically validate the multifaceted nature of mindfulness?

Can Mindfulness be Helpful in Team Decision‐Making? A Framework for Understanding How to Mitigate False Consensus

Mindfulness has recently attracted a great deal of interest in the field of management. However, even though mindfulness – broadly viewed as a state of active awareness – has been described mainly at the individual level, it may also have important effects at aggregated levels. In this article, we adopt a team‐based conceptualization of mindfulness, and develop a framework that represents the powerful effect of team mindfulness on facilitating effective decision‐making. We further discuss how a conceptualization of team mindfulness may mitigate the process of false consensus by interacting positively with the following five central team processes: open‐mindedness, participation, empowerment, conflict management, and value and ambiguity tolerance. A false consensus constitutes a cognitive bias, leading to the perception of a consensus that does not exist. In essence, we argue that, although a conceptualization of team mindfulness does not guarantee effective decision‐making in itself, it may successfully reduce false consensus when coupled with these five team processes. Accordingly, this article contributes to the theory and practice of team decision‐making by demonstrating how a conceptualization of team mindfulness can be helpful in the increasingly complex and ambiguous situations faced by contemporary teams.

Mindful management of relationships during periods of crises: A model of trust, doubt and relational adjustments

This paper identifies practices of business-to-business relationship management that lead to building resilience during crisis. Business relationships play a significant role when firms face turbulence and disruption. Crises create resource limitations that businesses need to manage by the rapid formation of new relationships to access resources and build adequate capabilities. Mindfully managing such relationships requires a combination of trust, doubt and control mechanisms to enable exchange while safeguarding against relational vulnerabilities. Drawing on data from 33 firms operating within highly turbulent and uncertain environments, and crisis management literature, we apply the concept of mindfulness and introduce a model of mindful management of relationships as a process that combines the cognitive and behavioural capabilities of trusting, doubting, verifying, and adjusting relational exposure. This process enables a rapid acquisition of resources and building capabilities while enabling businesses dealing with issues before relational failure manifests. The mindful process supports ongoing and highly interactive relationships that adjust to changing circumstances fostering collaboration to deal with crises. Results encourage managers to rapidly develop relationships and trust new partners, whilst practicing suspicious thinking, enacting continuous interaction, empowering experienced boundary personnel, enabling frequent informal communication, and supporting the development of diverse social bonds.

Efficacy of Training Self-Compassion on High School Students’ School Phobia

Introduction and purpose: The students are considered the main resources in the society and they can pave the way for the development of the societies through successful educational performance. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the efficacy of training self-compassion on high school students’ school phobia. Methodology: The present study was quasi-experimental with pretest, posttest and control group design. The statistical population included secondary high school students in the city of Tehran in academic year 2019-20. 40 students were selected though multi-stage clustered random sampling method and they were randomly accommodated into experimental and control groups (each group 20 students). The experimental group received seven sixty-minute sessions of training intervention of self-compassion (Germer, 2009) during a month. The applied questionnaires in the study were school phobia questionnaire. The data were analyzed through ANCOVA method using SPSS 23 software. Findings: The results showed that training self-compassion has significant effect on high school students’ school phobia (p<0.001) in a way that this intervention has led to the decrease of high school students’ school phobia. Conclusion: The findings of the study revealed that training self-compassion can be used as an efficient method to decrease high students’ school phobia through employing techniques such as familiarity with the concept of mindfulness, accepting emotions, facing emotions, the skill of personal accountability, and self-awareness.

Mindfulness-Based Student Training Leads to a Reduction in Physiological Evaluated Stress.

Background and ObjectiveIn today’s fast-paced modern lifestyle, chronic stress has become a serious issue with potential consequences for our physical and mental health. The concept of mindfulness and its derived Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program is considered to be an effective stress management technique for patients as well as for healthy persons. The effects of MBSR interventions on their participants have been subject of previous research, especially with regard to psychological or social science approaches using self-reports and questionnaires. In contrast, medical investigations in this field have been less frequent and often somehow limited, for example, addressing only absolute (discrete) mean values for heart rate or blood pressure.MethodsIn this study, we have evaluated a Mindfulness Based Student Training program (MBST) by applying methods of biosignal analysis to examine its impact on the training participants’ autonomic regulation. This intervention program included classical MBSR elements but was adapted to suit the normal daily needs of university students. We obtained the electrocardiogram, finger-pulse plethysmography, and respiration activity from students participating in either the intervention group (IGR, 38 subjects) or a passive control group (CON, 35 subjects) prior to and after 8 weeks of MBST intervention.ResultsWhen comparing various indices from heart rate variability, pulse wave variability, and respiration in linear and nonlinear domains, significant changes in the autonomic regulation were observed for the IGR group after 8 weeks of MBST.ConclusionThe results indicate a reduced stress level exclusively for the intervention participants, and therefore, we assume a health benefit from the MBST program.

마음챙김 스포츠 심리기술 척도 개발

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to establish a scale for Mindfulness sports psychological skills to measure player’s mind-taking which is required to mediate receptive-centered Mindfulness programs for athletes who receive stress and suffer from anxiety and concentration difficulty. Method: The factors of Mindfulness in sports were identified throughli terature review and interviews with sports leaders and athletes. Preliminary questions were developed after researching responses to the questions in terms of comprehension and clarity and reviewing withp rofessionals. Then, 328 questionnaires were collected from the participants. Question reviews and normality test were conducted. Exploratory factor analysis was processed by maximum likelihood estimation and oblique rotation. Cronbach’s alpha was extracted to verify the reliability of the scale’s sub-factors. The significance level was p＜.05. Results: Through question analysis, descriptive statistics, the correaltion of factors, and exploratory factor analysis, 9 factors (attention, awareness, the present awakening, openness, self-tolerance, decentralized nonjudgment, acceptance, re-concentration, and skills) and 35 questions were extracted. Cronbach’s alpha of each factor is ranged from .773 to .900, which is relatively high. Conclusion: The scale for Mindfulness sports psychological skills is a maesurement tool that scientifically obtains reliability and validity. Firstly, the scale helps player’s Mindfulness measurement in a quantified and scientific way. Secondly, the scale can contribute to clearly defining the concept of Mindfulness. Thirdly, it can be applied to further research of Mindfulness in other fields comparing with Mindfulness in sports.

Teaching Strategies for Beginning High School Students Afraid in Water

The intent of this article is to discuss how gradual water exposure, also known as systematic desensitization, coupled with the concept of mindfulness can serve as teaching strategies when working with students in the pool. These strategies have the potential to strengthen the mind/body connection for all students but particularly those who are afraid.

Exploring micro-skills as the underpinnings of effective social work practice

ABSTRACT This article explores the underpinnings of direct social work practice, applying theoretical concepts to demonstrate how to increase practice effectiveness. Given the challenges and stresses of the profession, social workers require training that equips them with skills for every field of practice, every situation and all levels of stress. The heart of direct practice is seen as a psychophysiological integration of skills (concrete tools that practitioners use to create change in users’ lives), which provide direct practice’s skeleton or frame, and micro-skills (specific actions taken to enact a skill), which provide its flesh. The psychophysiological base of direct practice is fleshed out using concepts of embodiment and mindfulness. A practice example illustrates the application of the concepts. Benefits associated with exploring micro-skills and embodied therapeutic practice are discussed, as well as the concomitant implications of how to expose new clinicians and students to these concepts.

The effects of organizational mindfulness on ethical behaviour and firm performance: empirical evidence from Vietnam

ABSTRACT This study examines the relationship between mindfulness and ethical behaviour and its consequent effects on firm performance. We adopt the psychological concept of mindfulness in the context of corporate ethics. We hypothesize that organizational mindfulness has a positive effect on organizational ethical behaviour but that the company’s code of ethics moderates this relationship. We further propose that organizational ethical behaviour affects firm performance with corporate reputation as a mediating construct. We tested the proposed framework using survey data from 653 managers of large firms in Vietnam. The estimated structural equation model provides strong and convincing support for our hypotheses with important theoretical and managerial implications.