“Suffering is not holding you. You are holding suffering. When you become good at the art of letting sufferings go, then you’ll come to realize how unnecessary it was for you to drag those burdens around with you.” – Osho
Mindfulness has been found to have great psychological benefits. It improves mood, reduces stress (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/07/29/get-your-calm-on/), depression (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/08/04/get-out-of-the-dumps-with-loving-kindness-meditation/), anxiety (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/07/17/the-mindfulness-cure-for-social-anxiety/), worry (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/07/17/stop-worrying/), anger (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/07/17/mindfully-get-a-grip/), and fear (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/07/17/dont-be-afraid/). It allows for efficient and realistic regulation of emotions (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/07/17/rethink-your-emotions/) and improves emotional intelligence (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/07/17/be-smart-about-emotions/), improves attention (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/07/17/overcome-attention-problems-with-mindfulness/), and even heightens creativity
There are a number of ideas as to why mindfulness is so beneficial, but one idea that has not been previously tested is that mindfulness may alter memory. In today’s Research News article “The Effect of a Brief Mindfulness Intervention on Memory for Positively and Negatively Valenced Stimuli”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3090568/
Alberts and Thewissen investigate the effect of the induction of mindfulness on the memory for words that are rated as feeling emotionally either positive or negative. They found that mindfulness did not improve or impair memory overall. But, it altered what tended to be remembered. The mindfulness group had significantly poorer memory for those words that were emotionally negative.
This suggests that mindfulness impairs negative memories. It makes us better at forgetting and letting go of troubling memories. This may be one of the ways that mindfulness improves mood, by focusing on the good things in life and forgetting the bad things. Negative emotions such as anxiety, depression, anger, worry etc. all rely on a memory process. It is troubling memories of real or imagined past events that create these emotions. Being able to better forget them should reduce these negative emotions. In this way mindfulness may have great psychological benefit.
Mindfulness training emphasizes non-judgmental awareness. We are instructed when memories intrude on the present moment awareness to not judge them as either good or bad, just to see them as memories, nothing more, nothing less, and let them pass away. Mindfulness, by making us less judgmental about past memories they may be neutralized and become less troubling. This could help to control negative emotions. So, mindfulness may be improving our psychological makeup by helping us focus of the positive memories and let go of the negative memories.
So, be mindful and forget the bad stuff.
“Let go. Why do you cling to pain? There is nothing you can do about the wrongs of yesterday. It is not yours to judge. Why hold on to the very thing which keeps you from hope and love?” – Leo Buscaglia
CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies
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