Improve Self-Esteem with Yoga Postures

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Improve Self-Esteem with Yoga Postures

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Yoga allows us to start to slow down the self-critic, and start to observe that this voices in our heads isn’t necessarily the reality. To slow down and get into the body and say ‘OK, when these thoughts are coming up, there’s something actually behind the thoughts that we’re observing’ — that connects us more to our true self versus the dialogue that may be running us.” – Vyda Bielkus

 

Yoga practice has been repeated demonstrated in research studies to be beneficial for the psychological and physical health of the practitioners. But, yoga is a complex of practices including postures, movements, breathing practices and meditation. In addition, there are a wide variety of practices including Vinyoga, Iyengar, Ashtanga, Bikram, Power, Kundalini, Sivananda, Kripalu, Anusara, and Hatha, and others. To better utilize yoga practice for particular issues, it would be useful to examine which components of yoga practice benefits which areas of mental and physical health.

 

Studies of yoga postures suggests that different postures may have different psychological effects. Erect, vertical and erect and open body postures have been associated with power and dominance (see a in attached picture). So, they are sometimes called power postures. Low ‘power poses’ emphasize slumping of the spine and decreasing the size of the chest (see b in attached picture). On the other hand, standing yoga poses emphasize the lift of the spine and the lift and openness of the chest rather than expansiveness of the body (see c in attached picture). Some standing yoga poses have arms crossed and covering the front of the body. They are considered constrictive, covered front yoga poses (see d in attached picture).

 

In today’s Research News article “Yoga Poses Increase Subjective Energy and State Self-Esteem in Comparison to “Power Poses.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5425577/, de Zavala and colleagues compared power vs. yoga poses with open front of body vs. covered front of body in their ability to alter energy and self-esteem. They recruited college students and randomly assigned them to one of four groups; power pose-open front, power pose-covered front, yoga pose-open front, yoga pose-covered front in a 2X2 randomized factorial design. The participants held two poses in their respective category for 1 minute each. They were measured before and after the brief yoga practice for self-esteem and subjective energy.

 

They found that momentarily holding yoga poses, but not power poses, produced a significant increase in self-esteem that was mediated by increases in subjective energy. That is, both the yoga pose-open front and yoga pose-covered front increased subjective energy which, in turn, increased self-esteem. These effects are particularly interesting as they were produced by holding two poses for only 1 minute each. It’s quite striking to see such extremely brief poses producing significant effects on the participants psychology.

 

It is also striking that these effects were only present for the yoga poses and not the power poses. The explanation for these effects is not obvious. It is possible, though, that erect, straight poses, particularly those where the hands are held above the head are more strenuous, particularly on the cardiovascular system, and this leads to a sympathetic arousal response, making the individual feel more energetic. Feeling more energetic may make the individual feel better about themselves which in turn improves self-esteem.

 

This study is particularly interesting as it points to a productive strategy to unraveling how yoga practice has such widespread benefits for the physical and mental health of the participants. By investigating the physiological and psychological effects of individual poses it may be possible to glimpse the mechanisms by which complex yoga practices produce their benefits. This is a classic case of reductionism, taking a complex phenomenon apart into its constituent parts and then recombining the individual effects of the parts to understand the whole. This is an interesting strategy that only future research will determine if it’s a valuable way to unlock the mechanisms producing the benefits of yoga practice.

 

“Yoga makes a difference because of its emphasis on self-acceptance, something that’s largely missing for those of us who dislike our bodies. The program in our heads—I’m not pretty enough, thin enough, tall enough—builds in volume over years until it’s practically the only radio station playing. Odd as it seems, the vessel that keeps us alive, that nourishes us, begins to get nothing but our scorn in return.” – Dorothy Foltz-Gray

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Golec de Zavala, A., Lantos, D., & Bowden, D. (2017). Yoga Poses Increase Subjective Energy and State Self-Esteem in Comparison to “Power Poses.” Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 752. http://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00752

 

Abstract

Research on beneficial consequences of yoga focuses on the effects of yogic breathing and meditation. Less is known about the psychological effects of performing yoga postures. The present study investigated the effects of yoga poses on subjective sense of energy and self-esteem. The effects of yoga postures were compared to the effects of ‘power poses,’ which arguably increase the sense of power and self-confidence due to their association with interpersonal dominance (Carney et al., 2010). The study tested the novel prediction that yoga poses, which are not associated with interpersonal dominance but increase bodily energy, would increase the subjective feeling of energy and therefore increase self-esteem compared to ‘high power’ and ‘low power’ poses. A two factorial, between participants design was employed. Participants performed either two standing yoga poses with open front of the body (n = 19), two standing yoga poses with covered front of the body (n = 22), two expansive, high power poses (n = 21), or two constrictive, low power poses (n = 20) for 1-min each. The results showed that yoga poses in comparison to ‘power poses’ increased self-esteem. This effect was mediated by an increased subjective sense of energy and was observed when baseline trait self-esteem was controlled for. These results suggest that the effects of performing open, expansive body postures may be driven by processes other than the poses’ association with interpersonal power and dominance. This study demonstrates that positive effects of yoga practice can occur after performing yoga poses for only 2 min.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5425577/

Improve Borderline Personality Disorder and Reduce Suicidal Thoughts with Mindfulness

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Improve Borderline Personality Disorder and Reduce Suicidal Thoughts with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“mindfulness meditation encourages recognition of the wide palate of human emotions, but also keenly encourages one not to fixate on these temporary feelings. Work in mindfulness meditation includes labeling these emotions in a non-judgmental manner and allowing them to pass just as freely as they came. The misery and the suffering those with BPD experience in life often come from our denial of some of these emotions.” – Blaise Aguirre

 

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a very serious mental illness that is estimated to affect 1.6% of the U.S. population. It involves unstable moods, behavior, and relationships, problems with regulating emotions and thoughts, impulsive and reckless behavior, and unstable relationships. BPD is associated with high rates of co-occurring depression, anxiety disorders, substance abuse, eating disorders, self-harm, suicidal behaviors, and completed suicides. BPD is dangerous as it can propel the sufferer, on the spur of the moment, to overreact to anger, take drugs, harm themselves, and even terminate their lives.

 

BPD has not responded well to a variety of therapies with the exception of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). It is significant that a difference between DBT and other therapies is that it emphasizes mindfulness. This suggests that mindfulness training may be essential in treating Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). Mindfulness training has been found to be helpful intreating substance abuse and decreasing suicidal thoughts. Hence, there appears to be a relationship between mindfulness and Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), substance abuse and suicidal thoughts.

 

In today’s Research News article “The relationship between dispositional mindfulness, borderline personality features, and suicidal ideation in a sample of women in residential substance use treatment.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4834542/, Shorey and colleagues recruited adult women with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) who were also undergoing treatment for substance abuse. The women completed measures of mindfulness, BPD features, including affective, identity problems, negative relationships, and self-harm, suicidal thoughts, alcohol abuse, drug use, and impression management. They then conducted regression analyses to investigate the relationship between mindfulness and BPD, suicidality, and drug use.

 

They found that in these patients the higher the levels of mindfulness the lower the levels of BPD features, including affective, identity problems, negative relationships, and self-harm, the lower the levels of suicidal thoughts, and the higher the levels of impression management. Hence, mindfulness was significantly negatively associated with BPD symptoms and suicidality. These relationships, with the exception of self-harm, remained significant even after statistically accounting for alcohol use, drug use, age, and impression management.

 

These results suggest that mindfulness may be an antidote to Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) symptoms and suicidal thoughts. It is possible that this results from the ability of mindfulness to improve emotion regulation. Mindful people to experience their emotions deeply but are able to respond to them rationally and adaptively. Characteristically, patients with BPD avoid experiencing negative emotions. So, mindfulness, by promoting the experience of these emotions may counteract one of the core features of BPD.

 

It should be recognized that these results are correlational. So, causality cannot be determined. But, since Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) which contains mindfulness training is the only known therapy that has been shown to be effective for BPD. It would seem reasonable to suggest that mindfulness causes changes in BPD symptoms. A randomized clinical trial of mindfulness training for BPD symptoms and suicidality should be conducted in the future to test these ideas. The potential for mindfulness training to improve the symptoms of this devastating and dangerous mental illness mandates that such a trial be conducted.

 

So, improve borderline personality disorder and reduce suicidal thoughts with mindfulness.

 

“Mindfulness meditation training can help people with BPD to feel less “stuck” in their emotions, and less judgmental of the emotions and themselves. Mindfulness meditation training may also help individuals with BPD be more effective in applying healthy coping skills in the midst of emotional pain, because mindfulness skills allow you to get just a little bit of space to be able to notice the emotion and be more strategic in terms of how you will act in the face of the emotion.” – Line Goguen-Hughes

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Shorey, R. C., Elmquist, J., Wolford-Clevenger, C., Gawrysiak, M. J., Anderson, S., & Stuart, G. L. (2016). The relationship between dispositional mindfulness, borderline personality features, and suicidal ideation in a sample of women in residential substance use treatment. Psychiatry Research, 238, 122–128. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2016.02.040

 

Highlights

  • Theory suggests mindfulness is inversely related to BPD/suicidal ideation
  • We investigated this in a sample of women in treatment for substance use
  • Dispositional mindfulness was negatively associated with BPD
  • Dispositional mindfulness was negatively associated with suicidal ideation

Abstract

Borderline personality disorder (BPD), which is characterized by unstable moods, behavior, and relationships, is also associated with heightened suicidal ideation. Prior research has demonstrated that BPD and suicidal ideation are prevalent among women in substance use treatment. Efforts to treat substance use in this population are made difficult due to the severity of BPD, and it is possible that mindfulness-based interventions specific to substance use could be an effective approach for this population. However, basic research is needed on the relationship between dispositional mindfulness, BPD, and suicidal ideation among women in treatment for substance use to support their associations, which was the purpose of the present study. Pre-existing medical records were reviewed from a residential substance use treatment center. A total of 81 female patients were included in the current study. Patients completed self-report measures of mindfulness, BPD, suicidal ideation, substance use, and impression management at treatment intake. Findings demonstrated dispositional mindfulness to be negatively associated with BPD features and suicidal ideation. With the exception of self-harm, this negative relationship was found even after controlling for age, substance use, and impression management. Future research should examine whether mindfulness-based interventions are an effective treatment for comorbid substance use and BPD.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4834542/

Sat Chit Ananda 2 – Consciousness

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Sat Chit Ananda 2 – Consciousness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“The argument unfolds as follows: physicists have no problem accepting that certain fundamental aspects of reality – such as space, mass, or electrical charge – just do exist. They can’t be explained as being the result of anything else. Explanations have to stop somewhere. The panpsychist hunch is that consciousness could be like that, too – and that if it is, there is no particular reason to assume that it only occurs in certain kinds of matter.” – Oliver Burkeman

 

In the previous post we discussed the first component of the classic phrase from Hinduism, “Sat Chit Ananda”. The phrase means “being, consciousness, bliss” and is a description of a sublimely blissful experience of the boundless, pure consciousness, a glimpse of ultimate reality.

 

The second component “Chit” is translated as consciousness. It is our minds eye. It is our everyday experience of reality. Consciousness is actually the first manifestation of our true nature.

 

What we are striving to do in our contemplative practice is to make consciousness aware of itself. It is like looking in the mirror at your own eyes or looking into the eyes of another. There is a simple and deep recognition of the absolute as yourself, your essence.

 

We have become so used to consciousness that we habituate to it and take it for granted. It’s quite startling to realize that we are frequently unaware of something so essential to our existence. We are not conscious of our consciousness. This is what is meant by being lost in our mind; completely unaware of awareness.

 

In contemplative practice we strive to quiet the mind. When we have achieved this stillness we allow consciousness to simply gaze upon itself. This is a recognition of “Chit”. In a deeper state this consciousness seems to be streaming from all of creation, not a thing called “me” or “I”. It contains the “me” as part of consciousness, but not its center. It is only one component of an infinite reality. This is Sat Chit Ananda realized.

 

Pure being and consciousness are always present although they may not be recognized. And it is mostly the mind or ego which distracts us from the direct experience of this divine presence. So, use contemplative practice to quiet the mind and allow “Chit” to be fully present.

 

“Consciousness is a fascinating but elusive phenomenon… Nothing worth reading has been written on it.”  – Stuart Sutherland

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

Improve resilience in Spouses of Schizophrenia Patients with Mindfulness

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Improve resilience in Spouses of Schizophrenia Patients with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Most of life’s stressors are subjective and with mindfulness (seeing things as they are in this present moment), we have the ability to respond with wisdom vs. react in a harmful way. When we see our thoughts and feelings clearly and can offer compassion for the hardship we are experiencing, we increase our resilience.” – Carley Hauck

 

Psychological well-being is sometimes thought of as a lack of mental illness. But, it is more than just a lack of something. It is a positive set of characteristics that lead to happy, well-adjusted life. These include the ability to be aware of and accept one’s strengths and weaknesses, to have goals that give meaning to life, to truly believe that your potential capabilities are going to be realized, to have close and valuable relations with others, the ability to effectively manage life issues especially daily issues, and the ability to follow personal principles even when opposed to society. But, stress can interfere with the individual’s ability to achieve these goals.  When highly stressed, resilience is required to cope with the stress and continue on the path to psychological well-being.

 

Schizophrenia is the most common form of psychosis, affecting about 1% of the population worldwide. In many cases it is so debilitating that institutionalization is required. But, the symptoms of psychoses often do not appear until early adulthood. So, many carry on relatively normal lives including marriage prior to the onset of debilitating symptoms. This can result in wives having to cope with the institutionalization of their husbands, having to live alone, replace lost income, and withstand the societal stigma of having a mentally ill spouse. The resultant stress can exacerbate an already difficult situation.

 

Mindfulness has been shown to increase resilience and reduce the psychological and physiological responses to stress. So, it is reasonable to infer that mindfulness training may help increase resilience in the wives of institutionalized individuals with schizophrenia. In today’s Research News article “The Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy on Resilience among the Wives of Patients with Schizophrenia.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5449888/,  Solati recruited wives whose husbands were diagnosed with schizophrenia and institutionalized and randomly assigned them to a no-treatment control group or to receive and 8-week, once a week for 90 minutes, program of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT).  MBCT involves mindfulness training, containing sitting and walking meditation and body scan, and cognitive therapy to alter how the patient relates to the thought processes that often underlie difficult emotions. The women were measured before and after training for resilience.

 

They found that following the intervention the women who received Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) had a significant, 10%, increase in resilience in comparison to the control group. There is a need to conduct a randomized controlled trial with an active control condition to verify these findings. Nevertheless, mindfulness training appeared to improve resilience. This suggests that MBCT may assist wives whose husbands are diagnosed with schizophrenia and institutionalized to better cope with the resultant stress. This may better equip the women to withstand their difficulties and retain their own well-being.

 

So, improve resilience in spouses of schizophrenia patients with mindfulness.

 

“The emotional soup that follows a stressful event can whip up negative stories about yourself or others that goes on and on, beyond being useful. Mindfulness reduces this rumination and, if practiced regularly, changes your brain so that you’re more resilient to future stressful events.” – Shamash Alidina

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Solati, K. (2017). The Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy on Resilience among the Wives of Patients with Schizophrenia. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research : JCDR, 11(4), VC01–VC03. http://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2017/23101.9514

 

Abstract

Introduction

The wives of patients with schizophrenia experience high levels of stress due to their spouses’ disease, which leads to certain problems and decreased adaptability and efficiency in them.

Aim

This study investigated the efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) on resilience in schizophrenia patients.

Materials and Methods

In this quasi-experimental study, 40 wives of patients with schizophrenia (20 assigned to experimental group and 20 to control group) whose husbands were kept in rehabilitation centers for mental disorders were enrolled according to convenience sampling. In the experimental group, the therapeutic protocol of MBCT was conducted. Accordingly, the patients were encouraged to process the experiences in a non-judgmental manner as they have been formed, and to change their relationship with and embrace challenging thoughts and feelings. Meanwhile, the control group underwent no intervention. The research instrument was Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale. Data were analysed by ANCOVA in SPSS 16.

Results

At post-test, mean resilience score of the experimental group (77.95±4.71) was much higher than that of the control group (71.75±5.81). There was a significant difference in the mean resilience score at post-test between the experimental and control groups (p<0.05).

Conclusion

Training MBCT strategies was effective on resilience in the wives of schizophrenia patients. Therefore, this approach can be incorporated into mental health-related interventions for the families of patients with psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5449888/

Reduce Drinking Motives and Problematic Drinking with Mindfulness

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Reduce Drinking Motives and Problematic Drinking with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“It may not be possible for people to completely escape cravings, but they can learn to live with them. Mindfulness meditation is an excellent tool that allows the individual to have increased control over their mind. There is a saying that, the mind is a wonderful servant but a terrible master.” – Alcoholrehab.com

 

Inappropriate use of alcohol is a major societal problem. In fact, about 25% of US adults have engaged in binge drinking in the last month and 7% have what is termed an alcohol use disorder. Alcohol abuse is very dangerous and frequently fatal. Nearly 88,000 people in the US and 3.3 million globally die from alcohol-related causes annually, making it the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States. Drunk driving accounted for over 10,000 deaths; 31% of all driving fatalities. Excessive alcohol intake has been shown to contribute to over 200 diseases including alcohol dependence, liver cirrhosis, cancers, and injuries. It is estimated that over 5% of the burden of disease and injury worldwide is attributable to alcohol consumption.

 

Alcohol abuse often develops during adolescence and it on display with college students where about four out of five college students drink alcohol and about half of those consume alcohol through binge drinking. About 25 percent of college students report academic consequences of their drinking including missing class, falling behind, doing poorly on exams or papers, and receiving lower grades overall. More than 150,000 students develop an alcohol-related health problem. This drinking has widespread consequence for not only the students but also the college communities, and families. More than 690,000 students are assaulted by another student who has been drinking. More than 97,000 students are victims of alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape. 599,000 students receive unintentional injuries while under the influence of alcohol. Significantly, 1,825 college students die each year from alcohol-related unintentional injuries and between 1.2 and 1.5 percent of students indicate that they tried to commit suicide within the past year due to drinking or drug use.

 

These are striking and alarming statistics and indicate that controlling alcohol intake is an important priority for the individual and society. There are a wide range of treatment programs for alcohol abuse, with varying success. Recently, mindfulness training has been successfully applied to treatment. One attractive feature of this training is that it appears to increase the ability of the drinker to control their intake, resulting in less binge drinking and dangerous inebriation. It appears that one way that mindfulness increases the control of intake is by reducing the desire to use alcohol to cope with emotional problems. Since, mindfulness appears to hold promise as a treatment for excessive alcohol intake, there is a need to better understand its mechanisms of action in order to maximize its effectiveness.

 

In today’s Research News article “Drinking Motives Mediate the Relationship between Facets of Mindfulness and Problematic Alcohol Use.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4998974/. Vinci and colleagues recruited college students and had them complete measures of problem drinking, drinking characteristics, including frequency, quantity, and binge drinking, drinking motives including coping, enhancement, social, and conformity, and mindfulness. They performed regression and structural modelling analyses on these data.

 

They found that the higher the level of the mindfulness facet of acting with awareness that the students had the lower the levels of problem drinking. In addition, the association of acting with awareness with lower problem drinking occurred through two routes, a direct effect of acting with awareness on problem drinking and indirect effects through lower levels of using drinking for coping with negative emotions and lower levels of drinking to conform to the social situation. Hence, mindfulness is directly associated with less problem drinking and with lower levels of susceptibility to use drinking to sooth negative feelings and to conform to the behaviors of others.

 

Since, problem drinking is such a major societal and individual problem that develops during adolescence, the fact that mindfulness may help to lower problem drinking in college students suggests that mindfulness training may be an important intervention during these formative years. It remains for future research to determine if  active mindfulness training in college students can lead to decreased problem drinking.

 

So, reduce drinking motives and problematic drinking with mindfulness.

 

“Mindfulness also helps people learn to relate to discomfort differently. When an uncomfortable feeling like a craving or anxiety arises, people are able to recognize their discomfort, and observe it with presence and compassion, instead of automatically reaching for a drug to make it go away. Awareness of our experience and the ability to relate to our experience with compassion gives us more freedom to choose how we respond to discomfort, rather than defaulting to automatic behaviors.” – Sarah Bowen

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Vinci, C., Spears, C. A., Peltier, M. R., & Copeland, A. L. (2016). Drinking Motives Mediate the Relationship between Facets of Mindfulness and Problematic Alcohol Use. Mindfulness, 7(3), 754–763. http://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-016-0515-y

 

Abstract

Mindfulness is a multi-faceted construct, and research suggests that certain components (e.g., Acting with Awareness, Nonjudging) are associated with less problematic alcohol use. Recent research has examined whether specific drinking motives mediate the relationship between facets of mindfulness and alcohol use. The current study sought to extend this research by examining whether certain drinking motives would mediate the relationship between facets of mindfulness and problematic alcohol use in a sample of 207 college students classified as engaging in problematic drinking. Participants completed the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), Drinking Motives Questionnaire-Revised (DMQ-R), and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Results indicated that lower levels of Coping motives significantly mediated the relationship between greater Acting with Awareness and lower AUDIT score and between greater Nonjudging and lower AUDIT score. Lower levels of Conformity motives significantly mediated the relationship between greater Acting with Awareness and lower AUDIT score. These findings offer insight into specific mechanisms through which mindfulness is linked to less problematic drinking, and also highlight associations among mindfulness, drinking motives, and alcohol use among a sample of problematic college student drinkers. Future research should determine whether interventions that emphasize Acting with Awareness and Nonjudging facets of mindfulness and/or target coping and conformity motives could be effective for reducing problematic drinking in college students.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4998974/

Reduce Stress with Preventative On-line Mindfulness Training

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Reduce Stress with Preventative On-line Mindfulness Training

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Mindfulness not only reduces stress but also gently builds an inner strength so that future stressors have less impact on our happiness and physical well-being.” – Shamash Alidina

 

Mindfulness training has been shown through extensive research to be effective in improving physical and psychological health and particularly with the physical and psychological reactions to stress. Techniques such as Mindfulness Training, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) as well as Yoga practice and Tai Chi or Qigong practice have been demonstrated to be effective. This has led to an increasing adoption of these mindfulness techniques for the health and well-being of both healthy and ill individuals.

 

The vast majority of the mindfulness training techniques, however, require a certified trained therapist. This produces costs that many clients can’t afford. In addition, the participants must be available to attend multiple sessions at particular scheduled times that may or may not be compatible with their busy schedules. As a result, there has been attempts to develop on-line mindfulness training programs. These have tremendous advantages in decreasing costs and making training schedules much more flexible. But, the question arises as to whether these programs are as effective as their traditional counterparts.

 

In today’s Research News article “Effects of preventive online mindfulness interventions on stress and mindfulness: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5199155/, Jayawardene and colleagues reviewed and conducted a meta-analysis of the published research literature on the effectiveness of preventative mindfulness training on-line with normal, non-clinical, individuals for the relief of stress effects. They found 8 published randomized controlled trials. Most used modifications of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program and lasted from 2 to 12 weeks. MBSR includes body scan, meditation, and yoga practices.

 

They found that the published studies report significant reductions in perceived stress of moderate effect sizes and increases of mindfulness of small effect sizes following mindfulness training in comparison to baseline and control conditions. These effects persisted up to several months after the end of training. They also found that the older the participant the larger the reduction in perceived stress produced by mindfulness training.

 

These results are significant but not unexpected as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) was developed specifically to target perceived stress. What is significant is that this effectiveness occurs even when the training occurs strictly over the internet and with normal, non-clinical, populations. This is important as it suggests that inexpensive mindfulness training can be offered to widespread audiences. In addition, online training is convenient for the participants, as they do not have to go to a practitioners site on a particular schedule. This, in turn, allows for the application of mindfulness training for the prevention and treatment of psychological and physical disorders with busy people, low income people, and even people in remote locations, thus greatly expanding the numbers of people who can benefit.

 

Mindfulness training has been shown to have a myriad of physical and psychological benefits. The present findings are exciting in that they suggest that mindfulness training can occur inexpensively to disparate populations. The on-line mindfulness training may then, by reducing stress effects in normal people, act to prevent the many physical and psychological problems that result from chronic stress, improving their health and well-being.

 

So, reduce stress with preventative on-line mindfulness training.

 

“These are difficult times right now for a lot of people. Learning to become more “present,” frees us to be more flexible and creative – and ultimately, more resilient, enjoying better health and well-being.’”– Elisha Goldstein

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Jayawardene, W. P., Lohrmann, D. K., Erbe, R. G., & Torabi, M. R. (2017). Effects of preventive online mindfulness interventions on stress and mindfulness: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Preventive Medicine Reports, 5, 150–159. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2016.11.013

 

Abstract

Empirical evidence suggested that mind-body interventions can be effectively delivered online. This study aimed to examine whether preventive online mindfulness interventions (POMI) for non-clinical populations improve short- and long-term outcomes for perceived-stress (primary) and mindfulness (secondary). Systematic search of four electronic databases, manuscript reference lists, and journal content lists was conducted in 2016, using 21 search-terms. Eight randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating effects of POMI in non-clinical populations with adequately reported perceived-stress and mindfulness measures pre- and post-intervention were included. Random-effects models utilized for all effect-size estimations with meta-regression performed for mean age and %females. Participants were volunteers (adults; predominantly female) from academic, workplace, or community settings. Most interventions utilized simplified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction protocols over 2–12 week periods. Post-intervention, significant medium effect found for perceived-stress (g = 0.432), with moderate heterogeneity and significant, but small, effect size for mindfulness (g = 0.275) with low heterogeneity; highest effects were for middle-aged individuals. At follow-up, significant large effect found for perceived-stress (g = 0.699) with low heterogeneity and significant medium effect (g = 0.466) for mindfulness with high heterogeneity. No publication bias was found for perceived-stress; publication bias found for mindfulness outcomes led to underestimation of effects, not

studies. POMI had substantial stress reduction effects and some mindfulness improvement effects. POMI can be a more convenient and cost-effective strategy, compared to traditional face-to-face interventions, especially in the context of busy, hard-to-reach, but digitally-accessible populations.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5199155/

Improve Pregnancy and Birthing with Mindfulness

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Improve Pregnancy and Birthing with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“There could not be a better time to learn mindfulness than during pregnancy and early motherhood. For one thing, this is a time when most people have a strong motivation to become the best person they can be in a relatively short period of time. When you realize the full enormity of the responsibility you have taken on by becoming a mom, the primary source of care for another whole human being, not to mention one that you love more than you thought you could ever love, there is a really high level of motivation to try your best to get yourself into the best mental and emotional shape possible.” – Cassandra Vieten

 

The perinatal period, from the onset of pregnancy to the end of the infants first year, is a time of intense physiological and psychological change in both the mother and the infant. Anxiety, depression, and fear are quite common during pregnancy. More than 20 percent of pregnant women have an anxiety disorder, depressive symptoms, or both during pregnancy. A debilitating childbirth fear has been estimated to affect about 6% or pregnant women and 13% are sufficiently afraid to postpone pregnancy. It is difficult to deal with these emotions under the best of conditions but in combinations with the stresses of pregnancy can turn what could be a joyous experience of creating a human life into a horrible worrisome, torment.

 

The psychological health of pregnant women has consequences for fetal development, birthing, and consequently, child outcomes. Depression during pregnancy is associated with premature delivery and low birth weight. Childbirth fear is associated with “low childbirth self-efficacy, greater use of pain medication during labor, more unwanted obstetric interventions in labor, as well as increased risk of postpartum depression.” Hence, it is clear that there is a need for methods to treat childbirth fear, depression, and anxiety during pregnancy. Since the fetus can be negatively impacted by drugs, it would be preferable to find a treatment that did not require drugs. Mindfulness training has been shown to improve anxiety and depression normally and to relieve maternal anxiety and depression during pregnancy. So, it would make sense to study the effects of mindfulness training during the perinatal period.

 

In today’s Research News article “Benefits of preparing for childbirth with mindfulness training: a randomized controlled trial with active comparison.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5427564/, Duncan and colleagues recruited women who were pregnant with their first child, in their third trimester, and planning on having a hospital birth. They received standard childbirth education and instruction and were then randomly assigned to receive either an additional childbirth course or Mind in Labor training; “a brief intervention for pregnant women and their partners specifically designed to target labor-related fear and pain by teaching tailored mindfulness-based coping strategies.” Training was conducted over a weekend for a total of 18 hours of instruction. It included body scan, yoga, and meditation practices. The women were measured at baseline before treatment on average at 29.4 weeks gestation, at the completion of training, and around 4-6 weeks after birth for childbirth self-efficacy, maladaptive pain, perceived pain in labor, use of pain medications in labor, birth satisfaction, depression, interoceptive awareness, and mindfulness.

 

The mindfulness group but not the control group had a marked and significant increase in childbirth self-efficacy and body awareness and decrease in pain catastrophizing after the intervention. The control group had a significant increase in depression from baseline to post-treatment and a further significant increase at the post-birth follow-up while the mindfulness group has a significant decrease in depression after treatment that was maintained at the post-birth follow-up. There was also a trend for the mindfulness group to be less likely to use opioid analgesics.

 

These are interesting and significant results that suggest that the addition of mindfulness training to standard birth education improves the women’s psychological state prior to and after birth. It decreases depression and worries about pain and makes the women feel more aware of their bodies and in better control of the childbirth process. Mindfulness training is known to decrease depression, and improve emotion regulation. It also focuses the individual on what is transpiring at the present moment which is much more manageable than the worst fears of the women. By focusing on now rather than the scary future, catastrophizing is minimized. These are important benefits that may have consequences for the later health and well-being of not only the mother but also the child.

 

So, improve pregnancy and birthing with mindfulness.

 

“Cue the spotlight on mindfulness. When nausea or aching ligaments can’t be alleviated with medication, or I can’t get away for a much-needed nap, or even just get through the morning without eight trips to the restroom, I try to dwell less on my misery and choose to be mindful instead.” – Ashley Jonkman

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Duncan, L. G., Cohn, M. A., Chao, M. T., Cook, J. G., Riccobono, J., & Bardacke, N. (2017). Benefits of preparing for childbirth with mindfulness training: a randomized controlled trial with active comparison. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 17, 140. http://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-017-1319-3

 

Abstract

Background

Childbirth fear is linked with lower labor pain tolerance and worse postpartum adjustment. Empirically validated childbirth preparation options are lacking for pregnant women facing this problem. Mindfulness approaches, now widely disseminated, can alleviate symptoms of both chronic and acute pain and improve psychological adjustment, suggesting potential benefit when applied to childbirth education.

Methods

This study, the Prenatal Education About Reducing Labor Stress (PEARLS) study, is a randomized controlled trial (RCT; n = 30) of a short, time-intensive, 2.5-day mindfulness-based childbirth preparation course offered as a weekend workshop, the Mind in Labor (MIL): Working with Pain in Childbirth, based on Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting (MBCP) education. First-time mothers in the late 3rd trimester of pregnancy were randomized to attend either the MIL course or a standard childbirth preparation course with no mind-body focus. Participants completed self-report assessments pre-intervention, post-intervention, and post-birth, and medical record data were collected.

Results

In a demographically diverse sample, this small RCT demonstrated mindfulness-based childbirth education improved women’s childbirth-related appraisals and psychological functioning in comparison to standard childbirth education. MIL program participants showed greater childbirth self-efficacy and mindful body awareness (but no changes in dispositional mindfulness), lower post-course depression symptoms that were maintained through postpartum follow-up, and a trend toward a lower rate of opioid analgesia use in labor. They did not, however, retrospectively report lower perceived labor pain or use epidural less frequently than controls.

Conclusions

This study suggests mindfulness training carefully tailored to address fear and pain of childbirth may lead to important maternal mental health benefits, including improvements in childbirth-related appraisals and the prevention of postpartum depression symptoms. There is also some indication that MIL participants may use mindfulness coping in lieu of systemic opioid pain medication. A large-scale RCT that captures real-time pain perceptions during labor and length of labor is warranted to provide a more definitive test of these effects.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5427564/

Mindful Independence Day

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Mindful Independence Day

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“If today is a celebration of freedom, I think we as a nation, as a people, have squandered an opportunity. We have sought outer freedoms and ignored inner freedoms. We have pursued these freedoms with scandal, exploitation, and domination. Today, instead, I urge you to consider inner freedom.” – Arnie Kozak

 

Virtually every country in the world sets aside one day each year to celebrate its independence. In the U.S. that day is July 4th. On this day the country’s citizens celebrate their freedom and independence and the fight that achieved it. It’s a pleasant holiday filled with patriotism, flags, parades, picnics, and fireworks displays. Although the founding of the great American democracy is something to celebrate, a mindful look at it produces a recognition that there are significant limitations on independence and freedom. We are nowhere near as free and independent as we think we are.

 

Independence from what? It’s certainly not from the imposition of government on the individual. July 4th only celebrates the changeover from government by the British monarchy to government by a more local political system. It’s certainly not independence from the imposition of laws and restrictions on the individual’s freedom. Perhaps there was a change of a few laws and regulations, but actually only a small number. It’s certainly not even the production of self-determination. In fact, the U.S. democracy was crafted and established by a few elite individuals and not by each individual in the country. In addition, democracy is rule by the majority, with the will of a significant number of people ignored. What we appear to be celebrating is the replacement of one system of control with another, perhaps better, system of control, but nevertheless a system of control; hardly independence.

 

Mindful reflection quickly produces an understanding that we’re never really independent. It’s certainly not even complete independence from another country. To this day the U.S. and the U.K. are very much dependent upon one another for trade of goods, ideas, culture, and mutual security. They’re locked together by treaties, cultural similarities, and close economic ties. The current political system that we’re celebrating is itself a recognition of how dependent upon one another we are. The system functions to set down the rules by which our relationships with one another are conducted. It’s there to insure orderly cooperation supposedly for the benefit of all participants.

 

Mindful reflection reveals that we’re not only dependent upon each other but we’re also dependent upon our environment, animate and inanimate. We’re dependent upon the air we breathe that is in turn dependent upon all other living organisms. We’re dependent upon the water we drink that is in turn dependent on global weather systems and solar evaporative power. We’re dependent upon the food we drink that is in turn dependent upon air, water, soil, and sun, and the farmers who grow it. In fact, we are so dependent upon everything and everybody that it may be more appropriate to be celebrating Dependence Day.

 

Well maybe then on July 4th we’re celebrating freedom and liberty. But, is any individual truly free. As the French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau said “Man is born free: and everywhere else he is in chains. One thinks himself the master of others, and still remains a greater slave than they.” Regardless of the political independence each individual’s behavior is highly regulated by law and regulation. Our freedoms are actually very limited. They are bounded not only by law but also the practicalities of earning a living, maintaining a residence, having a family, and limitations on resources. Our freedom is also highly constrained by the laws of physics, chemistry, and biology. After all, we can’t fly, become taller, change our eye color, stay underwater for protracted periods, stay awake continuously, or withstand cold or heat outside of a fairly small range, and we’re not faster than a speeding bullet. How much freedom do we actually have in any particular day?

 

Independence Day, though, does celebrate acquiring many soft freedoms. The freedoms to think and express our opinions and ideas, to worship as we please, to vote for whoever we like, to associate with whomever we choose, to live wherever we like, etc. Although there are bounds to many of these freedoms by the requirements of public safety, economics, cultural norms, and the practicalities of existence, these are very important and significant freedoms. Perhaps that is what we’re really celebrating, these soft freedoms that were provided by our Constitution as a result of the War for Independence.

 

Regardless, Independence Day should be celebrated mindfully. It is often spent with family and friends and the pleasure of these interactions can be amplified by doing it mindfully; by being truly present for them and deeply listening to them rather than thinking about our next response. By being mindful we can see them with compassion and understanding. Being in, and focusing on, the present moment we can enjoy these interactions, we can enjoy the picnics and parades, we can enjoy the fireworks, rather than thinking about where we would rather be or where we’re going next. We can find happiness precisely where we are.

 

But are we truly free. A bit of mindful reflection reveals that we find existence very unsatisfactory. In fact, unsatisfactoriness is everywhere. We’re not satisfied with things as they are and want them to be different. We’re not satisfied with where we live and want to have a nicer home.  We’re not satisfied with our appearance and want to lose weight. We’re not satisfied with what people think of us and want to be universally liked. We’re not satisfied with how we’re treated by our spouses and want them to be more understanding. We’re not satisfied with our children and want them to be obedient, respectful, straight “A” students and star athletes. We’re not satisfied with our health and want to have fewer aches and pains. We’re not satisfied with our jobs and want to make more money, have more time off and be appreciated by our bosses and coworkers. Even on the very short-term, things are not satisfactory. We want the car ahead of us to be moving faster, we want time to pass quickly so that we can be done with work for the day, we want to stop ruminating about past indiscretions, we want to finish a meal quickly so we can get back to the TV, etc. In other words, we’re not free from our desires. In fact, we’re slaves to them. We’re not happy with the way things are. In fact, we seem to want everything to be different. So, we can’t be truly free as long as we’re slaves to our desires.

 

True freedom can only be produced when we are liberated from our incessant needs and wants. That is not to say that we shouldn’t have desires, but rather that we will not be controlled by them. True freedom comes from equanimity. It comes when we’re able to desire something, seek it out, but be OK whether we get it or not. It comes when we not only accept the way things are but enjoy each second for what it is, a precious moment in a limited lifetime. It comes when what other people do and say is seen as a reflection of them and not of us and comes when we look at them with compassion and understanding. In other words, we can want ourselves, things, people, and circumstances to be different but we accept them as they are and appreciate and enjoy life and each experience as a gift.

 

This sounds wonderful, but is it achievable? It sure doesn’t seem so as ourselves and the people we know haven’t achieved it. Is it possible to actually get to this state of complete freedom? It is, but it takes effort and discipline. There have been many instances throughout history and there are many exemplars present right now of people who have achieved complete equanimity. Jesus is a wonderful example. He worked hard and suffered to make his world a better place but in the end accepted what was. The Buddha, Christian mystics, Sufi masters, Zen masters, Gandhi, and a host of everyday people have all achieved true liberation. So, it is possible.

 

We do not, however, have to be aiming only at complete liberation. It is far better to work to simply improve on our current state and thereby become more and more liberated. We can do this by engaging in mindfulness practices such as meditation, yoga, tai chi, contemplative prayer, etc. we can learn to focus more and more on the present moment. We can learn to appreciate what is. We can learn to enjoy every moment. Just by improving a little we can become happier and happier, more accepting, and more liberated from our desires. We can achieve greater equanimity and with it greater freedom. But, we get there slowly and incrementally, building toward our complete liberation. Now wouldn’t that be a reason to celebrate Independence Day.

“Happy 4th of July.  Celebrate your freedom mindfully- express love and gratitude for all situations, people, places and things you encounter today. This practice of loving what is, is a mindful behavior. When we celebrate our freedom as a country, we bring love to the abundance we are free to encounter today. Take each situation you encounter as an opportunity to express your love, gratitude  – any kindness will do – that is freedom!” –  Regina Huelsenbeck

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

Mindfulness is Associated with Lower Aggression by Lowering Rumination

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Mindfulness is Associated with Lower Aggression by Lowering Rumination

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Mindfulness may restore the emotional resources needed to maintain self-control, and thus may have an important role to play in anger management by helping people to mindfully respond to provocation rather than react with anger.”- AMRA

 

The human tendency to lash out with aggression when threatened was adaptive for the evolution of the species. It helped promote the survival of the individual, the family, and the tribe. In the modern world, however, this trait has become more of a problem than an asset. It results in individual violence and aggression such as physical abuse, fights, road rage, and even murders, and in societal violence such as warfare. It may even be the basis for the horrors of terrorism and mass murder. Obviously, there is a need in modern society to control these violent and aggressive urges.

 

Aggression may, at least in part, be amplified by anger rumination; an uncontrollable, repetitive thinking about anger and its sources. This can produce a downward spiral where people repeatedly think about their anger which, in turn, reinforces the anger making it worse and worse. It is like a record that’s stuck and keeps repeating the same lyrics. It’s replaying a dispute in the individual’s mind. It’s going over their anger, again and again. Fortunately, rumination may be interrupted by mindfulness. This may, in part, be a mechanism by which mindfulness training reduces aggression and hostility. Hence, mindfulness may be an antidote to violent and aggressive urges by interrupting anger rumination.

 

In today’s Research News article “Both trait and state mindfulness predict lower aggressiveness via anger rumination: A multilevel mediation analysis.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4943669/, Eisenlohr-Moul and colleagues recruited college students and had them complete measures of overall and daily levels of mindfulness, anger, anger rumination, anger expression, aggressive inclinations, and aggressive behaviors. Daily measures were collected for 35 consecutive days. They analyzed the responses with sophisticated statistical modelling techniques.

 

They found that the higher the levels of daily the mindfulness facets of acting with awareness and non-judging the lower the levels of daily aggression, daily anger, and daily anger rumination. They also found that the higher the levels of daily anger and daily anger rumination the higher the levels of daily aggression. Hence, mindfulness predicted lower aggression while anger and anger rumination predicted higher aggression. When all three were used to predict aggression, the effects of mindfulness disappeared. With a mediation model, they were able to demonstrate that mindfulness was associated with lower aggression indirectly by mindfulness’ effects on anger and anger rumination which in turn effected aggression. So, mindfulness acted on aggression by the intermediaries of reduced anger and anger rumination.

 

These results are correlational and thus causation cannot be determined. There is a need to investigate whether mindfulness training can produce similar effects. Nevertheless, the findings suggest that the ability of mindfulness to lower anger and interrupt anger rumination may be the keys to the effectiveness of mindfulness in lowering aggression. By focusing on the present moment and not on past transgressions or worries about the future, rumination is disrupted. This in turn, lowers the likelihood of aggressive behavior. In this way mindfulness may be a means to lower the levels of aggression and violence in the modern world.

 

So, lower aggression by lowering rumination with mindfulness.

 

“The first step to managing your anger is to sit with it long enough to hear what it wants to tell you. To do this, you must turn to your body. Your body contains an abundance of information, and it never lies. By listening carefully to your body, you can build new habits for approaching your feelings. A new response strategy will replace the passive-aggressive pattern that may have dominated your life. And mindfulness is the key.” – Andrea Brandt

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Eisenlohr-Moul, T. A., Peters, J. R., Pond, R. S., & DeWall, C. N. (2016). Both trait and state mindfulness predict lower aggressiveness via anger rumination: A multilevel mediation analysis. Mindfulness, 7(3), 713–726. http://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-016-0508-x

 

Abstract

Trait mindfulness, or the capacity for nonjudgmental, present-centered attention, predicts lower aggression in cross-sectional samples, an effect mediated by reduced anger rumination. Experimental work also implicates state mindfulness (i.e., fluctuations around one’s typical mindfulness) in aggression. Despite evidence that both trait and state mindfulness predict lower aggression, their relative impact and their mechanisms remain unclear. Higher trait mindfulness and state increases in mindfulness facets may reduce aggression-related outcomes by (1) limiting the intensity of anger, or (2) limiting rumination on anger experiences. The present study tests two hypotheses: First, that both trait and state mindfulness contribute unique variance to lower aggressiveness, and second, that the impact of both trait and state mindfulness on aggressiveness will be uniquely partially mediated by both anger intensity and anger rumination. 86 participants completed trait measures of mindfulness, anger intensity, and anger rumination, then completed diaries for 35 days assessing mindfulness, anger intensity, anger rumination, anger expression, and self-reported and behavioral aggressiveness. Using multilevel zero-inflated regression, we examined unique contributions of trait and state mindfulness facets to daily anger expression and aggressiveness. We also examined the mediating roles of anger intensity and anger rumination at both trait and state levels. Mindfulness facets predicted anger expression and aggressiveness indirectly through anger rumination after controlling for indirect pathways through anger intensity. Individuals with high or fluctuating aggression may benefit from mindfulness training to reduce both intensity of and rumination on anger.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4943669/

Sat Chit Ananda 1 – Being

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Sat Chit Ananda 1 – Being

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“When we go deeper into the character of the absolute, Sat. We are able to dig into it, because it is intimate to us, and when it is intimate to us, when it is our consciousness, because it is our consciousness” – Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

 

Many engage in contemplative practice in order to better function in their lives. But for many it is practiced to achieve a deep spiritual awakening. The phrase Sat Chit Ananda is a beautiful pithy descriptor of the state of being that is the ultimate destination of spiritual awakening.

 

Sat Chit Ananda is a classic Sanskrit phrase originating in Hinduism. It has been translated as “being, consciousness, bliss.” In Hinduism it is a description of the subjective experience of Brahman. It is a sublimely blissful experience of the boundless, pure consciousness. It is a glimpse of ultimate reality. Sat Chit Ananda is a beautiful pointer to our true nature.

 

The first component “Sat” describes an essence that is pure and timeless, that never changes. Sat is what always remains regardless of time or situation. When we awaken, we constantly recognize Pure Being. We are consciously aware of Pure Being as our true nature, the core and foundation of all life.

 

This concept arises in multiple religions. In the Bible when Moses asked the god who he was he responded “I am that I am”. This is often interpreted to indicate a singular god, as an indicator of monotheism. But from the standpoint of “Sat” what is indicated is pure being; “I am”. When the Christian, Muslim, or Jewish mystics indicate that they have achieved oneness with god, they are referring to the fact that they have experienced themselves as pure being; “Sat”.

 

In our everyday experience we are focused on the contents of our awareness; what we’re seeing, hearing, feeling etc. This is actually the essence of mindfulness, being completely in the present moment. But, if we look deeply we can begin to realize that the contents are interesting, but, what is observing these contents is the essence of our existence. What is seeing? What is hearing? What is feeling?

 

In our practice, it is very useful to focus on, not what we’re experiencing, as the mind wants us to do, but on what is having the experience. If you look at it deeply you will find an entity that is silent and peaceful, that is unchanged by whatever is occurring, and that is always present and in fact has always been present. This is “Sat”, you pure being, pure awareness. This is what you truly are.

 

Just experience it. Do not try to see it. Do not try to think about it. Do not try to understand it. The mind cannot grasp it. The more you try the more elusive it becomes. Simply experience it. Observe the mystery of the miracle of “Sat”, of being.

 

“Sat. That which exists in the past, present and future, which has no beginning, middle and end, which is unchanging, which is not conditioned in time, space and causation.” – Swami Sivananda

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch