Mindfulness, by any other name…: trials and tribulations of sati in western psychology and science

Abstract

The Buddhist construct of mindfulness is a central element of mindfulness-based interventions and derives from a systematic phenomenological programme developed over several millennia to investigate subjective experience. Enthusiasm for 'mindfulness' in Western psychological and other science has resulted in proliferation of definitions, operationalizations and self-report inventories that purport to measure mindful awareness as a trait. This paper addresses a number of seemingly intractable issues regarding current attempts to characterize mindfulness and also highlights a number of vulnerabilities in this domain that may lead to denaturing, distortion, dilution or reification of Buddhist constructs related to mindfulness. Enriching positivist Western psychological paradigms with a detailed and complex Buddhist phenomenology of the mind may require greater study and long-term direct practice of insight meditation than is currently common among psychologists and other scientists. Pursuit of such an approach would seem a necessary precondition for attempts to characterize and quantify mindfulness.

Acceptance lowers stress reactivity: Dismantling mindfulness training in a randomized controlled trial

“…Among mindfulness intervention researchers and contemplative scientists, this study contributes evidence to an ongoing debate about the importance of acceptance in contemporary mindfulness training interventions (e.g., Grossman & Van Dam, 2011). On one hand, mindfulness is translated simply as a state of clear awareness (Bodhi, 2011;Quaglia et al, 2014); on the other hand, acceptance training is considered a skillful means for learning mindfulness (Dreyfus, 2011) and is an active treatment element in mindfulness and other "third-wave"…”

Propiedades psicométricas de la versión española de la Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale

“…Existen considerables diferencias entre estos autoinformes ya que no todos comparten la misma definición de atención plena, no están dirigidos a la misma población o han utilizado distinta metodología para su construcción. Por ejemplo, el FMI considera que las habilidades de atención plena solo pueden ser alcanzadas mediante la práctica meditativa 12 , y en cambio en la MAAS la atención plena es conceptualizada como una habilidad innata, presente en mayor o menor medida en todos los individuos 11 . Esta última escala se sustenta en una visión unifactorial de la atención plena y evalúa únicamente la variable atención/conciencia en el presente.…”

All you can eat Buffets, obesity, mindfulness, and mindful eating: An exploratory investigation

“…The practice usually entails mindfulness meditation, which involves actively observing the present moment by attending to the breath, moment-to-moment, and accepting all experiences (such as feelings and thoughts) without adding any meaning to them. This assists people who observe the constant flow of information to systematically develop an ability of acceptance (instead of judgment), and move on to more multi-layered indirect benefits, such as compassion, self-compassion and equanimity, which are parts of mindfulness practice [6,7]. A negative relationship was found between mindfulness and BMI in a recent population study with French adults (N=63.628) [8].…”