Abstract:This overview surveys the new optimism about the aging mind/brain, focusing on the potential for self-regulation practices to advance research in stress-protection and optimal health. It reviews recent findings and offers a research framework. The review links the age-related biology of stress and regeneration to the variability of mind/brain function found under a range of conditions from trauma to enrichment. The framework maps this variation along a biphasic continuum from atrophic dysfunction to peak perfo… Show more
“…The intentional harnessing of attention is a concentration skill in which clients purposefully shift attention; mindfulness skills improve clients' ability to redirect attention volitionally (Corrigan 2002;Loizzo 2009;Zylowska et al 2008). Staying present occurs both through holding present moment awareness (attentional focus on internal and/or external experience of the present moment) and through participating in the present moment (engagement in experience).…”
Section: The Techniques Of Mindfulnessmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Clients can practice purposefully shifting-like a zoom lens-between focused attention to detail and broad awareness of the larger context (Brown et al 2007). By intentionally and consciously directing attention, holding present moment awareness, and observing with neutrality (Kabat-Zinn 1990), a client is better able to consciously direct mental processes that are often unconscious (Loizzo 2009). If therapy can create a link between awareness of dissociation and intentional harnessing of attention on the present moment, mindfulness can be used to counteract dissociation (Boon et al 2011;Corrigan 2002;Kennerley 1996;Najavits 2002).…”
Section: Using Mindfulness To Reduce Absorptionmentioning
Dissociation involves retreating from the experience of the present moment through various processes, while mindfulness cultivates the ability to stay in the present moment. We argue that mindfulness is thus uniquely well suited for treatment of dissociation. This paper delineates the theoretical relationship between mindfulness and dissociation, discussing how incorporating mindfulness into psychotherapy can improve outcomes for dissociative clients. Mindfulness can provide clients with specific techniques for enhancing prediction of and control over dissociation through building awareness of dissociative processes and offering a tool for staying in the present moment. Mindfulness reduces reliance on avoidance, which in turn diminishes the need for dissociation. In addition, taking the position of the observer, which is a key feature of mindfulness, is itself a capability associated with dissociation. We discuss the application of mindfulness to three types of dissociative processes: detachment (e.g., depersonalization, derealization), absorption (e.g., daydreaming, "blanking out"), and compartmentalization (e.g., amnesia, conversion symptoms). Three mechanisms underlying the effectiveness of integrating mindfulness into treatment of dissociation are proposed: (1) the techniques of mindfulness (e.g., observing, staying present), (2) the metacognitions of mindfulness (e.g., acceptance, nonjudgment), and (3) the emergent processes of mindfulness (e.g., reperceiving, dialectical thinking). Challenges to implementation of mindfulness with dissociative clients are also explored. Information and recommendations are provided to guide applications to intervention.
“…The intentional harnessing of attention is a concentration skill in which clients purposefully shift attention; mindfulness skills improve clients' ability to redirect attention volitionally (Corrigan 2002;Loizzo 2009;Zylowska et al 2008). Staying present occurs both through holding present moment awareness (attentional focus on internal and/or external experience of the present moment) and through participating in the present moment (engagement in experience).…”
Section: The Techniques Of Mindfulnessmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Clients can practice purposefully shifting-like a zoom lens-between focused attention to detail and broad awareness of the larger context (Brown et al 2007). By intentionally and consciously directing attention, holding present moment awareness, and observing with neutrality (Kabat-Zinn 1990), a client is better able to consciously direct mental processes that are often unconscious (Loizzo 2009). If therapy can create a link between awareness of dissociation and intentional harnessing of attention on the present moment, mindfulness can be used to counteract dissociation (Boon et al 2011;Corrigan 2002;Kennerley 1996;Najavits 2002).…”
Section: Using Mindfulness To Reduce Absorptionmentioning
Dissociation involves retreating from the experience of the present moment through various processes, while mindfulness cultivates the ability to stay in the present moment. We argue that mindfulness is thus uniquely well suited for treatment of dissociation. This paper delineates the theoretical relationship between mindfulness and dissociation, discussing how incorporating mindfulness into psychotherapy can improve outcomes for dissociative clients. Mindfulness can provide clients with specific techniques for enhancing prediction of and control over dissociation through building awareness of dissociative processes and offering a tool for staying in the present moment. Mindfulness reduces reliance on avoidance, which in turn diminishes the need for dissociation. In addition, taking the position of the observer, which is a key feature of mindfulness, is itself a capability associated with dissociation. We discuss the application of mindfulness to three types of dissociative processes: detachment (e.g., depersonalization, derealization), absorption (e.g., daydreaming, "blanking out"), and compartmentalization (e.g., amnesia, conversion symptoms). Three mechanisms underlying the effectiveness of integrating mindfulness into treatment of dissociation are proposed: (1) the techniques of mindfulness (e.g., observing, staying present), (2) the metacognitions of mindfulness (e.g., acceptance, nonjudgment), and (3) the emergent processes of mindfulness (e.g., reperceiving, dialectical thinking). Challenges to implementation of mindfulness with dissociative clients are also explored. Information and recommendations are provided to guide applications to intervention.
“…Since the Buddhist University of Nalanda was dedicated to developing the most scientific approach to Buddhist teaching and practice, and making it accessible to mainstream students—Buddhist and non‐Buddhist, lay and religious—this living tradition represents a useful resource for contemporary meditation research . And since the Nalanda tradition is both continuous and cumulative—integrating multiple models and methods in a complete system of contemplative arts and sciences preserved to the present day—it also represents what may be the world's most comprehensive and rigorous framework of ancient meditative teachings and practices . While it is specific to a given cultural tradition, its emphasis on explaining meditation mechanistically in terms of mind/body causation, combined with its systematic approach to diverse practices, makes this synthesis a potential Rosetta Stone that can help modern science decipher the symbolic language and ritualized methods of meditation techniques drawn from many different religious traditions.…”
Section: A Comparative Interdisciplinary Approach To Contemplative Smentioning
confidence: 99%
“…In two recent articles, I have reviewed the literature and presented a rationale for integrating the Nalanda synthesis into a comparative framework for contemplative research and clinical application. Here I briefly summarize the framework proposed and suggest ways in which it may help interpret ambiguous findings, direct future studies, and improve methodology.…”
Section: A Comparative Interdisciplinary Approach To Contemplative Smentioning
This article offers an overview of meditation research: its history, recent developments, and future directions. As the number and scope of studies grow, the field has converged with cognitive and affective neuroscience, and spawned many clinical applications. Recent work has shed light on the mechanisms and effects of diverse practices, and is entering a new phase where consensus and coherent paradigms are within reach. This article suggests an unusual path for future advancement: complementing conventional research with rigorous dialogue with the contemplative traditions that train expert meditators and best know the techniques. It explores the Nalanda tradition developed in India and preserved in Tibet, because its cumulative approach to contemplative methods produced a comprehensive framework that may help interpret data and guide research, and because its naturalistic theories and empirical methods may help bridge the gulf between science and other contemplative traditions. Examining recent findings and models in light of this framework, the article introduces the Indic map of the central nervous system and presents three testable predictions based on it. Finally, it reviews two studies that suggest that the multimodal Nalanda approach to contemplative learning is as well received as more familiar approaches, while showing promise of being more effective.
“…Meditation has been the subject of hundreds of clinical studies in recent years, suggesting that it controls high blood pressure, reduces chronic pain and insomnia, and relieves a variety of symptoms or distresses (Loizzo, 2009). It is increasingly well known for therapeutic efficacy in a variety of illnesses and conditions (Garland, Gaylord, & Park, 2009).…”
Meditation can help students to adapt to life stressors. This study also provides support for traditional Chinese wisdom, which promotes meditation as one way to improve health.
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