(Re)Inhabiting awareness: geography and mindfulness

Abstract

This paper opens up a dialogue between mindfulness and the discipline of geography. As a meditative practice that cultivates 'present-centred non-judgmental awareness' , we claim that the practices and insights of mindfulness have important implications for various forms of geographical enquiry. This paper argues that mindfulness can inform geographical practices in relation to epistemology and methodology, and contribute towards geographically informed critical psych25ological theory and action. More specifically, we claim that mindfulness could offer a practice-based context to support the study of affects, extend the application of psychoanalytical geographical methods beyond the therapeutic, and contribute to emerging geographical studies of behavioural power and empowerment. This analysis explores these sites of interaction through a series of reflections on the Mindfulness, Behaviour Change and Engagement in Public Policy programme that was developed and delivered by the authors. This more-than-therapeutic mindfulness programme has been delivered to approximately 47 civil servants working in the UK Government.(Re)habiter la conscience: géographie et pleine conscience RÉSUMÉ Cet article ouvre un dialogue entre la pleine conscience et la discipline de la géographie. En tant que pratique méditative qui cultive « la conscience non-critique centrée sur le présent », nous affirmons que les pratiques et les perceptions de la pleine conscience ont des implications importantes sur l'investigation géographique sous toutes ses différentes formes. Cet article soutient que la pleine conscience peut orienter les pratiques géographiques en ce qui concerne l'épistémologie et la méthodologie, et contribuer à une théorie et une action critique psychologique liées à la géographie. Plus particulièrement, nous soutenons que la pleine conscience pourrait proposer un contexte fondé sur la pratique pour soutenir l'étude des affects, étendre l'application des méthodes géographiques psycho analytiques au-delà du thérapeutique et contribuer au développement des études géographiques du pouvoir comportemental et d'autonomisation. L'analyse explore ces sites

Ecologies of the self in practice – meditation, affect and ecosophy

“…This practice is taught in 10-day residential retreats and consists in paying attention to sensations throughout the body in a detached manner, usually characterized as equanimityone should feel these sensations without conceptualizing, sitting in silence with the eyes closed. The goal is to reinforce embodiment (Pagis 2009;Whitehead et al 2015), allowing subjects to become aware of the impermanent character of reality through the observation of sensations. Through the insight of impermanence, practitioners should realize that the self is an emergent process and that suffering is generated due to the reification of a bounded, hypostatized version of subjectivity.…”

“…This paper aims at contributing to current geographical scholarship concerned with new forms of ethical and aesthetic inhabitation (McCormack 2002), namely research specifically centred on meditative and yogic practices of the self (Lea 2009;Lea, Cadman, and Philo 2015;Whitehead et al 2015;Lea, Philo, and Cadman 2016), and non-representational and post-humanist literature focused on embodied and non-modern forms of subjectivity (Harrison 2000(Harrison , 2009Thrift 2000Thrift , 2004Anderson 2002;McCormack 2002;Stengers 2008;Pickering 2010).…”

From post-game to play-by-play

“…As McCormack (2002) suggests, they must resist the temptation to freeze movement and the movement of their own thoughts, and instead be intuitive and apprehend movement. At times, not unlike the techniques employed in mindfulness (see Whitehead et al, 2016), they must attempt look at sports through eyes not obscured too much by anticipatory thoughts on meaning.…”

Health geographies III: More-than-representational pushes and expressions

“…Justesen et al (2014), for example, combines performative participation on hospital wards with photography and interviews to capture happenings as well as meanings in the hospital meal experience. In another study Whitehead et al (2016) explores the potential of mindfulness as a method for opening up affects and other more-than-representational routes to wellbeing. As the authors note, mindfulness is both an object of study and a research approach/perspective.…”