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“House builder you have now been seen. You shall not build the house again. Your rafters have been broken down; your ridge-pole is demolished too. My mind has now attained the unformed nibbana and reached the end of every kind of craving.” (Dh. 153-54.)
Judson Brewer, M.D., Ph.D is the medical director of the Yale Therapeutic Neuroscience Clinic. His primary research interests are in mindfulness training as a mechanistic probe and treatment for addictions. He can be contacted at judson.brewer@yale.edu.”
Judson reflects upon his 10-day Vipassana and Metta retreat at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, which is located just north of San Francisco in beautiful Marin county. Led by two “teams” of teachers (metta: Guy Armstrong, Sally Clough Armstrong, Heather Martin, Sharda Rogell; vipassana: Joseph Goldstein, Andrea Fella, Kamala Masters, Steve Armstrong.) Judson writes, “After I went on retreat in July, I wrote down a few of my ongoing habit patterns that became more clear to me, many of which related to science. I remembered hearing many comments and questions from folks at both the MLSRI and scientists retreat about similar issues to which I have/had been struggling, and thought that “publishing” my reflections might be helpful for others who are working with the same “stuff” in their minds that I am.”
You can read his reflections, “Top 10 rookie Mistakes of a Dharma Scientist” HERE.
August 17, 2008
$1 Million Endowment at UMass Dartmouth to Leverage Super Accelerated
Learning Techniques from Vedic Traditions for 21st Century Education
On Friday, August 15, as Indian students and community celebrated
India’s independence day UMass Dartmouth announced that the Three Rs
Foundation has pledged $1 million to support the university’s Center
for Indic Studies to initiate an innovative educational pedagogy
rooted in India’s Vedic traditions. The donation will support the
Center’s mission to connect the university, region and Commonwealth to
India’s growing economy and world influence.
The Center for Indic Studies was established in 2001 to disseminate
understanding of issues relating to the arts, philosophy, culture,
societal values, and customs of India. For more information, visit
http://www.umassd.edu/indic
Media coverage:
http://www.indolink.com/displayArticleS.php?id=082108063408
http://www.lokvani.com/lokvani/article.php?article_id=5106
http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080816/NEWS/808160345
http://www.heraldnews.com/education/x1822517277/Indic-studies-program-receives-1M-gift
UMass Dartmouth website:
http://www.umassd.edu/communications/articles/printversion.cfm?a_key=2182
In order of personal preference:
1. Five Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) – (Baer et al., 2006) – The FFMQ, revised from the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills, is used to assess the construct of mindfulness. Previous research on assessment of mindfulness by self-report suggests that it may include five component skills: observing, describing, acting with awareness, nonjudging of inner experience, and nonreactivity to inner experience. These elements of mindfulness can be measured with the FFMQ.
2. Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS) – (K. W. Brown & R. M. Ryan, 2003; Carlson & Brown, 2005)- A 15-item, 7-point scale (1 = almost always; 6 = almost never) self-report instrument with a single factor. The MAAS appears to have appropriate application in research examining the role of mindfulness in the psychological well-being of college, working adults, and cancer patients, with or without comparisons to nonclinical controls.
3.Toronto Mindfulness Scale (TMS; Lau et al., 2006) – A 13-item, two-factor structure (Curiosity, Decentering) has been validated in a number of clinical contexts. The items of Factor 1 (Curiosity) reflect an attitude of wanting to learn more about one’s experiences. The items of Factor 2 (Decentering) reflect a shift from identifying personally with thoughts and feelings to relating to one’s experience in a wider field of awareness
4. The Revised 12-item Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale (CAMS-R; Feldman, Hayes, Kumar, Kamholz, Greeson, & Laurenceau, 2005)
5. The Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale (PHLMS; Cardaciotto & Hebert, 2005)
6. The 30-item Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory (FMI; Buchheld, Grossman,& Walach, 2001)
7. Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale (PHLMS; Cardaciotto & Hebert, 2005)
Most of these are still under development.
What is Mindfulness you may ask?
Kabat-Zinn (2005) defines mindfulness broadly in his book, “Coming to Our Senses” as:
moment-to-moment, non-judgemental awareness, cultivated by paying attention in a specific way, that is, in the present moment, and as non-reactively, as non-judgementally, and openheartedly as possible. When it is cultivated intentionally, it is sometimes referred to as deliberate mindfulness. When it spontaneously arises, as it tends to do more and more the more it is cultivated intentionally, it is sometimes referred to as effortless mindfulness.
Steven C. Hayes, 1999 defines a two-component model of mindfulness:
(a) the intentional self-regulation of attention to facilitate greater awareness of bodily sensations, thoughts, and emotions; and (b) a specific quality of attention characterized by endeavoring to connect with each object in one’s awareness (e.g., each bodily sensation, thought, or emotion) with curiosity, acceptance,
and openness to experience. Such a state involves an active process of relating openly with one’s current experience by allowing current thoughts, feelings, and sensations
Scott Bishop (2004) defines mindfulness as:
An intentional, reflective style of introspection or self-observation that, in addition, differs from concentrative meditation. Concentrative practices involve maintaining one’s attention on a single focus of awareness such as a single word or phrase, a candle flame, or even one’s own breathing (e.g., transcendental meditation, clinically standardized meditation). Although mindfulness, or insight meditation, also includes some concentrative practices, the focus of attention is unrestricted such that the meditator develops an awareness of one’s present experience, including thoughts, feelings, or physical sensations as they consciously occur on a moment-by-moment basis. Scott’s citation can be found HERE.
All would agree that mindfulness is a skill that can be developed through the practice of meditation
One of the Goals of the Mind and Life Institute has been to bring meditation and mindfulness skills to the classroom. Linda Lantieri is a New York educator who is also part of the Mind and Life Education Research Network. In her new book, Building Emotional Intelligence: Techniques to Cultivate Inner Strength in Children, Linda writes about practical methods for bringing these skills into the classroom.
Linda was interviewed for an article printed in Eudotopia. You can find that article HERE.
Project Welcome Home Troops provides training in trauma-relief practices to veterans and their families. Sponsored by the International Association for Human Values, (IAHV), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, humanitarian organization. IAHV has created and delivered service programs to millions of people from all walks of life, benefiting a wide range of social, economic and educational needs. Providing trauma relief has been a cornerstone of IAHV’s work including training thousands of individuals with PTSD in unique and highly effective stress-reduction programs.
The workshop teaches participants to perform a specialized set of breathing practices. They provide the greatest benefit when practiced regularly as a daily routine. They can also be used anytime to reduce anxiety, depression or emotional upset. Over time, regular practice promotes an accelerated calming response whenever the breath-work is initiated.
The workshop typically consists of 6 classes meeting 2½ -3 hours per day. After the workshop, participants are provided weekly group sessions which brings added benefit and supports their individual practice. Group sessions also allow participants to share their experiences with each another.
Check out the website HERE.
Emma Seppala a PhD candidate at the Stanford Psychophysiology Lab (PI: James Gross) states, “In sum, the studies mentioned provide preliminary evidence for the effectiveness of SKY practice on psycho-physiological indicators of stress and well-being. Although most of the studies conducted on SKY to date are pilot studies and therefore relatively small, effect sizes have been large and have reached statistical significance.”
If you are interested in the practice of Warrior Breath and how to incorporate it into your life or your studies, contact Emma at the Gross Lab HERE
The workshop was reported on in the article in the Stanford Daily May 17, 2007 HERE and a recent study in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry HERE.
The Mind-Body Research Consortium is a multi-institution, multi-investigator, collaborative group of psychologists, medical professionals, neuroscientists, clinicians, contemplative practitioners and teachers, and ‘contemplative practices-inspired’ intervention specialists who aim to better understand the basic cognitive and affective changes that occur during contemplative mind-body interventions. Amishi Jha is the principle investigator behind this consortium and is implementing online methods of cognitive and behavioral testing for participating researchers.
Check it out HERE.
Meditation has been shown to have benefits in many clinical disorders. An 8-week course in which fibromyalgia women are practicing mindfulness and meditation skills 5 days/week and meeting once/week for 2 hours, along with 1 full-day retreat at week 6 have shown benefits in attention, stress reduction, and emotion regulation.
The following studies have shown such benefits:
1. David Vago and colleagues at the Utah Center for Exploring Mind-Body Interactions found that fibromyalgia women who went through an 8-week course of mindfulness and meditation training show decreased avoidance of, or attention away from, pain-related threatening words and show less interference from such words when performing an attention-demanding task. There is an article in MSN Health citing the study HERE.
Mindfulness Class led by Shirley Ray at Inner Light Center in SLC, UT
The Center for Mind-Body Medicine is a non-profit, 501(c) (3), educational organization dedicated to reviving the spirit and transforming the practice of medicine. The Center is working to create a more effective, comprehensive and compassionate model of healthcare and health education. The Center for Mind-Body Medicine is a great resource for contemplative education and training. The link for the site is HERE.
Recent studies supported by the CMBM follow:
1. EFFECTIVENESS OF A MIND-BODY SKILLS TRAINING PROGRAM FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS. The article can be found HERE.
2. Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Postwar Kosovo High School Students Using Mind–Body Skills Groups: A Pilot Study. The article can be found HERE.
The Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior is headed by Richard Davidson, PhD at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. You can follow the most recent research taking place in this lab at the website linked HERE.
Peace Talks Radio covers the Waisman Laboratory on a story called, “the Neuroscience of Compassion”. It can be found HERE.
August 8, 2006 – Alan Wallace talks about the Revolution of 1st person methods to study the mind
more about “Toward the First Revolution in the Mi…“, posted with vodpod
