#715 A Quick Introduction to Mindfulness

     Jon Kabat-Zinn PhD, originator (in 1979) of the now immensely popular Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program, presents the helpful brief (12min) introductory video below.

     Key suggestions:
               • Practicing just for fun, out of curiosity. 
                          Not to get anywhere, or become anything eg more relaxed, a great meditator etc. 
                          Not to solve some problems you're having.
               • Simply holding this moment in awareness
               • Maintaining a still, dignified posture
               • "Meeting this moment in it's fullness with alertness"
               • Seeing if we can feel the breath (instead of think about it)
                          Seeing if you can surf on the sensations of the breath coming in & out of the body, moment by moment by moment
                          Letting everything else going on in the mind, in the room - sounds, everything, just be in the wings. Not suppressing anything, just featuring the breath.
                          Letting the breath take center stage in the field of awareness, as if your life depended on it, which of course it does, in more ways than you may think.


     See also the superb brief intro to "awareness": http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/2012/04/113-excellent-introduction-to.html 

#585 Consciousness, Meditation & "Spirituality"

     "In scientific terms, consciousness remains notoriously difficult to understand, or even to define. In fact, many debates about its character have been waged without the participants' finding even a common topic as common ground. ... spirituality is not just important for living a good life; it is actually essential for understanding the human mind.
     Only consciousness can know itself - and directly, through first-person experience. If follows, therefore, that rigorous introspection - 'spirituality' in the widest sense of the term - is an indispensable part of understanding the nature of the mind."                              

       Sam Harris. "Waking Up. A Guide to Spirituality without Religion." Simon & Schuster, 2014.

#357 Meditation, Yoga, Quality of Life & Neuroscience

     Scientifically validated benefits of yoga & mindfulness meditation practices include: stress reduction; reduced symptoms associated with depression, anxiety disorders, pain, insomnia; enhanced ability to pay attention; improved happiness, increased satisfaction with their quality of life.
     Sarah Lazar PhD discusses (8 minutes) the results of her brain imaging studies correlating these changes with changes in brain structure & function:

#206 Neuroplasticity - Brain Continuously Sculpted by Experience & Training

     “Neuroplasticity refers to the concept that the brain can change in response to experience, and in response to training. Probably the greatest discoveries in the last decade in modern neuroscience concern the many different mechanisms of plasticity. The brain is literally built to change in response to experience and in response to training. It’s the only organ in the body that’s really designed explicitly for that purpose. We now understand something about the mechanisms for plasticity, and they are varied. They range from new connections being formed to new cells actually growing in the brain - new brain cells, new neurons, and many other related kinds of processes. So when we talk about neuroplasticity, we talk about both the structural and the functional changes in the brain.

     It’s important to understand that our brains are constantly being shaped wittingly or unwittingly. So even if we’re not engaged in any intentional strategy to change our minds and our brains, our brains are constantly being changed by the forces around us. If we have an argument with a friend, or a family member, that will shape our brain. If we have a warm, positive interaction with someone, that will shape our brain. If we watch television, depending on it’s content, that will shape our brain in one way or another. Everything that we do literally is constantly shaping our brain."      Ritchie Davidson PhD

The Compassionate Brain by Rick Hanson PhD – Sounds True – free streaming webinar

live.soundstrue.com/compassionatebrain/event.php

Session #1 - How the Mind Changes the Brain - Ritchie Davidson PhD interviewed by Rick Hanson PhD

Photo: avec fleur   http://www.flickr.com/photos/avecfleur/2483563486/