Here is a very interesting study on Mindfulness based cognitive therapy (MBCT). In this article patients were trained to employ mindfulness as a stress reducing, quality of life enhancing therapy. The results are quite compelling. Be sure to download the entire article at the bottom of this excerpt.
~ Enjoy!
The impact of Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) on mental health and quality of life in a sub-clinically depressed population
In a previous study [1], non-clinical participants showed to benefit from mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) in order to combat depression and anxiety, normally induced by a real stressful setting. Following this study, we employed an experimental, randomized-controlled design in a real field among sub-clinically depressed students, to examine whether MBCT is effective to enhance quality of life and also to reduce anxiety and depression naturally experienced before, during and after exam (a real stressful situation).
Traditionally rooted in Eastern culture, mindfulness proved to be effective in stress reduction programs [2] placing emphasis on non-judgmental attention in a certain way; namely, on purpose and in the present moment. Mindfulness based cognitive therapy (MBCT) integrates elements of cognitive– behavioral therapy (CBT) for depression [3] into the mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) training program developed by Kabat-Zinn [2]. As a manualized group-skills training program, MBCT is conducted in 8 weekly sessions of approximately 2.5 hours duration [4]. People undergoing such training program learn to see thoughts, feelings and bodily sensations as passing events in the mind rather than self-evident truths or aspects of the self. In this way the skills learned from MBCT help people recognize and disengage themselves from habitual dysfunctional cognitive routines, which in turn protect them against future risk of experiencing anxiety and depression. [click to continue…]
Colleen Pyke, host of Global Vision, interviews Marsha Lucas, PhD, about her discoveries in working with the human brain in re-wiring the subconscious. Through her work, and mindfulness meditation, Dr. Lucas has written a very user friendly brain book for all of us. She teaches us how to rewire the neural pathways that make us “make our decisions” about life – whether fight or flight, or other unconscious choices. Through working with mindfulness meditation, the early childhood or other traumas can be healed and reworked so we no longer “react” in a split second, but have more than a second to make a more healthy, conscious choice on how we want to “do life.”.
Enjoy!
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Circles of Change host Dr. Zara Larsen talks with Dr. Marsha Lucas, author of the book called “Rewire Your Brain for Love: Creating Vibrant Relationships Using the Science of Mindfulness.
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Here is a guest post brought to you by Ed Halliwell, a friend of mine who recently co-authored the book The Mindful Manifesto. Enjoy!
Not a typical manifesto, but a manifesto all the same
When people hear that I’ve co-written a book called The Mindful Manifesto, they sometimes approach me with questions about the title, such as: “Manifesto? Do you mean that meditation is a party political act?,” or “Isn’t a manifesto all about action and meditation all about sitting still?”
These are good questions, and there is an interesting relationship between the practice of mindfulness, which involves making space to observe the patterns of experience without getting caught up in them, and living life in an engaged and compassionate way.
In the book, Jonty Heaversedge and I argue that practicing meditation is a skillful way to cultivate well-being—both personal and social. If we can learn to watch the flow of our own thoughts, feelings, habits and biases, seeing them with ever-greater clarity, then we are in a good position to bring that understanding to act more wisely in our lives. By taking time out to do less, our actions are more likely to be skillful. It’s a bit like the instructions to put your own oxygen mask on first in an airplane emergency—that apparently selfish action allows us to help others more effectively. [click to continue…]
It’s incredibly important to be mindful of time, how you use it and how you might even abuse it. Take a moment and read this article on ways to slow down and avoid rushing. You’ll be better for it.
Article courtesy of Rick Hanson PhD, at Wildmind:
Five ways to slow down and stop rushing
As I was meditating this morning, our cat hopped up in my lap. It felt sweet to sit there with him. And yet – even though I was feeling fine and had plenty of time, there was this internal pressure to start zipping along with emails and calls and all the other clamoring minutiae of the day.
You see the irony. We rush about as a means to an end: as a method for getting results in the form of good experiences, such as relaxation and happiness. Hanging out with our cat, I was afloat in good experiences. But the autopilot inside the coconut still kept trying to suck me back into methods for getting relaxation and happiness – as if I weren’t already feeling that way! And of course, by jumping up and diving into doingness, I’d break the mood and lose the relaxation and happiness . . . that is the point of doingness.
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Co-hosts Lynn Ware Peek and Missy Hilton talk with Dr. Marsha Lucas, author of the book called “Rewire Your Brain for Love: Creating Vibrant Relationships Using the Science of Mindfulness.
Enjoy!
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Here is a very interesting study on Mindfulness based cognitive therapy (MBCT). In this article patients were trained to employ mindfulness as a stress reducing, quality of life enhancing therapy. The results are quite compelling. Be sure to download the entire article at the bottom of this excerpt.
