08Aug '11

Chapter 2: Practical Lesson, Mindfulness Meditation and the State of Being

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How can I practice to enter the state of being more often?

In the previous lesson you got to know the state of being. In this lesson you will learn how you can use mindfulness meditation to enter the state of being and stop being involved in your inner processes and just observe what’s going on.

This ability of taking a step back and just becoming an observer of your thoughts and emotions is very powerful and can truly change your life. Meditation is an exercise like other mental exercises such as concentration or memory exercises so you do not have to worry about getting into anything esoteric or religious.

Essential Knowledge in this Lesson:

Practicing meditation helps you to enter the state of being and observe your inner processes.

To practice meditation you select one object of meditation you focus on, for example your breath, and then observe this object in a non judgmental way. By practicing this you learn to direct your awareness and raise your base level of concentration and this helps you to become more aware of your inner processes.

Sources:


Britta K. Hölzel, James Carmody, Mark Vangela, Christina Congletona, Sita M. Yerramsettia, Tim Gard, and Sara W. Lazar. Mindfulness practice leads to increases in regional brain gray matter density.Psychiatry Res, 2010.

Lazar SW, Kerr C, Wasserman RH, Gray JR, Greve D, Treadway MT, McGarvey M, Quinn BT, Dusek JA, Benson H, Rauch SL, Moore CI, Fischl B. Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness. NeuroReport, 2005; 16: 1893-1897.

Davidson, Richard J.; Kabat-Zinn J, Schumacher J, Rosenkranz M, Muller D, Santorelli SF, Urbanowski F, Harrington A, Bonus K, Sheridan JF. (2003 Jul-Aug). “Alterations in brain and immune function produced by mindfulness meditation”. Psychosomatic Medicine 65 (4): 564–570. doi:10.1097/01.PSY.0000077505.67574.E3.

Fadel Zeidana, Susan K. Johnson, Bruce J. Diamond, Zhanna David and Paula Goolkasian, Mindfulness meditation improves cognition: Evidence of brief mental training, Consciousness and Cognition Volume 19, Issue 2, June 2010, Pages 597-605

Michael Speca, PsyD, Linda E. Carlson, PhD, Eileen Goodey, MSW and Maureen Angen, PhD, A Randomized, Wait-List Controlled Clinical Trial: The Effect of a Mindfulness Meditation-Based Stress Reduction Program on Mood and Symptoms of Stress in Cancer Outpatients, Psychosomatic Medicine 62:613-622 (2000)

Teasdale, John D.; Segal, Zindel V.; Williams, J. Mark G.; Ridgeway, Valerie A.; Soulsby, Judith M.; Lau, Mark A., Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Vol 68(4), Aug 2000, 615-623. doi: 10.1037/0022-006X.68.4.615

The Effects of Mindfulness Meditation on Cognitive Processes and Affect in Patients with Past Depression, Wiveka Ramel1, Philippe R. Goldin, Paula E. Carmona and John R. McQuaid, COGNITIVE THERAPY AND RESEARCH, Volume 28, Number 4, 433-455, DOI: 10.1023/B:COTR.0000045557.15923.96