Mindfulness Talks

Mindfulness is the cognitive skill, usually developed through meditation, of sustaining meta-attention of the contents of one's own mind in the present moment. Mindfulness derives from sati, a significant element of Hindu and Buddhist traditions, and is based on Zen, Vipassanā, and Tibetan meditation techniques. Though definitions and techniques of mindfulness are wide-ranging, Buddhist traditions describe what constitutes mindfulness such as how past, present and future moments arise and cease as momentary sense impressions and mental phenomena. Individuals who have contributed to the popularity of mindfulness in the modern Western context include Thích Nhất Hạnh, Joseph Goldstein, Herbert Benson, Jon Kabat-Zinn, and Richard J. Davidson.

Clinical psychology and psychiatry since the 1970s have developed a number of therapeutic applications based on mindfulness for helping people experiencing a variety of psychological conditions. Mindfulness practice has been employed to reduce depression, stress, anxiety, and in the treatment of drug addiction. Programs based on mindfulness models have been adopted within schools, prisons, hospitals, veterans' centers, and other environments, and mindfulness programs have been applied for additional outcomes such as for healthy aging, weight management, athletic performance, helping children with special needs, and as an intervention during early pregnancy.

Clinical studies have documented both physical- and mental-health benefits of mindfulness in different patient categories as well as in healthy adults and children. Studies have shown a positive relationship between trait mindfulness (which can be cultivated through the practice of mindfulness-based interventions) and psychological health. The practice of mindfulness appears to provide therapeutic benefits to people with psychiatric disorders, including moderate benefits to those with psychosis. Studies also indicate that rumination and worry contribute to a variety of mental disorders, and that mindfulness-based interventions can enhance trait mindfulness and reduce both rumination and worry. Further, the practice of mindfulness may be a preventive strategy to halt the development of mental-health problems. Mindfulness practices have been said to enable individuals to respond more effectively to stressful situations by helping them strike the balance between over-identification and suppression of their emotional experiences by finding the middle point which is recognition and acceptance.

Evidence suggests that engaging in mindfulness meditation may influence physical health. For example, the psychological habit of repeatedly dwelling on stressful thoughts appears to intensify the physiological effects of the stressor (as a result of the continual activation of the sympathetic nervous system and the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis) with the potential to lead to physical health related clinical manifestations. Studies indicate that mindfulness meditation, which brings about reductions in rumination, may alter these biological clinical pathways. Further, research indicates that mindfulness may favorably influence the immune system as well as inflammation, which can consequently impact physical health, especially considering that inflammation has been linked to the development of several chronic health conditions. Other studies support these findings.

Critics have questioned both the commercialization and the over-marketing of mindfulness for health benefits—as well as emphasizing the need for more randomized controlled studies, for more methodological details in reported studies and for the use of larger sample-sizes. While mindfulness-based interventions may be effective for youth, research has not determined methods in which mindfulness could be introduced and delivered in schools.

From Mindfulness on Wikipedia

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Title Speaker

Going Deeper into our Bodhisattva Samadhi

A talk given to the No Abode Community on October 7th, 2023

 

Bodhisattva Vow, Precious Mirror, Passions, Mindfulness, Posture
Oct 07 2023
AM
No Abode Hermitage

Zen Meditation on Our Original Nature, Class 1

In this series of gatherings we will explore and perhaps realize our original nature, and how to apply such a discovery to all of our daily activities. 

#YRB-2023-Spring1, Original Nature, Emotions, War, Precious Mirror, Zazen,...
Mar 21 2023
1 of 8
The Yoga Room

Teachings for the Welfare of the World

In this summer series, teachings will be offered for those who aspire to embrace and sustain the great earth and all living beings in order to realize peace and freedom in our troubled world.

...
YRB-2019-Summer, Silence, Mindfulness, Addiction, japanese, zen meditation, Duality,...
Jul 23 2019
5/7
The Yoga Room

Silent Sitting & Social Action

Zen students often ask how our practice of silence and stillness relates to injustice and our environmental crisis. In this class we explore this question and study the intimate interplay of...

YRB-2018-Fall, Intimacy, Silence, Doubt, Addiction, unconscious process, Attachment,...
Nov 20 2018
6 of 7
The Yoga Room

Silent Sitting and Social Action

All compounded phenomena are unworthy of confidence. Compassion to these unstable phenomena is our practice. Zen stories are about enacting awakening within social interactions. Attend to your body,...

Compassion, Four Foundations, Practice Period, Practice Period, Mindfulness, Observe...
Oct 20 2018
PM
No Abode Hermitage

Essence of Mind: Daowu Teaches the Essential Gate to Truth

Sesshin Dharma Talk

Dragons, Mindfulness, Perfect Wisdom, Doubt, Faith
Jan 22 2014
Green Gulch Farm

Remembering Fred Maroth

Faith, Community, Heart Sutra, Mindfulness, resistance
Nov 23 2013
Morning
No Abode Hermitage

Observing the Breathing Body and the Mind of No Abode 

Posture, Breath, Perfect Wisdom, Observe, Mindfulness
Aug 10 2013
Morning
No Abode Hermitage

On Breathing 

Posture, Breath, Confession and Repentance, Mindfulness, Observe
Aug 08 2013
The Yoga Room

On the Body 

Mindfulness, Posture, Lotus Sutra, Emptiness, Thoroughness
Dec 13 2012
The Yoga Room

A Family Style for Realizing the Oneness of All Families 

true dharma, Precepts, Lay, Mindfulness
Mar 10 2012
Morning
No Abode Hermitage

The Bodhisattva's Creativity and Freedom 

Letting Go, practicing generosity, Mindfulness, Breath, Practice Period
Nov 17 2011
The Yoga Room

On Enlightenment and Delusion 

Silence, Posture, Karmic Consciousness, Mindfulness, Describe
Nov 19 2009
The Yoga Room

Buddha Sitting as Us; Us Sitting as Buddha 

Lotus Sutra, Emptiness, War, Mindfulness
Oct 18 2008
Afternoon
No Abode Hermitage

Buddha Sitting as Us; Us Sitting as Buddha 

Funeral, Emptiness, Mindfulness, Precepts, confusion
Oct 18 2008
Morning
No Abode Hermitage

Practicing the Four Frames of Mindfulness as Gates to Totality 

Mindfulness, confusion, Attachment, Breath
Sep 06 2008
Afternoon
No Abode Hermitage

Entering and Embodying Truth 

Mindfulness, Posture, Enemies, Cultivation, Discrimination
Jul 15 2008
The Yoga Room