The Breath and Mindfulness
The earliest account of meditation what from 18,000 years ago, when it was given to the Bön religion, a religion indigenous to Tibet at the time. The form of meditation today we call mindfulness meditation, is likely similar to the meditation taught then.
Jon Kabat-Zinn founded the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Clinic in 1979 (at the University of Massachusetts medical school) and created the first meditation program: Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR).
Work in equanimity
His definition of mindfulness is Mindfulness is the awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally, And, then I sometimes add, in the service of self-understanding and wisdom.
This is what makes mindfulness meditation unique amongst many other forms of meditation.
Since mindfulness meditation works directly with awareness of thoughts as they arise and how we respond to them, it could also be rightly termed mind training. It has often been used as a beginner’s practice and also as an advanced practice.
Its fundamental purpose is to clear and steady the mind. This makes it easier for someone to absorb further teachings. In teaching MSC, I have noticed that the people who have less experience with meditation have a bit more difficulty with the compassion exercises.
It is also important, as a matter of perspective on the significance of mindfulness meditation, that with the creation of the MBSR program and the hundreds of research studies on it, this is the first time contemplative traditions and science have come together in an ongoing way.
We are truly fortunate. If you’d like more information, see the Mind and Life Institute.
Mindfulness meditation has been studied on a wide range of conditions, medical and psychological, and has proved helpful regardless of the condition.
So much so, that it is now considered to be a trans-diagnostic intervention, meaning, while it is not a panacea, it can bring benefit no matter what the state or condition is.
The key to mindfulness is what we call the pause. Viktor Frankl’s famous quote on this is:
“Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
What happens when we pause is that we interrupt our habitual patterns. Why is that important? How many times have we said or done something that, moments later we regret?
That’s what happens when are not thinking with our whole brain, but just behaving with an innate response. This ability to pause alone can improve the relationship with have with ourselves and with others.
And, mindfulness can create a steady, hospitable environment for our special guest, compassion.
