Mindfulness Meditation in Western Society

Relaxation has become extremely popular in western society in the recent years however; it has existed for thousands of years and has obviously passed the test of your time in various other cultures. Meditation has in fact survived 4500 years of political upheaval and socioeconomic transition (Andreson, 2000). If meditation was not beneficial would it still be around and being practiced thousands of years later? Probably not.

The word meditation has a tendency to cause confusion in many people due to it being unknown or regarded as somewhat metaphysical, new age, or associated with a unique dogma or religion. Well as just discussed there is nothing new about meditation and I believe that the foundation for breathing in its purity is not confusing or complex. The very essence of Japa is simplicity, but as Ayaja states in the psychotherapy text, "simplicity is often the most complicated thing" (Ajaya, 1983, 126). I genuinely believe this statement to become accurate in especially western society's way of life.

Life consists of simple principles, however human beings tend to complicate them inside their minds rather than living and being from the soul. I know for my life, I choose to keep meditation and living as basic as possible. I think Stephen Levine says it best when he discussed meditation in his book, A Gradual Awakening, "meditation is for many a foreign concept, somehow distant and foreboding, seemingly impossible to participate in. But another word with regard to meditation is simply awareness. Meditation is awareness" (Levine, 1989, 1). Now, this explanation is indeed workable and useful to an individual wanting to become involved in meditation.

Within this paper, I will offer a simple explanation of the process of meditation, the psychological, physiological, and spiritual benefits as well as a brief description of my personal experience.

There are several types of meditation, however Levine states that "differences in these techniques are basically due to the primary object which is concentrated on through the process" (Levine, 1989, 8). Thus, I will base this paper on mindfulness meditation (Vipassanna) which involves directly participating in each second as it occurs with as much awareness and understanding as possible. In my opinion this is the simplest and most effective form of meditation and also a very enlightened way to live your daily life. We live "now" right in this moment and that is what this type of meditation suggests. After all, as Goleman (1972a) states, "the goal of all meditation systems, whatever the ideological orientation or source... would be to transform the waking state through the fruits of practice - to die to the life of the ego and become reborn to a new level of experience" (155).

As previously discussed, the focus of this paper will be mindfulness meditation instead of concentration meditation which is what usually comes to mind when the word meditation is mentioned. While concentration meditation concentrates on the attention of a single object, mantra, or deity, mindfulness meditation includes a more dynamic inclusive field of statement. It is inclusive of the depth that surrounds us rather than shutting the world out, which is more practical for the average individual in western society (Tacon, 2003 ). It was also suggested by Kabat-Zinn (1994) that mindfulness may be beneficial to a lot of people in western society who might be unwilling to adopt Buddhist traditions or vocabulary. Thus, mindfulness meditation is usually considerably more appropriate for our society than discussing the full range of meditation techniques from eastern traditions, due to its simplicity, functionality and perceived detachment from eastern philosophies and religions.

Rather than try to choose one definition to describe what mindfulness reflection is, I will present a variety of views from those familiar with this specific practice in order to get the point across more succinctly. To begin with, mindfulness meditation is more specifically called "insight meditation" in Buddhist traditions, or vipassanna which is sanskrit and indicates "to see clearly. " Mindfulness meditation is a large part of Buddhism as well as Zen practice; however it can be effectively practiced detached from these traditions. As previously mentioned it is not necessary to be a practicing Buddhist to enjoy the fruits with mindfulness meditation (Levey & Levey, 1999). At this time I will present varied definitions or descriptions of what mindfulness meditation actually is.

Tacon (2003) describes mindfulness meditation as a "form of meditation that involves stimuli from the field for consciousness rather than the exclusion of stimuli, as in concentration meditation" (67).

Kabat-Zinn (1994) states that mindfulness meditation is definitely "paying attention in a particular way; on purpose in the present moment and non-judgmentally. " (108).

Levey and Levey (1999) describe mindfulness meditation in the following way: "mindfulness liberates us from memories of past and fantasies about future by bringing reality of the present moment clearly into focus" (89). They also state that "mindfulness makes all of us more aware of life's everyday miracles" (89).

Dunn, Hartigan, and Mikulas (1999) state that "mindfulness practice involves open up receptivity and awareness to all stimuli, while evaluation, analysis or classification of those stimuli is suppressed" (p. 148).

Ruth Baer states "mindfulness is the non-judgmental observation of the ongoing streams of internal and external stimuli because they arise" (2003, p. 125).

Although each of these passages utilize different terminology to articulate what mindfulness meditation can be; the overall consensus comes down to "being present in life. " In my personal opinion, this may well be the secret that all people have been searching for outside of themselves. Being present in the moment is very simple, yet profound. Most people will likely say, "There has got to be much more to living than this. " Is there? Mindfulness meditation focuses on all areas of our being. Levey and Levey (1999) present a variety of these areas in their book, Simple Meditation and Relaxation. These elements of the human being include being conscious or aware of your sense without judgement, being aware of your emotions with acceptance, maintaining awareness of your thinking and permitting thoughts to flow by, just noticing. Another two vital areas include being aware of your breathing as well as what's going on with your body (pp. 95-97). What it comes down to is being aware of what is going on for you in each moment. To further articulate this specific I will provide various excerpts from a mindfulness meditation by Stephen Levine (1989).

o "Find a comfortable place to sit, together with back straight but not rigid... "

o "Keep your attention at one precise point and note the sensation in which accompanies each breath... "

o "Sounds arise. Thought arise. Other sensations arise. All background, arising and demise... "

o "Sensations arise in the body, Thoughts arise in the mind. They come and go like bubbles... "

o "Don't get lost. If the mind pulls away, gently, with a soft non-judging, non-clinging awareness, return to the breath... inch

o "Moment to moment awareness of whatever arises, whatever exists" (pp. 32-36).

My hope is that these excerpts additional clarify mindfulness meditation to the reader. Levine is a master when it comes to simplicity in one's life as well as having the ability to make meditation practical and efficient. Next, I would like to discuss a variety of interventions using mindfulness followed by research demonstrating the actual psychological, physiological, and spiritual benefits. Mindfulness meditation is truly a holistic application and this will be shown through the research results discussed in this article.

Interventions

As previously discussed meditation has been around for thousands of years, however has only recently been integrated into psychotherapy within western society. The American Psychological Association, around 1977, suggested that "meditation could facilitate the therapeutic process" (Taskforce on Meditation, 1977, p. 3). Unfortunately, about 20 years later it still hasn't actually become popular. However , we must be fortunate that some progress is being made. At this time, I would like to discuss four current interventions which are using mindfulness meditation as part of the therapeutic process.

The first intervention is the integration of mindfulness meditation in the general psychiatric therapy process. La Torre (2001) discussed it as an effective component of psychotherapy and stated that as meditation brings recognition to feelings and discomforts in the therapeutic process, psychotherapy can provide discussion and exploration of these insights. She also conveys that the ability to practice meditation in and out of the therapeutic session fosters independence and self mastery on the client's component. La Torre (2001) concludes by stating, "That in most cases the incorporation of meditation into the therapeutic process offers enriched therapy and given clients a greater sense of control and awareness" (p. 104).

In a separate example by Boorstein (1983), he describes his integration of mindfulness meditation and bibliotherapy and its effectiveness with a stressed out, agitated, and paranoid client. Boorstein integrated various readings with a transpersonal theme as well as mindfulness meditation in and out of session. Boorstein claims that the outcome was significant and included increased self-esteem, psychological and spiritual growth as well as relief of presenting symptoms. Boorstein conducted follow ups and stated that the positive outcomes were maintained and also the client continued to focus on personal and spiritual growth in his life.

A second popular intervention and the most frequently cited approach to mindfulness meditation intervention is the program developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn called Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). This program originated specifically for chronic pain and stress related disorders. It is an 8-10 week course for groups which utilizes a distinctive combination of discussions related to stress, coping, as well as homework assignments and an intense instruction and practice of mindfulness is also the. The ability for clients to practice inside and outside of session in real life situations is again a benefit of this technique (Baer, 2003). Another intervention which is strongly associated with MBSR is Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). This treatment incorporates aspects of cognitive therapy that facilitate a detached or decentered view of ones thoughts including claims such as "Thoughts are not facts" and "I am not my thoughts" (Baer, 2003, p. 127). MBCT is made to teach skills for previously depressed individuals to observe their thoughts and feelings non-judgmentally and to see them as simply psychological events that come and go rather than as reality or aspects of themselves (Baer, 2003). The final intervention that I will certainly discuss that incorporates mindfulness meditation is a therapy termed Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT). This specific therapy was designed to deal with borderline personality disorder however it is currently being applied to a variety of different populations. DBT integrates mindfulness meditation training with intellectual behavioral skills in order to facilitate acceptance and change at the same time. Specific aspects of this intervention include emotional regulation, social skills, and distress tolerance skills (Baer, 2003). In my personal career I have had direct experience with this a good addiction facility and found it to be quite effective. Residential clients embraced the mindfulness components in all aspects of their life and appeared to truly benefit from practicing acceptance and non-judgment as part of their recovery. I genuinely hope that more surgery will become available and mindfulness meditation will eventually get the respect it deserves in the field of psychotherapy and life generally. Mindfulness meditation is a holistic tool for growth and self awareness. It benefits the mind, body, and spirit as a whole, however for this papers purpose I will separate the components into the benefits related to psychological, philosophical, and spiritual aspects of the human being. These will be based on the literature pertaining to mindfulness meditation specifically and what has been discussed in a variety of research studies.

Physiological Advantages

The literature discusses an immense amount of physiological benefits derived from mindfulness meditation. To list and discuss every one of them is beyond the scope of this paper; however I will discuss some of the main physical benefits shown throughout the scientific literature. First, the physiological changes that have been noticed when practicing meditation such as decreased heart rate, breathing and the decreasing of blood pressure has been termed the "relaxation response" by Benson (1975). These changes can of course be very beneficial to those individuals needing to escape the daily stress and chaos of society. However , the physiological benefits of mindfulness meditation transcend the momentary changes during the act of meditation. In Perez-De-Albeniz's (2000) 75 study Meta evaluation he discussed a vast array of benefits that were found in his perusal of the available research. These included increase heart output, muscle relaxation, increased serotonin and melatonin levels, and significant improvement in chronic pain. In addition mindfulness meditation was found to be beneficial for psoriases, epilepsy, fibromyalgia, and hypertension. This brief summary obviously demonstrates this mindfulness meditation can be effective for the body component of a human being. Lets explore the other two elements that make up humankind.

Psychological

Numerous psychological benefits of mindfulness meditation are mentioned throughout the empirical literature. Again, this is not an exhaustive overview of the literature, but a brief articulation of outcomes reported regarding the practice of mindfulness meditation. La Toree (2003) explains the benefits of mindfulness meditation in terms of its emotional benefits concerning self growth. In her article she describes that overwhelming feelings are better able to be accepted as an individual is able to own these feelings and experience associated with a greater sense of safety.

In Perez de Albeniz's Meta Analysis of the literature the following were demonstrated through the entire empirical studies that were reviewed:

o Increased happiness

o Increased joy

o Increased positive thoughts

o Increase problem solving skills

o Enhanced approval

o Enhanced compassion

o Enhanced tolerance

o Increased relaxation

o Increased resilience

o Better control of feelings and personal responsibility

o Improvement in emotional well being

o Decreased anxiety

o Decreased substance abuse

Perez de Albeniz also discussed mindfulness meditation's ability to help patients realize that there are no quick solutions in life which leads to development of patience in their personal growth journey. In addition , the marketing of a nonjudgmental attitude as well as the ability to come to terms with what is rather than what could have been.

Finally I think it is important to mention a study through Shapiro, Schwartz, and Bonner (1998) in which MBSR was offered to medical and pre medical students. The application involved the 7-week intervention with a wait list control. The outcome of this study included reduced self-reports of overall psychological stress, including depression, reduced self-reports of state and trait anxiety and increased scores of empathy levels. Again, inside the psychological domain it is obvious that mindfulness meditation has enormous benefits.

Spiritual

Spiritual benefits are also demonstrated from the practice and application of mindfulness meditation. In the Shapiro et al study (1998) it was also found that there had been increased scores on the measures of spiritual experiences, which basically meant that following the mindfulness introduction, participants experienced a greater conviction of the existence of a higher power as well as an increase in the internalization of a personal intimate relationship to the next power. In Perez de Albeniz (2000) it was noted that mindfulness meditation helps a patient or person in order to trust their inner nature and wisdom. Finally, Walsh (1983) expresses in his article that meditation is "available as a tool for those who wish to plumb the depths of their own being and explore the nature of mind, identity, and awareness. It's a tool that can be used from the beginning to the end of the spiritual quest" (45). Obviously, there are many other spiritual benefits of meditation, including the obvious, Nirvana; however I merely supplied the reader with a summary. Perhaps, it may motivate some to enter this kind of journey of awareness and explore the many additional gems along the path.

Personal Experience

Henry Miller said "the aim of life is to live, and to live means to be awake, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware. " This is what mindfulness meditation has brought to my life. By all means, do not think that I sit in meditation continuously and detach from the globe. Mindfulness allows me to feel every moment of life within my entire being. It allows me to live life rather than just current and the application of this practice throughout the past five years of my life has transformed who I am. I have tapped in to my genuine being and united with the energy of the universe. Simply by cultivating awareness of the moment through mindfulness I have already been able to transcend my ego and travel each day on the path of self-actualization. I have experienced the pure fact of mindfulness meditation. Each moment of my life allows continuous practice and application of this essential skill of which genuinely gives life. Each human being on this earth has the innate ability to tap into the perfection and precision associated with mindfulness meditation. Go and experience the bliss that it offers.

Finally, throughout this paper I have discussed what mindfulness meditation is, provided a variety of description by the experts in this practice, and given the reader examples of the process of mindfulness relaxation based on writings by Stephen Levine. It was concluded, that simply mindfulness meditation is being aware of life, which certainly can be practiced in any setting. Mindfulness mediation is extremely practical in the west and has been utilized in a variety of therapeutic interventions using much success. Additionally , it has been shown to have physiological, psychological, and spiritual benefits by the research thus far. In short, mindfulness mediation is a great tool for the whole person to utilize toward personal and spiritual growth. Mindfulness is genuinely living life within this very moment. Go truly live in the now and experience the true essence of life without the deluded road blocks caused the thinking mind.