Tag Archive for: mindfulness
What is mindfulness?
Wearing a 128-channel geodesic sensor net, Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard sits in a soundproof room and talks with Dr. Richard J. Davidson.
Why Is Mindfulness A Valuable Practice?
One of the great values of mindfulness practice is that it helps…
Experiential Avoidance: What We Resist Persists
Experiential avoidance is a term that originated in contextual behavioral science research. It refers to a common psychological pattern to which we are all susceptible: the attempt to avoid unpleasant thoughts, images, feelings, sensations,…
Who Gets Well?
What science studies the effects of mind on immune function?
Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) researchers explore the relationship of cognition and emotion to nervous, endocrine, and immune system functioning. This field was born in the early…
Intentionality and Health
Mindfulness practice allows us to develop the ability to observe and experience our thoughts, sensations, and emotions non-judgmentally, non-analytically, and with complete, unconditional acceptance. This practice is an antidote to…
The Fine Line Between Striving and Nonattachment to Outcomes
When living with a chronic debilitating medical condition, it is essential to do everything possible in terms of diet, exercise and rest. It is also essential to do everything possible to find meaning and purpose, to increase social support,…
Why Suffer Unnecessarily?
In Mindfulness-and Acceptance-Based Behavioral Therapies in Practice, research psychologists Lizabeth Roemer and Susan Orsillo
teach that unnecessary suffering results from three related mechanisms:
1. An unhealthy relationship to our…
Danger: Cognitive Fusion!
Cognitive fusion
is the state of mind in which we are so fused with our thoughts that they appear to be synonymous with fact. Most suffering in the world is the result of being fused to our beliefs. In this state, we have such strong identification…
Inspiring Reaction to Serious Illness
When people are told they have a chronic, incurable disease or condition, and especially if the diagnosis is potentially life-threatening or extremely debilitating, they understandably react with shock, terror, disbelief, anger, and grief. For…
Belief Becomes Biology
Beliefs alter physiology to the degree to which we are fused with them. For example, the thought This headache could be a brain tumor could create enormous emotional distress, leading to physiological stress and illness. The ability to step…