I think the point of the article is valid and worth making - the co-opting of a concept from an Eastern religion, stripping of its religious meaning, and ultimate commercialization, leads to dubious results. Not the first example, and certainly not the last. That's just the way of the world. But the tone of the article is highly judgmental and even snarky. I mean, jeez, I thought I was buying a Prius to save some gas, pollute less and because it got a good recommendation in Consumer Reports. My other cars I bought used. And the last guy I saw driving a Hummer? Well, I don't know him personally, so I can't judge him, but he was fueling up with the motor running while talking on his cell phone. I wish people would be more mindful, no matter what they are driving.
14
MBSR and DBT therapy are based on Buddhist teachings and have helped millions of people. For many people those two practices have been enough and that is just fine. But for those with questions still unanswered who desire to explore further, imagine what embracing the complete "package" could do.
Mindfulness is a way to lead a peaceful, happy life but there is more, much more in Buddhism for those who are not yet satisfied.
Mindfulness is a way to lead a peaceful, happy life but there is more, much more in Buddhism for those who are not yet satisfied.
7
A lot to take in, but very valuable. Thank you.
1
'Mindfulness' is one of the trendier synonyms for the Ninth Intelligence in Howard Gardner's catalog of Multiple Intelligences.
http://tinyurl.com/Ninth-Intelligence
http://tinyurl.com/Ninth-Intelligence
The sanctity of a person's experience in meditation or prayer cannot be violated by corporate bosses or politicians or clever pundits. Respect.
5
Do we really need a label? Do we really need a self-help program, another "management" program? Do we really need a philosophy? Do we really need thousands of people arguing about what is the right term, the right attitude, the right perspective? Do we really need to wrap it up in religion and philosophy and tradition and psychology?
For god sakes, people, why can we not just be kind and don't hurt? What is wrong with just being kind and not hurting? Why can we not just be that way? Why do we have to make it so freaking complicated?
For god sakes, people, why can we not just be kind and don't hurt? What is wrong with just being kind and not hurting? Why can we not just be that way? Why do we have to make it so freaking complicated?
8
Everyone needs to come to Boulder and see where one yoga mom tries to out mindfulness another yoga mom. There's a good reason for the sarcasm.
17
Though this article could be labelled sarcastic, sardonic, smug or snide, the best descriptor is ignorant. She makes light of a very important tool which everyone in this complicated society can use; to breathe and to increase awareness of their body and their mind. She dismisses the real science behind positive psychology and the demonstrated (fMRI) effects of meditation on the brain. Not helpful and not even enjoyable to read.
13
This could have been a much better piece, but the author's snark and fundamental misconceptions of sati's meaning and applicability lead her to some unwarranted conclusions. Though she seems to have understood something that even many Buddhists don't - that 'sati' as Gotama used it means 'remembering the present' - she ridicules what are actually real and valuable modern applications of 'present-moment-remembering', as if Gotama's time and cultural context could somehow be recaptured. They can't.
One tell: she equates Jon Kabat-Zinn's work with 'thinking positive thoughts'. Sorry, Ms. Heffernan, but that's not even close to what MBSR is about, nor to its outcomes. As a Buddhist scholar also familiar with MBSR, I find it hard to avoid the conclusion that the author's understanding is woefully superficial. In fact, participants learn and foster some of the very skills the Buddha himself seems to have taught, unburdened of the often silly dogma with which they were laden by subsequent generations of Buddhist intellectuals who probably didn't even meditate. Like the monk Mahacunda in the Anguttara Nikaya, who encounters a community of monks divided between non-meditating scholastics and non-scholastic meditators, I have to wonder about Ms. Heffernan: which side of the fence are you on, and why all the snark? (Now that I think of it, perhaps your throwing around the word and concept of 'pharmakon' answers the first question.)
One tell: she equates Jon Kabat-Zinn's work with 'thinking positive thoughts'. Sorry, Ms. Heffernan, but that's not even close to what MBSR is about, nor to its outcomes. As a Buddhist scholar also familiar with MBSR, I find it hard to avoid the conclusion that the author's understanding is woefully superficial. In fact, participants learn and foster some of the very skills the Buddha himself seems to have taught, unburdened of the often silly dogma with which they were laden by subsequent generations of Buddhist intellectuals who probably didn't even meditate. Like the monk Mahacunda in the Anguttara Nikaya, who encounters a community of monks divided between non-meditating scholastics and non-scholastic meditators, I have to wonder about Ms. Heffernan: which side of the fence are you on, and why all the snark? (Now that I think of it, perhaps your throwing around the word and concept of 'pharmakon' answers the first question.)
12
Is this the road we're on? Right. Western snake oil by any other name is....
DT Suzuki, Christmas Humphries and Alan Watts did an awful lot to bring Zen to the West. They seem to have gone the way of he dodo. The charlatans have been trying to sell "Orientalism"They made great strides in trying to explain the East to the unschooled Western mind and they didn't try to re-purpose it for it for uses like stressed out mothers, or exec with too much money. Davos? Not in their lifetimes.
There's a sucker born every minute still seems to be valid as an observation. Like the trophy for everyone, we can suddenly cure whatever ails people with a single, SIMPLE word. Hopefully, like yoga pants, it will soon have its 15 minutes of fame and go quietly to the back of the room.
The charlatans have been trying to sell "Orientalism" to the hicks since the 1890's. The American versions are just more efforts to make money off the uninformed, lazy people waiting for someone else to kickstart their lives.
I doubt that "mindfulness" is something that can be squeezed in between breakfast and buying up a blighted company.
DT Suzuki, Christmas Humphries and Alan Watts did an awful lot to bring Zen to the West. They seem to have gone the way of he dodo. The charlatans have been trying to sell "Orientalism"They made great strides in trying to explain the East to the unschooled Western mind and they didn't try to re-purpose it for it for uses like stressed out mothers, or exec with too much money. Davos? Not in their lifetimes.
There's a sucker born every minute still seems to be valid as an observation. Like the trophy for everyone, we can suddenly cure whatever ails people with a single, SIMPLE word. Hopefully, like yoga pants, it will soon have its 15 minutes of fame and go quietly to the back of the room.
The charlatans have been trying to sell "Orientalism" to the hicks since the 1890's. The American versions are just more efforts to make money off the uninformed, lazy people waiting for someone else to kickstart their lives.
I doubt that "mindfulness" is something that can be squeezed in between breakfast and buying up a blighted company.
4
The Buddha taught that morality was the necessary basis for 'mindfulness.'
It is of course the part of the teaching that the Western 'mindfulness' business ignores.
The practice of 'Mindfulness' with the idea of getting or becoming something is an exercise in futility.
How can you help the 'self' when there is no 'self' to help?
It is of course the part of the teaching that the Western 'mindfulness' business ignores.
The practice of 'Mindfulness' with the idea of getting or becoming something is an exercise in futility.
How can you help the 'self' when there is no 'self' to help?
11
Mindfulness meditation is exercise for the mind in the simple context in which it's being taught. If we are more mindful and attentive to our present moment, the only actual moment in which we live, research shows we can improve (not cure) problems with pain, aggression, depression, our performance etc.
Once something becomes popular its quite normal for many to jump on the bandwagon out of a desire to put in their two cents and maybe make a living. What is mindfulness? Ultimately, its an experience and cannot be taught since only the one practicing can feel it. To be esoteric, you are concentrating on the finger not the moon. Having been practicing (and now teaching) mindfulness, I'm fully aware that it will certainly not heal all ills, few will practice it to the extent needed to bring almost any noticeable (or research confirmed) results. However, some will.
Also, I think mindfulness is just coinciding with an exponential, yet still relatively primitive, explosion our understanding of neuroscience as well as an age of distraction that has no historical precedence.
In the end there is no need to worry about either, everything changes, we are startdust, etc, etc...
Once something becomes popular its quite normal for many to jump on the bandwagon out of a desire to put in their two cents and maybe make a living. What is mindfulness? Ultimately, its an experience and cannot be taught since only the one practicing can feel it. To be esoteric, you are concentrating on the finger not the moon. Having been practicing (and now teaching) mindfulness, I'm fully aware that it will certainly not heal all ills, few will practice it to the extent needed to bring almost any noticeable (or research confirmed) results. However, some will.
Also, I think mindfulness is just coinciding with an exponential, yet still relatively primitive, explosion our understanding of neuroscience as well as an age of distraction that has no historical precedence.
In the end there is no need to worry about either, everything changes, we are startdust, etc, etc...
7
Mindfulness - a wonderful Eastern practice - has now been commodified. Why are we surprised? It's like the t-shirt I saw yesterday, "The revolution will be franchised." We just can't help ourselves.
8
Do a little research before composing your snarky article, please!
JKZ has been doing researched base studies on how mindfulness practice can influence stress-related disorders, among other things, for many years. His writing is characterized by a dispassionate approach pretty consistently referring back to rigorous studies he and others have conducted.
Jeez!
JKZ has been doing researched base studies on how mindfulness practice can influence stress-related disorders, among other things, for many years. His writing is characterized by a dispassionate approach pretty consistently referring back to rigorous studies he and others have conducted.
Jeez!
8
Flawed article. How can you ignore the considerable research evidence that supports mindfulness-based interventions for those suffering with behavioral health disorders (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Seeking Safety and so on)? These interventions are widely available and effective.
Emily Gerber, Ph.D.
Emily Gerber, Ph.D.
11
One cultural reference lacking in this mini-survey of our word for the week, 'mindfulness' is from the version of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) first proposed by the U. of Washington professor and psychotherapist, Marsha Linehan in the late 1980s, which she named dialectical behavior therapy, or DBT. Mindfulness is one of the 4 skills taught during the learning phase of this therapy.
Professor Linehan used DBT to treat people with borderline personality disorder, a particularly intransigent and difficult personality disorder which makes forming lasting human relationships nearly impossible. It was, and is still sometimes considered, untreatable by many therapists, precisely because of this inability to form durable, meaningful relationships. People with borderline personality disorder frequently become suicidal and make many, minor, ineffectual attempts at killing themselves as a way to hold others hostage while in relationships with them. So-called 'acting out' is a common set of dramatic, destructive behaviors with those who suffering with this disorder. Most clinicians not only avoid having too many of these patients on their caseloads because they are so time-consuming, but avoid giving out the diagnosis because it is considered to be so damning for the person socially.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialectical_behavior_therapy
6
I'm glad this is being discussed - although the tone of the article came across as snide, I agree. Like any trendy method that promises health and well-being, it's too easy to jump on the self-help bandwagon and start offering classes for money on the internet. But there is another side...
I've done mantra meditation "on and off" (resistance to change!) for 40+ years (The Beatles!), and it's signal benefit was that one day, as a young man, I "woke up" and realized I was here, now, witnessing the miracle of existence, in this body, in this place, in this time - no longer "embedded" in my personal consciousness, but viewing it from an independent perspective. Aware of being aware. That feeling has both enlivened me and haunted me ever since - enlivened, because when I engage with people and with tasks from this perspective, i see them so much more clearly and creatively (beginner's mind!)...haunted, because that special witnessing awareness doesn't come without regular practice, and I found it difficult to practice regularly (same with exercise!). Why do we avoid things that are good for us?
What has happened is that this recent blossoming of articles and programs about mindfulness techniques and research (Anderson Cooper!) has helped me re-dedicate myself to this practice - and for that I am extremely grateful, because...I'm back, baby! (on and off!)
Check out other articles in the Times for a variety of perspectives - I searched mindful NY Times
I've done mantra meditation "on and off" (resistance to change!) for 40+ years (The Beatles!), and it's signal benefit was that one day, as a young man, I "woke up" and realized I was here, now, witnessing the miracle of existence, in this body, in this place, in this time - no longer "embedded" in my personal consciousness, but viewing it from an independent perspective. Aware of being aware. That feeling has both enlivened me and haunted me ever since - enlivened, because when I engage with people and with tasks from this perspective, i see them so much more clearly and creatively (beginner's mind!)...haunted, because that special witnessing awareness doesn't come without regular practice, and I found it difficult to practice regularly (same with exercise!). Why do we avoid things that are good for us?
What has happened is that this recent blossoming of articles and programs about mindfulness techniques and research (Anderson Cooper!) has helped me re-dedicate myself to this practice - and for that I am extremely grateful, because...I'm back, baby! (on and off!)
Check out other articles in the Times for a variety of perspectives - I searched mindful NY Times
7
Mindfulness may indeed be a good idea but it has become a cover for millionaire and billionaire snake oil salespersons to convince us all that they are in touch so focused that need need to let them do what they need to do. We the nonmindful just couldn't understand their other level of existence. I'm sick of it.
Meditation and the related arts are useful but the new prophets are making those things look like circus acts. It really is a shame.
Mindfulness a buzz word to sell millions and millions of books, videos and CDs. Its really to bad.
Meditation and the related arts are useful but the new prophets are making those things look like circus acts. It really is a shame.
Mindfulness a buzz word to sell millions and millions of books, videos and CDs. Its really to bad.
5
A kind of confused article about mindfulness with a very snide tone to it, that is attempting to deconstruct something that the author seems to have very little grasp on. I'm not defending the concept or the practice in general, as such, I just don't like that she says, with very little qualification or elaboration "No one word, however shiny, however intriguingly Eastern, however bolstered by science, can ever fix the human condition." Which human condition is she talking about? The "original sin" (or first noble truth of Buddhism) - laden idea that has filtered down into the tortured existentialists and postmodernists that most NY Times journalists and readers probably study at University? Maybe, but it strikes me that overall she is putting down the whole project of introducing a beneficial practice and way of life because some people take it in a way that she finds politically unpalatable - because they are demonstrating bourgeois attitudes.
I point her and others to the vast literature from Eastern and Western writers - spiritual teachers and religious figures that significantly expands on, and in my opinion clarifies the very small notion of human nature and "reality" getting around the "postmodern" scene - in social science / humanities departments for example. Ken Wilber's work is in part a demonstration of this.
I point her and others to the vast literature from Eastern and Western writers - spiritual teachers and religious figures that significantly expands on, and in my opinion clarifies the very small notion of human nature and "reality" getting around the "postmodern" scene - in social science / humanities departments for example. Ken Wilber's work is in part a demonstration of this.
15
Thank you for this. As a long-time Zen Buddhist practitioner, I find myself dismayed when I see these practices being adapted in ways that run contrary to their true spirits. Lately the trend is "mindfulness" in the workplace, which usually means teaching folks to meditate so they can better endure endless, stressful work hours and/or increase productivity when performing tasks or producing products that may cause personal or environmental harm. True mindfulness, however, strives to change the very conditions that cause stress and physical/spiritual harm. It's not an adaptive technique; it's cultural revolution. The very people who believe they are being served by learning these techniques are actually just becoming more compliant tools.
42
What exactly is the point of this article? To belittle and dismiss people who are making an effort at self-improvement that harms no one and does a great deal of good for many? The air of superiority and judgement in the language is particularly offensive. Mindfulness is a tool, a skill, a practice. It might not be for everyone, but it's certainly not the snake oil the author makes it out to be. In fact, for me, it's been pretty darn helpful.
21
As often happens when I read the Times, I find the comments to be more useful than the actual article. I've been using Andy Puddicombe's Headspace for a year and a half now. I spend a few minutes at the start focusing on my intention and how my meditation will affect those around me. This practice has introduced a subtle shift in my perspective. It hasn't solved my problems, turned me into a high powered C Suite exec, or made me a better parent. My initial intention as to learn to think differently about my perceived challenges and to be more accepting of the "human condition" not necessarily to fix it.
16
The author presents a lot of verbage regarding the fad of mindfulness (the emperor's new clothing?) but presents nothing in the way of controlled research on the concept, its definitions, or its alleged positive effects....that would have been worth reading.
12
Wow, what an immense display of cynicism. Sure, money grabbers have twisted the concept to fit their desire for profit, that's the American way. But don't equate the message with the messenger. You seem to be dismissing the concept of mindfulness because some people have misappropriated the term.
28
From the time I was 15 until I was 21 I was hospitalized for psychiatric reasons (primarily severe sucidal thoughts) 12 times, stays ranging from 4 to 30 days. I spent a cumulative 6 months in day treatment, a year in a therapeutic day school, and a year and a half in a youth residential treatment center.
So I had a lot of therapy. Most of it was absolutely worthless, however I was very fortunate to have a couple brief stints in Dialectic Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. At the core of both is learning basic mindfulness skills. My thoughts were obsessive compulsive- I had uncontrollable thoughts, images, and urges to harm myself. These happened all the time. It was hell.
I was taught how to sit with them- experience them without fighting or feeding them. Stay in the moment, let the thoughts pass by. This saved my life. I'm 29, and I still have the thoughts periodically- but I know now how to get through them. Nothing, not positive thinking, not lists of coping skills, not dissecting my life story helped as well as mindfulness skills helped. The great thing about these skills is I could learn them and quickly apply them to real life.
It wasn't elitest- the programs I was in were largely state funded. The only thing I wish is that I had had more of it- many programs utilized more dated methods that did not work well for me, or really the other kids in them.
So I had a lot of therapy. Most of it was absolutely worthless, however I was very fortunate to have a couple brief stints in Dialectic Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. At the core of both is learning basic mindfulness skills. My thoughts were obsessive compulsive- I had uncontrollable thoughts, images, and urges to harm myself. These happened all the time. It was hell.
I was taught how to sit with them- experience them without fighting or feeding them. Stay in the moment, let the thoughts pass by. This saved my life. I'm 29, and I still have the thoughts periodically- but I know now how to get through them. Nothing, not positive thinking, not lists of coping skills, not dissecting my life story helped as well as mindfulness skills helped. The great thing about these skills is I could learn them and quickly apply them to real life.
It wasn't elitest- the programs I was in were largely state funded. The only thing I wish is that I had had more of it- many programs utilized more dated methods that did not work well for me, or really the other kids in them.
63
To live an actively mindful life one would consider the cause and effect of each thought or action to their personal being and systemic environment. Mindful eating would be healthy if one cared about personal health, or harmful if there was a lack of personal care priority, Food sources would considered, in the same bite as taste, with awareness of the social, financial, and environmental impacts. Mindful employment would consider the quality of each good or service produced, and the future impact of that production upon the recipient, as well as the environment and industry that supported the production. Mindful conversation would consider the power of the spoken word, affirmative, judgmental or condemning, on family, friends and community. Could a truly mindful person work in an industry that harms people or the environment? Could a mindful person be excessively compensated while living in a world that does not provide resources for other citizens. Mindfulness is attractive yet threatening, which is why it may not yet be a formative force of a capitalistic or acquisitive society, I consider mindfulness in “Maybe it's Time for a Daily or Weekly Monk Mode” at my website http://ahomeforme.com/Monk%20Mode%20Daily.htm
1
As a physician/psychiatrist (Ivy league trained at very traditional psychoanalytic AND neurobiologic approaches and rigorous EBM approach) with a longstanding interest in contemplative practices is people's spiritual lives, I made the effort to learn as much as possible about mindfulness. Yes it is getting the big hype just now. And yes, Jon K-Z going to Davos raises questions--but if anyone can keep his head straight its him, I assume he is doing this for good reasons.
The article should state that there is a growing and robust evidence base for the clinical effectiveness of MBSR in clinical trials. There is also a growing scientific literature upon the neuroscience understanding of mindfulness. If Tom Insel is involved, you can bet its 100% science. Tom of course has been sharply criticized for being interested only in basic science research and not in funding studies that can change patients' lives for the better NOW-like mindfulness can and does.
Having now taken a real course in MBSR, participated in several others, and preparing to become a teacher, I am convinced it is a very helpful addition to most people's personal lives. I am also convinced it can and should be part of most modern behavioral health practitioners' toolboxes.
The article should state that there is a growing and robust evidence base for the clinical effectiveness of MBSR in clinical trials. There is also a growing scientific literature upon the neuroscience understanding of mindfulness. If Tom Insel is involved, you can bet its 100% science. Tom of course has been sharply criticized for being interested only in basic science research and not in funding studies that can change patients' lives for the better NOW-like mindfulness can and does.
Having now taken a real course in MBSR, participated in several others, and preparing to become a teacher, I am convinced it is a very helpful addition to most people's personal lives. I am also convinced it can and should be part of most modern behavioral health practitioners' toolboxes.
14
The title of this article, "The Muddied Meaning of Mindfulness" is very apt. In fact, there is no single meaning to the word "mindfulness," whether one is referring to the mindfulness of an enlightened Buddha, or the mindfulness of a CEO whose sole focus is to rise in the corporate world. Or for that matter, the mindfulness of an infant suckling at its mother's breast. All are instances of mindfulness of one kind or another.
The comments to this article corroborate my point, as people find mindfulness in their own ways, and all of them are legitimate definitions of mindfulness...at least to themselves if not someone else.
The truth is that everyone practices mindfulness all the time, in one way or another. Without being mindful, one can get killed crossing a street. My point is that all sentient creatures practice mindfulness all the time, at one level or another. It is this quality of being "sentient" that is the foundation of mindfulness. So by virtue of being a sentient being who has so far managed to survive, you are a mindful person, in the same sense as a Buddha is mindful.
So what is the difference between you and a Buddha? Well, that is an interesting question, one for another essay. But the difference is less than you may think.
The comments to this article corroborate my point, as people find mindfulness in their own ways, and all of them are legitimate definitions of mindfulness...at least to themselves if not someone else.
The truth is that everyone practices mindfulness all the time, in one way or another. Without being mindful, one can get killed crossing a street. My point is that all sentient creatures practice mindfulness all the time, at one level or another. It is this quality of being "sentient" that is the foundation of mindfulness. So by virtue of being a sentient being who has so far managed to survive, you are a mindful person, in the same sense as a Buddha is mindful.
So what is the difference between you and a Buddha? Well, that is an interesting question, one for another essay. But the difference is less than you may think.
4
This is an interesting article to be reading, as I've just completed the eight-week MBSR course developed by Zinn myself. The author is right, I think, to indict mindfulness, in its current promulgation, as having too little to do with compassion for others. While I have found that MBSR has greatly helped me personally, I was dismayed at how quickly it glazed over being mindful of those in our lives outside of ourselves - it does attempt to do so with a Loving Kindness meditation, which, form what I understand, is a core aspect of many Buddhist traditions, but it only encourages you to practice that meditation one, singular time in the entire 8 weeks of the course. The idea seems to be that if we build self-compassion, we will naturally be compassionate to the other, but I think that, in the West of 2015, Kabat-Zinn and his cohort have not adequately anticipated how already self-absorbed we already are. While it's true that this self-absorption can be the cause of much, if not all, of our own personal suffering, once we find relief from our own self-inflicted malady, many of us are not wont to then extend that relief to other people. The kernel, in other words, of compassion is there, but there needs to be a recalibration of emphasis. Speaking of the commodification of dharma supposedly inherent in MBSR, here's a link to the free MBSR course I took online for those interested: http://palousemindfulness.com/selfguidedMBSR.html
4
Just what the world needed, a mindless article on mindfulness.
It's foolish to attack an idea on the actions of it's most foolish and unscrupulous and just plain uninformed adherents.
It's foolish to attack an idea on the actions of it's most foolish and unscrupulous and just plain uninformed adherents.
7
Be mindful of your apostrophes.
3
How can Corporatocracy possibly have anything to do with Mindfulness?
2
There's money to be made. Need I say more?
1
Most Americans lack in-depth knowledge of the Eastern traditions, so naturally they don't have any real understanding of the practices associated with these traditions.
This author is cynical and that's ok. Distortions of fundamentally good insights or principles relating to a deeper understanding of reality happen in every age - in part because there are always hucksters as well as people who want something for nothing, and they inevitably find one another. I should note that I think Zinn is not at all in this category, but has valid insights helpful to many.
And a fair number of people are seeking a better life, and not just on the material level. And some type of introduction, even in corporate America, to mindfulness or insight meditation is probably good, or at least has the potential to be.
But if one wants a deeper understanding from these traditions, one is invited to consider the human dilemma as a result of deeply held erroneous beliefs coupled with a misuse of desire. Uncontrolled desires and beliefs lead us to suffering. In other words, the ordinary mind and its contents are the problem and we'll never reason or rationalize our way out.
If you want penetrative understanding and peace of mind you have to deserve them, mindfulness as a practice can start you on the way. For most it won't just be a one lifetime project, it will be a many lifetime process. But we're all free to start a serious investigation of these matters today - if we're truly interested.
This author is cynical and that's ok. Distortions of fundamentally good insights or principles relating to a deeper understanding of reality happen in every age - in part because there are always hucksters as well as people who want something for nothing, and they inevitably find one another. I should note that I think Zinn is not at all in this category, but has valid insights helpful to many.
And a fair number of people are seeking a better life, and not just on the material level. And some type of introduction, even in corporate America, to mindfulness or insight meditation is probably good, or at least has the potential to be.
But if one wants a deeper understanding from these traditions, one is invited to consider the human dilemma as a result of deeply held erroneous beliefs coupled with a misuse of desire. Uncontrolled desires and beliefs lead us to suffering. In other words, the ordinary mind and its contents are the problem and we'll never reason or rationalize our way out.
If you want penetrative understanding and peace of mind you have to deserve them, mindfulness as a practice can start you on the way. For most it won't just be a one lifetime project, it will be a many lifetime process. But we're all free to start a serious investigation of these matters today - if we're truly interested.
3
At my currently advanced age, I would say an important part of "mindfulness" is watching where you're going at all times.
7
Especially while driving.
1
Just another trendy fad for groovy liberals with not else better to do than to pack themselves on the back to feel good about themselves.
1
Just? JUST?? You seem to be forgetting, SB, that a practice over 2500 years old is somewhat more than 'just' a trend. Furthermore, mindfulness does not lead to practitioners "feel[ing] good about themselves", but to becoming far more aware of how feelings and selves actually come to be. It's not about "packing [sic] themselves on the back" so much as coming to realize how impersonal those "selves' actually are. Heed that, Southern Boy - it's no less true of who you or any of us think we are.
This essay sent me to Wikipedia to investigate another word, new to me: "pharmakon." An interesting and worthwhile detour.
2
Neurosis is the avoidance (desperate avoidance or "mindful" avoidance) of the legitimate suffering of life. That being said attentiveness to your feelings and circumstance with a neutral mind set and a determination to not "awfulize" can be a very helpful cognitive process to "practice"!
2
"Clueless" is what comes to mind when I read this.
2
The problem with the word "mindfulness" is that it points people in exactly the wrong direction if their goal is to achieve the state, or anything resembling the state, that the Buddhists call "sati." It would be more accurate to call it "mindlessness."
Why? Because what is being sought is actually to move through experience from a place beyond "mind," i.e., beyond the chattering, judging, plotting, seeking, striving, fearing, reacting, controlling voice in their head. "Paying attention on purpose" as a definition is equally unhelpful; it presents this state of being as something the mind can set itself about doing.
At best, this approach results in people retraining their minds to chatter not about what is going to happen yesterday or might tomorrow but about what is happening in the present. That can reduce stress to some degree, but it does nothing to eliminate the barrier the mind's chatter creates between us and the present moment, and it also tends to stop us from engaging in activities that actually benefit us, such as simply letting the mind wander and free-associate.
"Sati," on the other hand, isn't about the mind DOING anything at all. Rather, "sati" is receptivity. It's allowing. It's openness. It's a state in which rather than monitoring and judging the content of thoughts, there is simply a gentle, subtle awareness of what is arising in the mind and body and the letting go of anything that is out of alignment with reality.
Why? Because what is being sought is actually to move through experience from a place beyond "mind," i.e., beyond the chattering, judging, plotting, seeking, striving, fearing, reacting, controlling voice in their head. "Paying attention on purpose" as a definition is equally unhelpful; it presents this state of being as something the mind can set itself about doing.
At best, this approach results in people retraining their minds to chatter not about what is going to happen yesterday or might tomorrow but about what is happening in the present. That can reduce stress to some degree, but it does nothing to eliminate the barrier the mind's chatter creates between us and the present moment, and it also tends to stop us from engaging in activities that actually benefit us, such as simply letting the mind wander and free-associate.
"Sati," on the other hand, isn't about the mind DOING anything at all. Rather, "sati" is receptivity. It's allowing. It's openness. It's a state in which rather than monitoring and judging the content of thoughts, there is simply a gentle, subtle awareness of what is arising in the mind and body and the letting go of anything that is out of alignment with reality.
6
In defense of mindfulness all I will say is that it is better than it's opposite: mindlessness such as walking down the street with your nose in your smart phone and falling down an open manhole.
6
Spot-on, Virginia Heffernan. Thanks for the balance.
2
First a joke. Whenever I mean to say mindfulness, I often say, "mindlessness" and oddly they are indeed two sides of the same coin. It's very close to Zen. Zen was for a while a food and fashion brand but the actual thing people discovered is no day at the beach to do regularly! Then now we get mindfulness. It's like live in the moment but it's also not FOR the moment alone, which would be hedonism. I meditate every day and yet I would LOVE to be mindful throughout the day as well. I mean, I have been slowly slowly but so not there yet. Just because CEO's discovered some wisdom doesn't make it bad. False dichotomies will get you nowhere. Everyone has Buddha nature.
2
Meditation is just that. It is not Buddhist, Hindu, Catholic... Yes people of all faith and all being with consciousness meditate when they are mindful. Sati's etymology both in Sanskrit and Bali is 'sat' meaning truth. Mindfulness simply put is being in present; the philosophical undertones include not being in future (avoiding expectations, desires....) and not being in past (not being judgmental, not having regrets...). The author probably is erudite but not wise yet. Peace.
5
Hmph. Methinks the offended protest way too much. Nothing, not even our quiet moments, our intimate thoughts, our wresting our attention away from the fray, our prayers, our very breath, is not fodder. Nothing. And by the way, an exemplary piece of writing. Thanks VH.
What is the "mind"? What does it mean to be full of the mind? Who is the observer of this mind?
3
"Pharmakon," my new word of the day. I thought I understood what it meant in context, but when I did some more research, I discovered that it was not, in fact, a blend of pharmacology and jargon word, as I'd assumed. Its set of double and opposite meanings (remedy/poison) makes it a fascinating and useful word. Thank you, New York Times (and Virginia Heffernan!) for educating me today, as you so often do.
3
Mindfully whipsmart and hilarious. I love you Virginia Heffernan! I wish we were friends so I could just hang out together.
3
Nice and necessary article given the mistranslations, commodification and over-simplification of what is actually a very complex concept. The bottom line is that few humans are ready for the deeper exploration of mindfulness as one part of the eightfold path leading toward liberation from suffering, which was the original Buddhist context in which the term appeared. However if the current watered down versions provide some solace to people in dealing with the stress of daily living, then surely it should still be considered beneficial, or at the least not harmful. It is probably unlikely that many of these individuals would have probed deeper if it were not presented in non-challenging, non-threatening packaging; conversely, I doubt that anyone truly intent on seeking liberation from suffering would be satisfied with the "mindfulness for dummies" version, and would likely probe deeper and find more authentic teachings anyway.
9
Mindfulness has been co-opted by the ego in this culture (like yoga) which is antithetical to its true purpose.
3
my experience with "mindfulness" is at learning to give my attention to the present without imagining the future or re imagining the past. It requires a sense that I can never know the true meaning of the world, and a humility of knowing that I am just a tiny part of it. It is not used to attain productivity, or fame or fortune, but rather to give what I have to whatever my attention has brought me to, and to participate in the real world, not spend my time in the fantasies of an ego. Having said that, i as well as everyone else, am far from perfect in being mindful all the time.
2
While I understand how those who have followed Jon Kabat-Zinn, and have been helped by his program, are defensive and protective, the article, if read in full, isn't an attack on Kabat-Zinn, but a critique of America taking complex spiritual systems, stripping away many of the necessary (and often uncomfortable) tenets they embody, and transforming them into marketable feel-good commodities. This isn't new. It is remarkable how many American individuals and groups try to reduce the Bible to "God helps those who help themselves." It may be their ethos, but it's nothing but Benjamin Franklin's balm to the powerful; the Bible actually says the opposite. I get it when people speak about how mindfulness has made them feel better, but mindfulness is only a tool and feeling better is meaningless if you fail to gain greater compassion for all living beings and seek to achieve enlightenment for the betterment of all beings. It may have helped if the author emphasized that the guy who came up with this system was part of the .01% but gave it all up. He wasn't interested in making himself feel better; he was a Prince and already felt great. What he sought was to alleviate the suffering of others. Sati was only meant to be a step that would let you travel the path to help others. It was never the path, and certainly not the end of the path.
5
Practicing Mindfulness helped me survive Hurricane Sandy.The ocean ,surging 8 feet high in the streets, was climbing my stairs and slamming against my home. The practice of mindful meditation helped keep me calm though the most terrifying experience of my life. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it while in the midst of a natural disaster.
4
Some of these words really achieve general circulation, but some remain precious verbal emoticons within certain groups, particularly when the Web makes it so easy to self proclaim and publish.
By practicing "mindfulness," I am learning to insert space between stimulus and a gut response which was automatic and often exacerbated an already stressful situation. This teaching whether it has been presented by Jon Katbat Zinn, Pema Chodron, or Eckhart Tolle is helping me immensely. I don't spend zillions of dollars on going to workshops or training and I am far from one of the 1%. But books and audio downloads from Soundstrue.com are helping me deal with post traumatic stress and a bag overflowing with neurosis. This surely works better than any anti depressant that I tried. Why not become mindful? I hope that the One Percenters do become cognizant of their actions and how it impacts others.
4
Rather than mindlessly adopting an opinion, apparently with no motivation beyond attracting readers, and writing an article that could have come out of Wikipedia, the author might have made the effort to know what she was talking about rather that just sounding like she knew what she's talking about--not that I have anything against Wikipedia. Why do articles like this land in the times? Oh for the days when accuracy and significance trumped entertainment
38
What exactly was inaccurate? Virginia Heffernan researched a word unknown to many if not most readers, gave us the facts, and covered the issues associated with that word in an entertaining way. So now we know more than we did before.
1
Bravo to you haas !!!!
Exactly. It "might" mean different things in different writings. It "might" be pablum equivalent to positive thinking. It might be this, it might be that. But God forbid the reporter actually read something, talk to some people who actually know something about it, engage in some rigorous analytical thought about whether it actually is being used differently in different contexts, or whether its use in corporate contexts is essentially a misuse (some Buddhists have written thoughtfully on this question). The comparison to Wikipedia is unfair- to Wikipedia. Many Wikipedia articles are considerably better than this.
4
Kabat-Zinn's program has helped many, many destitute people around the world achieve a sliver of peace in their lives. The article's thesis, which is, seemingly, that mindfulness is not a cure-all, was already pretty self-evident. But it's trumped up to be a startling conclusion. But dismissing a program that has essentially saved the lives of millions -- not to get into the more subtle aspect of simple improvement of human life -- as flippant and pandering to the 1% is a touch silly (and, probably, harmful). The author's skepticism is brought on and not surprising given the main-streaming of the program, but, please, use your time to actually dismiss fraking, not (one of the few) programs doing essential good for the world, even if the program is imperfect. Opportunism overtook equanimity in authorship here, ironically, and sadly.
23
Y'all need to chill and not be so defensive. She's not dismissing "mindfulness" as useful or even lifesaving. She's pointing out the hijacking of it. Jeez. Everybody is so ironically uptight here.
2
My understanding of Mindfulness is simultaneous awareness of our integrative and experiential nature. As we absorb so many experiences, we may not always allow ourselves create an integrative meaning of daily life. Our brains like to blend experience into memory so we can build a depth of personal understanding. If you have ever woken up thinking about something, you may be experiencing a glimmer of the process, and what is priority for your integrative self. In my quest for mindfulness. I make time for nothingness, to experience what my mind wants me to focus on. Anytime I sit and stare, my thoughts present memories of life, love, family, fears, accomplishment, foods, music, travels, unrealized dreams, and life path objectives. By authenticating these glimmers of internal direction, I allow my life to be molded by experience, life plans and introspection. I consider mindfulness in my Monk Mode article at my website http://ahomeforme.com/Monk%20Mode%20Daily.htm
2
After spending many years immersed in the spiritual teachings and physical practice of Hatha yoga, I soured on the hypocrisy I found there. "Mindfulness" is, in the real world of universally flawed humans, too often nothing more than self-justification for self-centered thinking and a free pass to judge (condemn) others. We humans are egotistical creatures, no matter how much we may pretend to have reached a higher plane. We compare ourselves to those around us, and we judge. We are jealous, so we disparage. Judgement seeps through the cracks even in this otherwise well-crafted essay (the snipe about Hummer drivers is a cheap shot). I have read widely on Buddhism and have attempted to adopt that way of living and thinking (with limited success, I admit, as I am an angry person). What is too often forgotten or ignored when people talk about this permutation of sati that we call mindfulness is that in Buddhism sati is part of a larger doctrine that includes self-abnegation. Humility is required. Humility is not something I see in modern society.
14
My cousin, let's call her Sophie, and her husband recently built a new "house" for, according to them, "around seven million dollars." Sophie has been a devotee of mindfulness meditation for a long time, at least three years. So she had a mindfulness meditation room built as an L on their new house. Yes, it added nearly a million dollars to the cost, but it has the right amount of sun, the right light, silent heating system, 18 foot stone fireplace, etc. As far as I know Soph and her husband also donate generously to their and their kids private schools and colleges and especially to her meditation teacher's not-for-profit corporation. I am not aware that they donate one penny to the poor or programs for the elderly or sick or disadvantaged. Yes, they do give generously to the most awful Tea Party Republicans--think Ted Cruz--but that's not considered charity. Far from it, actually. In my humble experience, and I wish it were only with Sophie, mindfulness is merely a code word for absolute selfishness.
17
is this true?
Thank you for the article. As a Buddhist of twenty-something years and a psychotherapist it has been interesting to watch the growth of mindfulness as a commodity. Interestingly when Trungpa RInpoche, arguably the first Tibetan Buddhist teacher to bring the teachings to the US, taught, his first topic was "spiritual materialism". The pitfalls of commodifying the dharma, which is inevitable because in every moment we are creating a product called "me." The mindfulness industry is just a massive elaboration of that mistake we make in every moment.
25
Eckhart Tolle's use of the word Now, bringing attention to the present moment is the same as being mindful. The advaitan non duality's concept of awareness, being aware, is the same.
4
Perhaps the author's snide attitude comes from a feeling of being threatened by something which comes from the East? I do not know what her motives are but her biases are obvious.
Is she someone who wants to hew to the Judeo-Christian tradition and dislikes the Other?
Or is she someone who fears that the secular defeat of the Judeo-Christian tradition is being undermined by a secular sounding word, Mindfulness?
Is she someone who wants to hew to the Judeo-Christian tradition and dislikes the Other?
Or is she someone who fears that the secular defeat of the Judeo-Christian tradition is being undermined by a secular sounding word, Mindfulness?
2
Are there more rigorous Buddhist tenets than the Four Noble Truths? And yet the Fourth of them states rather clearly that there is a way that leads to the cessation of suffering. True, it involves a rather radical transformation of one's way of being alive; but it's not just a matter of "facing suffering." Suffering, for Buddhists, is a consequence of craving, and craving is a consequence of ignorance.
7
I am compelled to jump to the author's defense in response to those offended readers who seem to have confused her intent here. Perhaps they did not actually read the article to its conclusion? Or did not read with understanding? Either way, an interesting commentary on our distracted, rushed culture. Her penultimate sentence,..... "And that’s what commercial mindfulness may have lost from the most rigorous Buddhist tenets it replaced: the implication that suffering cannot be escaped but must be faced." .... makes it clear that she understands that meditation practice and bodhichitta are not intended to make one succeed or feel good.
21
Perhaps, but then she also says, with very little qualification or elaboration "No one word, however shiny, however intriguingly Eastern, however bolstered by science, can ever fix the human condition." Which human condition? The "original sin" (or first noble truth) - laden idea that has filtered down into the tortured existentialists and postmodernists that she reads at University. Maybe, but it strikes me that overall she is putting down the whole project of introducing a beneficial practice and way of life because some people take it in a way that she finds politically unpalatable - because they are demonstrating bourgeois attitudes.
I certainly don't feel that I misunderstood intent here, AND I read to the end. The author, in my opinion, ridicules both mindfulness and, more importantly, its practitioners. And, as a NYT reader, I expect a more nuanced and journalistic approach to a subject like this. Again in my opinion, this article would have been better served up as a "cartoon" that satirizes its subject and we can all laugh whether we disagree or not. Please also do not suggest I do not read with understanding simply because I disagree with you.
3
My thought exactly. The "concept" of mindfullness has been a part of secular,religious, medical and mental health teachings since the dawn of ages. What I agree with the author is that this has become a TOOL used by those in charge to push people even harder and squeeze every last ounce of value from their subjects. I myself have been trained and educated at a sizeable cost, first in "Health Coaching" then "Wellness Coaching" for the sole purpose of making the employees of my company more productive and less likely to have meltdowns,breakdowns, health,drug,alcohol and agression problems mostly caused by or contributed to in part by their stressful working conditions. It reminds me of the mass hysteria for the Beenie Babies...I'm all for stress reduction but employers were sold a bill of goods and they expect a return on their investment. This whole concept has become a multi BILLION dollar industry which has, from the pt/client perspective one agenda...a calmer more purposful life. Unfortunately they dont realize the real agendas. The boss want more work out of each employee,a return on his "investment" and the purveyors of this philosophy (which by the way isnt new) have to make money.. What we now have is even more stress.
Now EVERYONE.....Just breath deep and focus
Now EVERYONE.....Just breath deep and focus
1
As just a plain spoken guy reading through the author's explanation of mindfulness I was made aware by paying close attention to what's happening in today's spiritual and philosophical present moment.
But alas, reading the readers' comments reminded me of the human condition of rejection, dismissiveness, and despair.
Nevertheless I'm inspired to ask my personal physical trainer if he knows any Buddhist teachers of this new technique of mindfulness awareness of my breath and thoughts.
Thank you, New York Times!
But alas, reading the readers' comments reminded me of the human condition of rejection, dismissiveness, and despair.
Nevertheless I'm inspired to ask my personal physical trainer if he knows any Buddhist teachers of this new technique of mindfulness awareness of my breath and thoughts.
Thank you, New York Times!
6
Hey Cowboy! Read some Pema Chodron. She is a wonderful gentle teacher, and free! (:
2
Thanks, thanks, and thanks again, Marjorie.
1
As per usual the self help industry takes the zeitgeisty concept of the moment and repackages it for the '1 percenters'. Everybody makes money. Except for those who are perhaps under a 'mindful' boss who's worked out how to get more productivity out his/hers workforce. Yes, I'm mindful of my cynicism.
6
Being fully aware of the controversies around turning an ancient practice directly linked with ethical concepts and norms in the Noble Eightfold Path into a management tool, I wanted to share my own personal experience with mindfulness: I started out with a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course 3 years ago based on Jon Kabat-Zinn´s approach to manage stress caused through work and a failing relationship. The course´s effects on my personal well-being were impressive - and Jon Kabat-Zinn´s beautiful guided Metta meditation evoked in me a great curiousity and calling to explore the Buddhist thoughts and practices underneath that modern concept which had so much benefited me. Now, 3 years later, I have a regular and committed "Buddhist" practice including much stronger daily attention to "right livelihood" in the sense of being generous and considering the well-being of others alongside my own.
Personally, I am deeply grateful to the modern concepts of mindfulness and MBSR for having opened a door for me to much deeper truths. I am sure I am not the only person with this experience.
Personally, I am deeply grateful to the modern concepts of mindfulness and MBSR for having opened a door for me to much deeper truths. I am sure I am not the only person with this experience.
15
Great reply! Thank you!
And we don't need to look farther than the Harvard psychology (sic) department to find out why "mindfulness" has become a meaningless marketing tool. LOL
I think it's a seductively well-written article. It illustrates well the concerns that we all have about the potential pitfalls of the mindfulness movement. But the article is just that, concerns and speculation; not necessarily truth borne out by experience. As such we should watch out for an additional danger: that this kind of articulate speculation feeds and justifies a particularly "Buddhist" brand of cynicism. (I mean "Buddhist" as in people who identify themselves as such, rather than "Buddhist" as in adherence to the Precepts.)
Here's one counter-argument: What if following one of the Seven Factors of Enlightenment (in this case, Right Mindfulness) leads like a tributary to the source from which the other six factors can also spring?
Why do we imagine that Mindfulness is the only quality that will ever be learned or taught? If a parent of an afternoon teaches his child a single quality, such as patience, do we rise to arms and worry that the child will not also figure out how to be kind, and therefore could grow up to be a patient monster?
Until a Mindfulness trainee goes postal, I really wouldn't worry.
Here's one counter-argument: What if following one of the Seven Factors of Enlightenment (in this case, Right Mindfulness) leads like a tributary to the source from which the other six factors can also spring?
Why do we imagine that Mindfulness is the only quality that will ever be learned or taught? If a parent of an afternoon teaches his child a single quality, such as patience, do we rise to arms and worry that the child will not also figure out how to be kind, and therefore could grow up to be a patient monster?
Until a Mindfulness trainee goes postal, I really wouldn't worry.
7
Mindfulness has, in the West been around for a long time without any connection to Buddhism. it has long been a sought-after quality that is foremost among the character and performance traits of uniform services in all branches of the military and professional maritime craft. in this form, mindfulness or situational awareness comes into play when complex, safety-critical situations are encountered and must be reacted to quickly and decisively. Training in mindfulness improves the ability to take those quick decisions and take the right ones. it is best exemplified by the watch stander of a ship who must be prepared for all concievable continencies and some that haven't yet been conceived.
1
My meditation teacher (and in full disclosure, my employer) wrote an essay analyzing the meanings of "mindfulness" from various points of view (the word, the awareness, the practices, the path, the translation, the fad, the shadow, the possible revolution, etc.):
What is Mindfulness? A Comprehensive Overview by Shinzen Young
http://shinzen.org/Articles/WhatIsMindfulness_SY_Public.pdf
What is Mindfulness? A Comprehensive Overview by Shinzen Young
http://shinzen.org/Articles/WhatIsMindfulness_SY_Public.pdf
3
Emily, thank you for sharing the article by Shinzen Young.
"No one word, however shiny, however intriguingly Eastern, however bolstered by science, can ever fix the human condition."
The human condition is not meant to be fixed...it is like a flowing river of constant change and surprise in which a "mindful" or "meditative moment" is an island where one may have a short rest and experience the jot of joy embedded in the moment of relief.
The human condition is not meant to be fixed...it is like a flowing river of constant change and surprise in which a "mindful" or "meditative moment" is an island where one may have a short rest and experience the jot of joy embedded in the moment of relief.
36
And realise and free yourself (wake up) from the illusion of the Matrix, i.e., the extent to which society's norms and culture have a hold over you. That I think is its greatest power - it's not just what it does for you (which it does) but what it makes you aware of when you reflect non-judgementally of yourself and others. The more you do it, more aware and more awake you become.
4
In spite of its muddled meanings, the essence of mindfulness–cultivating skills of attention to erode the power of the default narrative mode–is worth ruling out for yourself.
I'm the first to argue that the word is imperfect and burdened with challenging associations, but just because the whole matter evades easy description doesn't make it trivial. Just because it's easily watered down doesn't mean there isn't substance lurking within its intangibility.
Be slow to rule out learning to play the piano, writing poetry, committing to a relationship, gardening, studying math or science, talking to a therapist, raising a child, or behaving ethically based on the overwhelming evidence of futility.
Changing your relationship to your thoughts, feelings, and the natural unfolding of your life is not a fad. There is not one right way. There will never be a perfectly prescribed path.
Find a messy, challenging, interesting way that works for you and give it a chance to reveal its unimaginable benefits.
http://about.me/daronlarson
I'm the first to argue that the word is imperfect and burdened with challenging associations, but just because the whole matter evades easy description doesn't make it trivial. Just because it's easily watered down doesn't mean there isn't substance lurking within its intangibility.
Be slow to rule out learning to play the piano, writing poetry, committing to a relationship, gardening, studying math or science, talking to a therapist, raising a child, or behaving ethically based on the overwhelming evidence of futility.
Changing your relationship to your thoughts, feelings, and the natural unfolding of your life is not a fad. There is not one right way. There will never be a perfectly prescribed path.
Find a messy, challenging, interesting way that works for you and give it a chance to reveal its unimaginable benefits.
http://about.me/daronlarson
22
Indeed - excellent words. I'd offer "integrity" as a substitute for "behaving ethically based on the overwhelming evidence of futility."
2
The problem here is that Mindfulness and Right Livelihood are inseparable. Offering Mindfulness to corporate honchos as a greed enhancement tool might be a moneymaker for the current batch of snake oil hawkers but it doesn't have much to do with Mindfulness.
24
Where is light, there is shadow. The word love, for example, is also easliy exploited for commercial purposes and often misunderstood. Anchored mindfulness in life through meditation reveals to us in a positive way the groundlessness of our self. Here is an appropriate quote excerpted from the book 'No Time to Lose' by Pema Chodron page 22: OUR DARKEST MOMENT - 'If we haven’t relaxed with groundlessness during our life, death may well be terrifying. But if we’ve given birth to bodhichitta [awakened heart], death won’t cause us to retreat into self-absorption, no matter now afraid we might be. Even fear will connect us with all the others who are equally terrified and alone. Right there, in what might be our darkest moment, we will be able to connect with the tenderness of basic goodness. Dying like this is said to be a joy.'
9
A slightly clever but superficial analysis that skims along the surface of mindfulness like a stone tripping along a pond. It sinks with 'hefty' phrases like,"mindfulness as the pharmakon for a heterogeneous deck of modern infirmities."
35
The author appears frustrated by the popularity of mindfulness, and with the idea that mindfulness was inappropriately separated from contemplation -- which author sees in a religious context. I think author's premise has value -- but it does not seem to be an appropriate transition to writer's argument that current society has bastardized mindfulness. My experience is that mindfulness exists on a spectrum, and it is approached by individuals in the context of where one "sits" on the spectrum ( for example, the data entry clerk vs a monk, etc.). Regarding the source of current popularity-- the author traces it to the self help genre of a few decades ago and trends in self help genre. I would argue that the present focus on mindfulness for many is that it is an anecdote to multi tasking, intrusive technology and other stuff like that which increasingly minimizes our ability to appreciate what surrounds us.
1
If you have read more than one management book or attended more than one management class you know that they are awash with recycled and renamed concepts that are, at best, the articulation of common sense. Most folks have not heard of or care about "mindfulness", and the article shows that in repackaging it is all things to all people. Concepts which or may not have been first articulated in the context of religion are always being taken and repackaged for broader consumption; nothing wrong with that, particularly if they are stripped of their attachments to a mythology-based belief system.
3
The pragmatist in me, "pragmatism" being the most looked up word on the internet dictionary, would do just as well looking at "common joe", "buster", or "dude". Thing is, these are euphemistic terms for coffee, liberal print, and a Cohen brothers's protagonist. Thats not to be ironic, but to show how out of date americana and its 'clichie' lexicon have become thanks mostly to internet linguistics.
The first Simpsons evocation of this was "embigens", and it may catch on, here, more than 20 years later.
ex.: Sam Simon embigens us all... God rest.
The first Simpsons evocation of this was "embigens", and it may catch on, here, more than 20 years later.
ex.: Sam Simon embigens us all... God rest.
2
The author’s tone is deeply cynical and dismissive of a subject that she has not made an effort to understand very fully. And unfortunately she comes to her subject with what is clearly a strong bias. The article demonstrates how much easier it is to make fun of an issue than to understand it in its fullness. Has mindfulness been exploited commercially and used in any number of ways that are antithetical to the spirit of what it means? Of course. Nearly any idea that has captured the imagination of many people will be perverted for all sorts of commercial ends.
To necessarily equate mindfulness with “packaged platitudes, positive thinking, prayer or affirmation therapy” is condescending and exposes the author’s shallow comprehension of the subject. She speaks dismissively of Jon Kabat-Zinn. What Ms. Heffernan fails to mention in her lop-sided polemic is that Mr. Kabat-Zinn had created a program years ago at the Univ. of Massachusetts to help people in serious states of life-threatening stress. And that using the techniques of mindfulness, the program successfully helped people live their lives with dignity.
And in her continued polemic against mindfulness, she makes Kabat-Zinn appear to be pandering to the 1% among us, mentioning that at the World Economic Forum he led a mindfulness mediation, apparently “with promises of longer lives and greater productivity”. Oh, come on Ms. Heffernan, can’t you be a bit more subtle than to spray the page with your patronizing disdain.
To necessarily equate mindfulness with “packaged platitudes, positive thinking, prayer or affirmation therapy” is condescending and exposes the author’s shallow comprehension of the subject. She speaks dismissively of Jon Kabat-Zinn. What Ms. Heffernan fails to mention in her lop-sided polemic is that Mr. Kabat-Zinn had created a program years ago at the Univ. of Massachusetts to help people in serious states of life-threatening stress. And that using the techniques of mindfulness, the program successfully helped people live their lives with dignity.
And in her continued polemic against mindfulness, she makes Kabat-Zinn appear to be pandering to the 1% among us, mentioning that at the World Economic Forum he led a mindfulness mediation, apparently “with promises of longer lives and greater productivity”. Oh, come on Ms. Heffernan, can’t you be a bit more subtle than to spray the page with your patronizing disdain.
108
To the contrary, I think the writer identifies some very important problems with the current mindfulness movement. While you are correct that Kabat-Zinn started a program at UMass Medical School that had a great deal of integrity, he gave up that role when it became clear he could take mindfulness into celebrity and CEO culture and make himself wealthy by doing so. Kabat-Zinn may have done a great deal to foster the growth of mindfulness. He has also done a great deal to destroy a remarkable and ancient tradition in the interest of putting himself ahead. The temptation to sell-out and cash-in must be enormous, and very few have the integrity to resist it, even those who preach against materialism and achievement culture. Sadly, Kabat-Zinn and others in the mindfulness movement have done just that. The result is one more ponzi scheme where a very few will benefit themselves at the expense of many, and in the process exploit an ancient tradition that was stewarded for centuries by many selfless and modest people whose names never get mentioned.
10
One might add the careful omission of the numerous scientific studies on the effects of MBSR on persons with chronic pain. I'm sure that the patients who experience meaningful improvement in mobility and quality of life don't think of their treatment as a "mere fad."
The author does have point, albeit clouded by her cynicism, and that is our society's tendency to try and turn everything into a commodity. Mindfulness in the boardroom striped of its ethical context can simply become a technique. But when that occurs one can argue that it is no longer really mindfulness.
The author does have point, albeit clouded by her cynicism, and that is our society's tendency to try and turn everything into a commodity. Mindfulness in the boardroom striped of its ethical context can simply become a technique. But when that occurs one can argue that it is no longer really mindfulness.
14
All of you have valid points - the author is playing into the same illusions, living in the same Matrix, she accuses people like Kabat-Zinn living in (and he may well have sold out, only he knows for sure).
1
Much here for thought. Of course, originally "mindfulness" was part of the eight-fold path, which included ethics and non-attachment, with the goal of diminishing ones self-centeredness.
18
A judgmental critique of Western mindfulness, complete with a call to action that we "face" our suffering as if it were an enemy on the battlefield. This article muddies the meaning of mindfulness and Buddhist philosophy even more.
14
Here's a question for the author - and for many others who have jumped on the attack- mindfulness bandwagon lately with their snarky, hyperbolic word soup - have you ever actually tried meditation? Ever spent any time doing any mindfulness practice?
Sure, there are valid questions to be raised about the potential for co-opting these practices - but not surprising in a culture driven by the bottom line and constant acceleration of "productivity. " The extreme examples you use in this piece have nothing to do with the pure and simple practice of mindfulness.
The comments of many of your readers also reflect a real lack of awareness of the nature, practice and potential of mindfulness. It's also telling that many of the comments, like yours, seem laced with so much resentment, cynicism and anger. A little mindful self-examination of intent might be helpful in this case.
Sure, there are valid questions to be raised about the potential for co-opting these practices - but not surprising in a culture driven by the bottom line and constant acceleration of "productivity. " The extreme examples you use in this piece have nothing to do with the pure and simple practice of mindfulness.
The comments of many of your readers also reflect a real lack of awareness of the nature, practice and potential of mindfulness. It's also telling that many of the comments, like yours, seem laced with so much resentment, cynicism and anger. A little mindful self-examination of intent might be helpful in this case.
70
I have taught mindfulness meditation across many different types of settings for many years. I am not attacking mindfulness, but I am dismayed at how it has been exploited by those who are currently most often associated with its teaching. As I have pointed out elsewhere, mindfulness is now being led by Big Egos and materialistic grand standers who claim to be teaching something different from the norm. They have become no different than the televangelists who preached about Jesus while lining their pockets. I do not attack mindfulness. It is a remarkable ancient practice. But just like most things in America, it has become mined for its commercial value by those who want to be celebrities rather that teachers.
13
Yeah well the sister who prates about mindfulness and lectures me on my posture, gait and breathing while I'm trying to hike and enjoy the scenery forgot to pack the food. Just sayin.
22
It is a valid form of mindfulness to focus on the scenery and bring your attention back to it if it wanders to what you said at work yesterday or what you need to do tomorrow.
And sometimes you should be thinking about what you need to do tomorrow, even when out hiking.
A time and a place for everything and common sense about it application.
And sometimes you should be thinking about what you need to do tomorrow, even when out hiking.
A time and a place for everything and common sense about it application.
4
Ha! Wonderful. This nails the entire issue to the wall of mindfulness in a single sentence.
Indeed, the meaning does get muddled as Mindfulness is by definition the observation of the constantly changing. If we mix up the constant (observation) from the subject to be observed, things can get confusing. At the end of the day one hopes that the practice of nonjudgmental and compassionate awareness leads to more benevolent actions. But this might be a separate discussion from what the meaning of mindfulness is.
6
I write about mindfulness for Psychology Today online and in my books. I define it as "caring attention." Without "caring," mindfulness can become a heartless practice. Are we to watch a child run into the street and simply note, "Child running into the street"? Of course not. There are many myths about this ancient Buddhist practice. I wrote about seven of them in a piece called "7 Myths about Mindfulness." Those who are interested can have a look at it at here: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/turning-straw-gold/201406/7-myths-a...
13
In the Dharmic traditions (Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Sikh) "mindfulness" is not just a means to an end but a discipline and awareness built into all our decisions and lifestyle choices. It asks that we display sensitivity and moderation not only in the work space but also in what we choose to eat, purchase and support. Now that would be a "mindfulness" that is beneficial beyond just the individual level!
43
I'm reminded of the emergence of the term "innovation" in this article on "mindfulness". As with most appropriated words in our culture, they are reductionist and simplistic "tags" for complex, deep processes that require lots of work and commitment. But that is not the American way...we are always looking for quick fixes...just take the pill. As a nascent practitioner of vipassana meditation, I am disturbed by the idea that mindfulness will solve a problem or improve the bottom line. It certainly might, but being goal oriented is counter to the process of self awareness. The process of meditation is really to understand the working of one's mind, to see ourselves as we really are, and to live a more compassionate life, exhibiting kindness for ourselves and others. Oh, and there is no end game, it is continuous daily practice.
59
You can't deny that initial results are rather immediate with Vipassana, if done right. In the process of seeing yourself as you are, you see the world as it really is (Maya), which is what takes time and constant application. I think this is its greatest benefit personally. I've come at this in many ways and there are shortcuts that open doors and change perception quickly, etc. but in the end to derive this particular benefit constantly, the technique needs to be practiced constantly.
We have a predilection in our Western culture, to co-opt from Eastern thought or practice what fits our tendency to short-attention spans and then, turn it into a marketable commodity. While there are extremely well-meaning people who practice these concepts, it seems to be a way for some people with a lot of personal issues to become 'trainers' and make money selling to people with money, what they often do not practice personally. A recent experience I had with a 'mindfulness' trainer was that I was supposed to be 'mindful' of his feelings and needs and the boundaries were not often clear leading to micro-aggressive (another one of those terms!) behavior that was befuddling and damaging. This has become the 21st century "do as I say, not as I do" but in the meantime, let me spout chapter and verse what you should be doing. Beware of 'generous listeners', 'life-coaches' and the like. . .it's usually code for folks who either are not sure what to do with themselves in life or think they can tell you what to do. And hey, it sounds cool, right? Or not. My apologies to those who 'do good.' On the other hand, a lot of it is snake oil. Human nature never changes.
10
Anyone who tries to make money off of this I find suspect. There's a lot of people you can read and listen to who will give you this advice for free. I'd start with J Krishnamurti.
2
I received a good dose of suffering reading this. The author obviously has no real notion whatsoever of what mindfulness means. I would suggest that she spend just 10 minutes a day practicing mindfulness such as focusing on your breath to see how difficult it actually is to achieve and what lessons about attention and suffering she can learn before passing such uninformed judgement on the practice.
56
Heffernan is not denigrating mindfulness practice. She is criticizing how the word has been co-opted for Western applications, often with the aim of monetary or other gains, that have little to do with the original idea. See the last sentence:
"And that’s what commercial mindfulness may have lost from the most rigorous Buddhist tenets it replaced: the implication that suffering cannot be escaped but must be faced. Of that shift in meaning — in the Westernization of sati — we should be especially mindful."
"And that’s what commercial mindfulness may have lost from the most rigorous Buddhist tenets it replaced: the implication that suffering cannot be escaped but must be faced. Of that shift in meaning — in the Westernization of sati — we should be especially mindful."
Mindfulness: otherwise known as the power of wishful thinking. Behind many flavors of this movement is a non-analytical, behaviorist view of the mind, which seeks to explain little and wave away a lot.
As an former corporate speaker on trendy management topics 20 years ago, I can say that most topics are a re-tread of something we've seen before in other guise. This fad represents the latest analytical vs holistic pendulum swing, which happens whenever the hard work of thinking things through and accepting responsibility weighs overmuch. Not surprised it is more popular the higher one goes in hierarchy.
Want to manage well? Just read your Peter Drucker, stop listening to the gurus HR brings in with the latest and trendiest, roll up your sleeves, and do work you would be proud to be accountable for.
As an former corporate speaker on trendy management topics 20 years ago, I can say that most topics are a re-tread of something we've seen before in other guise. This fad represents the latest analytical vs holistic pendulum swing, which happens whenever the hard work of thinking things through and accepting responsibility weighs overmuch. Not surprised it is more popular the higher one goes in hierarchy.
Want to manage well? Just read your Peter Drucker, stop listening to the gurus HR brings in with the latest and trendiest, roll up your sleeves, and do work you would be proud to be accountable for.
9
Virginia, while many may have misappropriated mindfulness for their own (selfish) purposes, your conclusion suggests that you've confused their misunderstanding for its true intent. Mindfulness is precisely about facing suffering squarely: suffering, joy, indifference, and all feeling states. That's pretty close to a definition of mindfulness. It's paying attention, on purpose and without judgment, to what is happening now, including everything. Mindfulness allows us to get out of the endless spin we place on things and see them as they are. The fact that large numbers of driven people have come to view it as a way to get ahead doesn't mean that's what it is. Those folks view everything as a way to get ahead. Mindfulness isn't about getting anywhere.
Thank you for your thoughts on this subject. I share your alarm at the way this simple, open, embracing concept is being repackaged as yet another way to edge out others and assert one's superiority-- but this is a perversion of its meaning and promise. Ironic, is it not, that a discipline that equips us with attention and courage to face all of life's rich pattern has been twisted to mean "I can use this to get what I want."
But if the meaning of life to you is triumphing over others, you'll see every spiritual practice as a way to do that better.
Thank you for your thoughts on this subject. I share your alarm at the way this simple, open, embracing concept is being repackaged as yet another way to edge out others and assert one's superiority-- but this is a perversion of its meaning and promise. Ironic, is it not, that a discipline that equips us with attention and courage to face all of life's rich pattern has been twisted to mean "I can use this to get what I want."
But if the meaning of life to you is triumphing over others, you'll see every spiritual practice as a way to do that better.
27
Most of the author’s points are apropos. Mindfulness in pop culture has been distorted from its original Buddhist root and meaning.
Dan Harris correctly sees why Buddhism should not be de-emphasized in teaching Mindfulness: ethical training is key, so is preserving the philosophy and a well-practiced mental exercise system. While the Buddha clearly espoused ideas of karma and rebirth, there is never a demand for blind faith and compliance.
The English Buddhist monk Ajahn Brahm jokingly said that there is intellectual property fraud of many therapists who appropriated Mindfulness from Buddhism. More than just being aware of the here and now, he stressed the importance of kindness to the practice.
Buddha compared Mindfulness to a mental gatekeeper. To Buddhists, turning active duty soldiers into more efficient killing machines through mindfulness training is an absurdity. “Bare Attention” by itself is inadequate. Mindfulness must be supplemented by kind intentions, no ill-will, no cruelty.
Hamilton Nolan’s prophetic assessment about Heffernan’s 2013 declaration: “I’m a creationist” is unerring. One cannot read her essay without being aware of the irony that as a Creationist, she is addressing an issue which is also a concern of serious Buddhists, who are rational Non-Believers, atheists.
Dan Harris correctly sees why Buddhism should not be de-emphasized in teaching Mindfulness: ethical training is key, so is preserving the philosophy and a well-practiced mental exercise system. While the Buddha clearly espoused ideas of karma and rebirth, there is never a demand for blind faith and compliance.
The English Buddhist monk Ajahn Brahm jokingly said that there is intellectual property fraud of many therapists who appropriated Mindfulness from Buddhism. More than just being aware of the here and now, he stressed the importance of kindness to the practice.
Buddha compared Mindfulness to a mental gatekeeper. To Buddhists, turning active duty soldiers into more efficient killing machines through mindfulness training is an absurdity. “Bare Attention” by itself is inadequate. Mindfulness must be supplemented by kind intentions, no ill-will, no cruelty.
Hamilton Nolan’s prophetic assessment about Heffernan’s 2013 declaration: “I’m a creationist” is unerring. One cannot read her essay without being aware of the irony that as a Creationist, she is addressing an issue which is also a concern of serious Buddhists, who are rational Non-Believers, atheists.
10
"Mindfulness" in Buddhist practice refers to something concrete and specific: being able to (a) notice/attend to what you are experiencing (i.e., being able to focus your mind where you want); (b) without automatically generating layers of reactions and interpretations.
What you do with this skill after that is a separate story. It is the first, foundational step in having increased options about how it's most helpful to react or interpret. Once this skill is gained, it can be used in many ways. For example, having the ability to experience a difference--a gap-- between something happening and your reaction to it is needed for Cognitive Based Therapy, and perhaps all behavioral change. This is something anyone can learn to do, but it takes practice.
Heffernan is somewhat cynical about how the word is bandied about, and perhaps it has been asked to bear too much weight, but it is a real, specific, and useful skill. Kabat-Zinn's MBSR format is now taught in many excellent medical centers, as research has shown it to be effective in treatment of chronic pain, depression, hypertension, et alia.
(By the way-- in Buddhist practice, mindfulness is a means, not an end. As Lama Zopa Rinpoche says "Mindfulness not enough. Even thieves need mindfulness.")
What you do with this skill after that is a separate story. It is the first, foundational step in having increased options about how it's most helpful to react or interpret. Once this skill is gained, it can be used in many ways. For example, having the ability to experience a difference--a gap-- between something happening and your reaction to it is needed for Cognitive Based Therapy, and perhaps all behavioral change. This is something anyone can learn to do, but it takes practice.
Heffernan is somewhat cynical about how the word is bandied about, and perhaps it has been asked to bear too much weight, but it is a real, specific, and useful skill. Kabat-Zinn's MBSR format is now taught in many excellent medical centers, as research has shown it to be effective in treatment of chronic pain, depression, hypertension, et alia.
(By the way-- in Buddhist practice, mindfulness is a means, not an end. As Lama Zopa Rinpoche says "Mindfulness not enough. Even thieves need mindfulness.")
22
"Mindfulness" is our word for living in the "here-and-now" to create in oneself the enlightened experience taught by Buddha, who lived and taught in India about 500 years before Christ.
"Mindfulness" is a modern word for experiencing heaven-on-earth,
"He who reads these words shall not die." Jesus Christ speaking in The Gospel of Thomas 30 A.D.
The secret of gaining mindfullness sent me on a search to find the legendary high priest who was the keeper of the Huna, the secret of mindfulness, enlightenment, and living forever.
Like the teachings of Buddha, and Christ, the teachings of modern mindfulness, enlightenment, and immortality begin with a great teacher, such as Emma who taught the secrets of "mindfulness" in the book "To Live Forever".
http://www.gtvnn.net/Services.html
"Mindfulness" is a modern word for experiencing heaven-on-earth,
"He who reads these words shall not die." Jesus Christ speaking in The Gospel of Thomas 30 A.D.
The secret of gaining mindfullness sent me on a search to find the legendary high priest who was the keeper of the Huna, the secret of mindfulness, enlightenment, and living forever.
Like the teachings of Buddha, and Christ, the teachings of modern mindfulness, enlightenment, and immortality begin with a great teacher, such as Emma who taught the secrets of "mindfulness" in the book "To Live Forever".
http://www.gtvnn.net/Services.html
1
Mindfulness will come "effortlessly" when minimum wage becomes a mandatory $15, health insurance kicks in when you are born, CEO pay is 20 to 1 to the average workers, or some other fair ratio, there's maternity and paternity leave for all, when all workers have the right to know their schedules at least a month in advance, all children are pre-schooled, colleges and trade schools are free, apprenticeships are encouraged, unpaid internships banned, and while we are it, the 4 day work week becomes mandatory. Then we will have the time to practice mindfulness.
13
I agree the current inequality needs to be remedied. I disagree that people don't have the time to practice mindfulness. If nineteenth-century factory workers who worked incredibly long hours in incredibly harsh conditions managed to create and attend workers' colleges, then today's worker can set a few minutes each day to practice mindfulness. That may actually help people take stock of their exact situation and thus do something about it, singly or together.
Just to add one more note left out of my last comment:
The author wrote: "...mindfulness has come to comprise a dizzying range of meanings for popular audiences."
The author saw the following as contradictory:
"It’s a form of the rigorous Buddhist meditation called vipassana (“insight”), or a form of another kind of Buddhist meditation known as anapanasmrti (“awareness of the breath”).
Anapanasmrti, aka, anapanasati in Pali, is the *basis* of vipassana meditation. It is the same technique, not a different form of meditation. Vipassana starts with anapanasmrti and then uses the awareness of breath to develop awareness of other factors. They are one and the same.
The author wrote: "...mindfulness has come to comprise a dizzying range of meanings for popular audiences."
The author saw the following as contradictory:
"It’s a form of the rigorous Buddhist meditation called vipassana (“insight”), or a form of another kind of Buddhist meditation known as anapanasmrti (“awareness of the breath”).
Anapanasmrti, aka, anapanasati in Pali, is the *basis* of vipassana meditation. It is the same technique, not a different form of meditation. Vipassana starts with anapanasmrti and then uses the awareness of breath to develop awareness of other factors. They are one and the same.
4
In my view, the author does not demonstrate sufficient knowledge of mindfulness and its actual use and history in Buddhism to critique the current trend of its Western applications.
Mindfulness includes being aware, being cautious about experience, ("guarding the senses") and memory of an object and its qualities.
The "many meanings" the author complained about in the modern understanding of mindfulness are mostly legitimate parts of mindfulness.
The author wrote: "...mindfulness has come to comprise a dizzying range of meanings for popular audiences.
"It’s an intimately attentive frame of mind." -- Yes it is.
"It’s a relaxed-alert frame of mind." -- This is also true and is not contradictory to the above.
"It’s equanimity." It leads to equanimity - this is not a contradiction.
"It’s a form of the rigorous Buddhist meditation called vipassana (“insight”), or a form of another kind of Buddhist meditation known as anapanasmrti (“awareness of the breath”).
"It’s M.B.S.R. therapy (mindfulness-based stress reduction)." Obviously, as this is a legitimate application of mindfulness meditation.
"It’s just kind of stopping to smell the roses." That is part of mindfulness in daily life.
Mindfulness is a positive quality, and it has proven effective in schools and therapy. It's a good thing that it is being applied in our social institutions.
Mindfulness includes being aware, being cautious about experience, ("guarding the senses") and memory of an object and its qualities.
The "many meanings" the author complained about in the modern understanding of mindfulness are mostly legitimate parts of mindfulness.
The author wrote: "...mindfulness has come to comprise a dizzying range of meanings for popular audiences.
"It’s an intimately attentive frame of mind." -- Yes it is.
"It’s a relaxed-alert frame of mind." -- This is also true and is not contradictory to the above.
"It’s equanimity." It leads to equanimity - this is not a contradiction.
"It’s a form of the rigorous Buddhist meditation called vipassana (“insight”), or a form of another kind of Buddhist meditation known as anapanasmrti (“awareness of the breath”).
"It’s M.B.S.R. therapy (mindfulness-based stress reduction)." Obviously, as this is a legitimate application of mindfulness meditation.
"It’s just kind of stopping to smell the roses." That is part of mindfulness in daily life.
Mindfulness is a positive quality, and it has proven effective in schools and therapy. It's a good thing that it is being applied in our social institutions.
13
There's hope in this trend, though. 42 years ago I began meditating with Maharishi's TM program... a dilute, simplified and sanitized version of some deep Eastern practices. Today, I experience the bliss and radiance of the essential self whenever I quiet my mind... mantra no longer necessary.
Similarly, any mindfulness practice if followed faithfully may eventually lead to inner experience. It's a matter of following the question "Who is being mindful?" "Who is experiencing this moment?" down into greater and greater depths of being.
Similarly, any mindfulness practice if followed faithfully may eventually lead to inner experience. It's a matter of following the question "Who is being mindful?" "Who is experiencing this moment?" down into greater and greater depths of being.
1
This is very cynical view of the self help and self improvement movement that has been going on for decades. Considering that the human brain is geared for distress mindfulness, meditation, medications have their rightful place. The users and students of these forms have every right to use them for whatever purpose they intend. Life is stressful and mindfulness does not guarantee success or Enlightenment but a practice to find peaceful moments in very stressful times ....even if there is a business in it. Why not???
6
I'm missing the point of the focus on semantics in this article. Given that language is embedded in culture, meaning is usually altered when words are translated. Strict adherence to the original isn't necessarily better. Adapting a spiritual practice to a new cultural context can be helpful. If people feel better and aren't harming others by following the main tenets of the practice, why criticize?
18
Like Sisyfus we push that boulder up the hill……familiar?
Thanks for this thoughtful article about the complex culture growing around mindfulness, but I do think that mindful practice is both less trivial and more of a grass-roots revolution than the author lets on. Since the start of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in 1979, the focus of Jon Kabat-Zinn (and many others teaching mindful practice, including myself as a health psychologist) has not been on cultivating "self-satisfied consumerism" or achieving corporate "performance goals," but on helping those with chronic, intractable disease whose experience of suffering around their illness cannot be relieved by standard medical means or by comforting thoughts, affirmations or positive thinking. Thousands of professionals have been trained to teach mindful techniques, which are now available to a wide range of groups across the country. Mindfulness programs have been developed for veterans with PTSD, for physicians, social workers and lay caregivers dealing with stress and burnout, and for many other hardworking professionals, non-professionals and others who are stressed and distressed but whose boots are firmly on the ground.
7
"Mindfulness" is a word with no definition. It means whatever the user wants it to mean. The only approximation I can stomach is "This is happening, you're part of it, so pay attention to what's going on."
4
I did Vipassana a few years ago - the whole ten days of silence thing. At first, I could meditate more than 5 minutes. My monkey mind ran around, my knees hurt. But then it slowly increased by 5 minute intervals, so by the end, I could meditate without fidgeting for an hour.
For the first time in my life, I let go of fifty years of drama - like letting go of irritating balloons one by one. I didn't crave anything - coffee, sex, TV, alcohol. I was neater and way less reactive.
I also had better a mental ability to cope with pain which enabled me to run half marathons for the first time ever. I also did the Oxfam 100km Trailwalker and the Everest Base Camp Trek with my son.
Anything that gets us off autopilot, circumvents automatic behaviour modes ("I deserve to be angry, dammit!") and allows us to fully experience the food we eat and the people we live with, is a good thing.
Of course, in mindfulness, it's just a thing.
For the first time in my life, I let go of fifty years of drama - like letting go of irritating balloons one by one. I didn't crave anything - coffee, sex, TV, alcohol. I was neater and way less reactive.
I also had better a mental ability to cope with pain which enabled me to run half marathons for the first time ever. I also did the Oxfam 100km Trailwalker and the Everest Base Camp Trek with my son.
Anything that gets us off autopilot, circumvents automatic behaviour modes ("I deserve to be angry, dammit!") and allows us to fully experience the food we eat and the people we live with, is a good thing.
Of course, in mindfulness, it's just a thing.
46
"If it’s a revolution, it’s not a grass-roots one". Have you heard of 1960s and the continuing counter-culture it produced? I think not. 2/10 for quality of research.
3
The author's views on other spiritual practices would be revealing, as it would be interesting to know what biases brings such a dismissive article, mocking the central tenets of one of the world's great religions. Hiding a sneering attitude towards a significant societal practice that is also a useful psychological tool under the guise of the grammarian is simple intolerance.
3
Sati. Memory of the Present. That's what you absolutely need to cultivate when you reach the age of forgetfulness.
2
I prefer articles that are thought provoking and challenging but that manage to end on a positive or uplifting note. Not because life is all neat happy endings, but because in the end isn't it about looking for solutions? Dwelling in he badness of things doesn't really help us. The concept of mindfulness regardless of its origins, gives us an alternative or counterpoint to to distractibility, which we all know in our hearts we experience far too often.
3
From another perspective....
P.M. Forni's first rule of Civility is: Pay attention.
P.M. Forni's first rule of Civility is: Pay attention.
2
Wow! Thank you for going back to the origins and context for this deep concept of mindfulness.
Like all tools, there's useful ways to use them and the not so useful. A proper mindfulness practice simply helps one be aware of what's actually going on, progressively with less distraction and delusion. Not sure who said anything about pretending suffering doesn't exist, for most of us that's painfully clear. Deep, useful awareness doesn't come over night and takes a committed daily practice. Sometimes to the discomfit of the non integrated, in order to be whole and complete we need to balance our intellect with our greatest humanity. Without the highest ethics and honesty, patience and compassion, a balanced overview of self and other in a meditation mindfulness practice, we could cultivate what the Tibetan Buddhists call "The Poison of Shunyata (emptiness)", the mistaken notion that "as long as "I" feel good and "my" mind feels clear, that's all that matters" and "Mindful Fracking" and other abominations could be soon to follow.
Kabat-Zinn and other great teachers realize it's better to get a foot in the door to get the ball rolling then not. If a CEO can slow down and have a glimpse of putting a person before profit for even a moment, it's at least a step in the right direction. This is no magic bullet or easy fix, but the possible upside of an entire culture beginning to consider it's actions, motivations and direction from a place of quietness and a bent towards compassion and kindness towards self and others, who knows what glorious future may unfold.
Kabat-Zinn and other great teachers realize it's better to get a foot in the door to get the ball rolling then not. If a CEO can slow down and have a glimpse of putting a person before profit for even a moment, it's at least a step in the right direction. This is no magic bullet or easy fix, but the possible upside of an entire culture beginning to consider it's actions, motivations and direction from a place of quietness and a bent towards compassion and kindness towards self and others, who knows what glorious future may unfold.
7
But the problem is when the meditation teacher is, himself, a "CEO", Michael. Kabat-Zinn is no monk. He is as driven by money as those CEOs he is eagerly teaching and getting paid by. I have a lot of respect and admiration for the K-12 teachers who bring mindfulness into the classroom, or the nurse who uses meditation to support a patient in pain, or the social worker who uses mindfulness to help veterans recovering from trauma. But Kabat-Zinn and that ilk are really just glory-seeking CEOs who have abandoned their once very good, altruistic work for fame and money, and I assure you they did so quite strategically once they realized they could market this package. I actually find the corporate CEOs, whom I normally deplore, far more genuine than the Kabat-Zinns: the CEOs are transparent about the fact that they are focused on money. The meditation teachers, on the other hand, are duplicitous in the worst way: they purport to represent something different, an alternative to materialism and greed and achievement culture, then behind that facade engage in all of the materialism and greed and achievement they possibly can. I see this mindfulness movement as a very sad destruction of a remarkable tradition.
1
Wow. Virginia...fantastic article. We've been practicing vipassana meditation for 28 years with a teacher from Burma, so the critical lens with which you view the Westernization of Buddhist practice is nice to see. The Westernization of Buddhism isn't "bad" but it does dilute the practice. It would be a great thing if more people understood the value of pursuing a practice with a true lineage. Great stuff here.
2
About time someone complained. Now let's shout down "iconic" and "that said", both of which, especially "that said", are more virulent.
"No one word, however shiny, however intriguingly Eastern, however bolstered by science, can ever fix the human condition. And that’s what commercial mindfulness may have lost from the most rigorous Buddhist tenets it replaced: the implication that suffering cannot be escaped but must be faced."
Well said. And, I am grateful that Buddhism has permeated the west. Vipassana meditation has helped me greatly in facing my suffering. Hard to do in the west -- so many, many distractions, so many ways to be addicted and sucked into current trends including "mindfulness".
Well said. And, I am grateful that Buddhism has permeated the west. Vipassana meditation has helped me greatly in facing my suffering. Hard to do in the west -- so many, many distractions, so many ways to be addicted and sucked into current trends including "mindfulness".
5
Virginia Heffernan's article today was one of the first that I have read on the subject of mindfuless in the modern west that both captured the early Pali-derived definitions, as well as the modern odd applications that mindfulness has been swimming in through Davos and tech forums, zenny seminars, and mayonnaise brands (see www.mcmindfulness.com for that one).
Here's the key phrase from this fine essay: "And that’s what commercial mindfulness may have lost from the most rigorous Buddhist tenets it replaced: the implication that suffering cannot be escaped but must be faced." This phrase bears in mind the idea that the Buddha taught samma sati as a means toward the cultivation of deep meditations, from which arise insights as to the true nature of our lives and this world. Preceding these avenues to samatha/vipassana are the first six of the Path: ethical and skillful practices that are essential to the cultivation of mindfulness. In other words, the Buddha understood that without ethical views, appropriate effort, and skillful behaviors, mindfulness and meditation were of no real use.
Thus, mindfulness outside of an ethical and compassionate framework is really only a placebo; you might feel better, but you will still suffer if you're greedy, angry or deluded. The real medicine is in the noble eightfold path. The Buddha taught this 2600 years ago, and thanks to Ms. Heffernan, we received an eloquent reminder of this today.
Here's the key phrase from this fine essay: "And that’s what commercial mindfulness may have lost from the most rigorous Buddhist tenets it replaced: the implication that suffering cannot be escaped but must be faced." This phrase bears in mind the idea that the Buddha taught samma sati as a means toward the cultivation of deep meditations, from which arise insights as to the true nature of our lives and this world. Preceding these avenues to samatha/vipassana are the first six of the Path: ethical and skillful practices that are essential to the cultivation of mindfulness. In other words, the Buddha understood that without ethical views, appropriate effort, and skillful behaviors, mindfulness and meditation were of no real use.
Thus, mindfulness outside of an ethical and compassionate framework is really only a placebo; you might feel better, but you will still suffer if you're greedy, angry or deluded. The real medicine is in the noble eightfold path. The Buddha taught this 2600 years ago, and thanks to Ms. Heffernan, we received an eloquent reminder of this today.
32
Another word that nowadays, having been removed from its original Hindu context, means everything and nothing: non-duality.
2
The first person I heard using "mindfulness" in conversation was the same narcissistic schmuck that ripped me off more than anyone else ever has or will again. It helped to make me feel sick every time that I hear or see the word, which I will never, ever use.
Pop Buddhism on the brainless George Lucas level, packaged by sanctimonious hucksters like this Kabat-Zinn character, given the big push by the Oprahs, the Arianna Huffingtons, and the TED Talks organizers of the world, all in order to make too-rich, too-educated people with objectively great lives to feel even better about their wonderful selves.
"Deep Breathing in Davos" would even be a perfect title for a long-form journalism piece about this latest trend in fatuousness.
Pop Buddhism on the brainless George Lucas level, packaged by sanctimonious hucksters like this Kabat-Zinn character, given the big push by the Oprahs, the Arianna Huffingtons, and the TED Talks organizers of the world, all in order to make too-rich, too-educated people with objectively great lives to feel even better about their wonderful selves.
"Deep Breathing in Davos" would even be a perfect title for a long-form journalism piece about this latest trend in fatuousness.
7
Dealing with what you describe I take to be part of our challenge -- (damaged) people develop themselves in ways that prove successful for some systems (material) and obstacles for others (spiritual), and even when they start to become aware of this, it seems to take them a while to make a radical break with their past patterns of thought and behavior -- the intermediate steps seem to be something like to keep the overall structure and play with the details. But my humility has to include that I am not in a position to tell them how to traverse their own path; at best, I think, we can only provide models and tools. Cutting the cord to something like fame, for example, in order to make spiritual progress, I think has to come out of willingness in order to be effective, and if they don't have that willingness, I try to see with compassion that they are at a different place in their journey. How they impact others during their journey I think is between them and the universe -- not my onions.
1
Jon Kabat-Zinn is a serious Zen practitioner who decided that he could best help other humans combining his Buddhist practice with the medical profession to teach mindfulness. He is not a huckster nor has he profited financially from his teaching.
I smile to myself when I hear new converts to mindfulness tout their "new" practice as the 'best" thing that happened to them. For example I was told by a HR leader "Our mindfulness training was better than all the management training we have ever experienced". The enthusiasm of the new convert quickly leads to proselytizing. Finally the flavor of the month becomes another fad soon to be displaced by another "new' practice.
The real need in the corporate world is to slow down, balance priorities, reject greed, and structure silence into our lives. Slowing down to speed up and be more productive reaches a point of diminishing returns. As humans we are not designed to live at full speed ahead.
The real need in the corporate world is to slow down, balance priorities, reject greed, and structure silence into our lives. Slowing down to speed up and be more productive reaches a point of diminishing returns. As humans we are not designed to live at full speed ahead.
8
This piece is completely one-sided: nowhere does it acknowledge that mindfulness in its various forms has proven itself to be efficacious for many people, which is why it has spread so fast. For most of us throughout most of the day, our consciousness is filed with thoughts, expectations, and judgments. Our mind is not attuned to the present moment, but is dominated by concepts. These concepts, expectations, and judgments are often what cause us stress and suffering. The practice of mindfulness gives us both the mental space to "see" these thoughts and judgments, and the choice whether to pursue these thoughts and judgments or let them go. This freedom from the tyranny of "our" thoughts and judgments is the basis of the power and popularity of the practice of mindfulness.
45
The person who wrote this article doesn't mediate. This article is about being mindful which comes first and foremost from meditation. The people talking about mindfulness meditate. People who are serious about it meditate, at least a little. The Times has people on its staff who meditate. Why was this article assigned to someone who doesn’t know what they are talking about?
6
No. This article is not about meditation...or mindfulness. It is about language. That is what Ms. Heffernan writes about.
5
Who so ever wrote this is a wonderful writer. Thoroughly enjoyed it, and liked the climatic ending. :) Great job. Similarly, is true for other words such as "dharma" and "religion". Both are used interchanging but are not the same.
1
A few thoughts to dive into this great article:
1) Mindfulness isn't just a Buddhist concept. Yogic teachings, ancient Greek philosophy, Western European perspectives of naturalism, existentialism, Jewish Kabbalism, Christianity, Chinese Taoism, & other religions, indigenous traditions & philosophies have similar concepts.
2) Kabat-Zinn mainly defines mindfulness as a conscious skill/practice. Other common definitions: inherent human capacity, emerging state of awareness, or even a personality trait. It's also transdiagnostic- focusing on relationship to experiences vs. symptom-reduction. Recent definitions are also formed by the programs- e.g., MBSRs definition differs from that used in DBT. Mindfulness scales have then been constructed to measure outcomes of those specific programs. These issues have impacted the research negatively & open the door for unsubstantiated claims.
3) Addressing qualities/intentions of mindfulness are more rare: Nonstriving, nonjudging, acceptance, patience, trust, openness, letting go (Kabat-Zinn, 1990), gratitude, gentleness, generosity, empathy, & loving kindness (Shapiro, Schwartz, & Bonner, 1998).
4) Corporate mindfulness often pushes 1 approach & identifies mindfulness as a skill w/ 2 outcomes: productivity & stress-reduction. It's a superficial (at best) interpretation. Doesn't mean it won't help employees though & may act as a bridge for employees to recognize that the company is missing the point.
1) Mindfulness isn't just a Buddhist concept. Yogic teachings, ancient Greek philosophy, Western European perspectives of naturalism, existentialism, Jewish Kabbalism, Christianity, Chinese Taoism, & other religions, indigenous traditions & philosophies have similar concepts.
2) Kabat-Zinn mainly defines mindfulness as a conscious skill/practice. Other common definitions: inherent human capacity, emerging state of awareness, or even a personality trait. It's also transdiagnostic- focusing on relationship to experiences vs. symptom-reduction. Recent definitions are also formed by the programs- e.g., MBSRs definition differs from that used in DBT. Mindfulness scales have then been constructed to measure outcomes of those specific programs. These issues have impacted the research negatively & open the door for unsubstantiated claims.
3) Addressing qualities/intentions of mindfulness are more rare: Nonstriving, nonjudging, acceptance, patience, trust, openness, letting go (Kabat-Zinn, 1990), gratitude, gentleness, generosity, empathy, & loving kindness (Shapiro, Schwartz, & Bonner, 1998).
4) Corporate mindfulness often pushes 1 approach & identifies mindfulness as a skill w/ 2 outcomes: productivity & stress-reduction. It's a superficial (at best) interpretation. Doesn't mean it won't help employees though & may act as a bridge for employees to recognize that the company is missing the point.
3
This is so well written and timely. I hope to see more articles on the misappropriation of Buddhist and "eastern" terminology and what is lost in the process.
4
I thought Mindfulness was the direct apprehension of shimmering reality. A personal, subjective awareness of the playful shadows of the real "stuff", burning moment to moment though our "all to human" delimited perceptual systems. A more direct experience of human consciousness, with out the extra sauce and paint of our emotions and verbal interpretations. No feelings and no thinking. Just here and now. Good for no thing. I realize after reading the authors words Mindfulness is yet another "idea" that can really annoy some folks. No flower sermon for you, Virginia.
The mindfulness meditation movement has become one more commodity, marketed by self-aggrandized, self-motivated "meditation teachers" who are no different than the televangelists or the revival tent hucksters that came before them, just with less after-shave. These movement leaders are motivated by the same greed and the same need for attention that fueled the likes of Swaggart and Baker, but instead of appealing to the political right they pander to the left, and instead of claiming they have "the" answers on Sunday morning, they do it on a weekday afternoon on Oprah. I have tried to avoid this commodification crowd when pursuing my own interest in Vipassana and Theravadan Buddhism, but Where Ever I Go, There They Are.
6
Suffering has to be faced, but can be overcome.
Third Noble Truth- Truth of Cessation of Suffering
Third Noble Truth- Truth of Cessation of Suffering
This is awesomely well written! My brain is still enjoying the buzz. Articles at this level are why I pay for my subscription.
5
Brilliant.. Yes.. Like they say ..mindfulness like democracy is content empty..it can be used to ravage the planet more effectively or can be used for the very reason it was for -which is for giving us the capacity to understand our reality.. Alas ..the main stream fans have made it into a tool for being unstressed millionaires driving Priuses and meeting each other over cocktails at Davos with JKZ or Deepak Chopra as our mentor
1
Interesting to connect "mindfulness" with the absence of past and future tenses in Chinese grammar. A friend expressed a thought, the other day, that there is no present moment because the present is forever shifting into the past. That may be more true in English than in Chinese. The hard part is to get past the jargon, the palliative techniques and strategies, to put aside past and future regrets, worries, fears, whatever, and wait for the light to turn green before you cross the street. It is in the simplest of tasks, not the mind experiments, that mindfulness has life and value.
1
Life is all about Mindfulness…To attempt to write a meaningful article on Mindfulness and not mention Thich Nhat Hanh is a sad and weak attempt to explain one of the most important concepts of humanity…
www.TheMindfulTraveler.com
www.TheMindfulTraveler.com
1
We will likely see the armed forces adopt mindfulness training for combat troops, as one can "mindfully" kill. What's missing are other important words such as "panna", or wisdom, which help guide our actions. As Terrance McKenna warned be wary of culture, it is not your friend - we must all be careful not to be sucked into commoditization.
4
It certianly helped the Knicks.
2
Good or bad? Why don't we try mindfulness meditation and see? Well-written article, especially "suffering cannot be escaped but must be faced."
2
As a long-time lay Buddhist, I have watched western capitalism co-op a number of complex eastern concepts. This article is a great description of that phenomenon and of what is lost in the process. A fundamental tenet of all Hindu-Buddhism states, as Heffernan points out, "...that suffering cannot be escaped but must be faced." Consumerism depends on the belief that we can escape pretty much anything if we have enough money, so go out there and "mindfully" make as much as you can.
5
A beautifully written check on the the tawdry cheapening of something deep. I'm tempted to say Only in America, but perhaps Perfected in America is more accurate.
5
"Sati" can also be translated as "recollection," as in "the practice of recollection."
Thanks for your reminder that looking directly into our immediate experience -- painful, pleasurable, or whatever -- is the heart of Buddhist practice. In plain English, that takes guts.
Thanks for your reminder that looking directly into our immediate experience -- painful, pleasurable, or whatever -- is the heart of Buddhist practice. In plain English, that takes guts.
3
"suffering can not be escaped, but must be faced," in other words, "the reality principle."
3
Mindfulness has become conflated with meditation, when mindfulness is only one member of a wider meditation world. Some find mindfulness a staggeringly boring and demotivating practice. As an alternative I suggest Sound Current meditation -- also known as Nada Yoga or Shabd Yoga.
It is not well known in the West and was usually taught secretively, but the instructions have become more widely available.
It is not well known in the West and was usually taught secretively, but the instructions have become more widely available.
1
Ms. Heffernan wrote "Jon Kabat-Zinn, a molecular biologist in New England and a longtime meditator in the Zen Buddhist tradition, saw in Rhys Davids’s word a chance to scrub meditation of its religious origins."
Thus mindfulness has come to mean awareness, awareness of the present moment. And no doubt, there can be awareness of the present moment, just as when we watch a movie in a theater.
We are aware or you could say mindful, of the movie we are watching. In this sense everything we see, experience, or feel in our lives, we can experience mindfully, that is to say with the understanding that we are the observers, of all we observe.
So then getting back to scrubbing meditation of its religious origins, the ONLY question then becomes, who is it that is mindful, or is the observer of what it is being seen or experienced?
There can only be one answer to this question: either the ego is the mindful observer, or the True Self, God Self, Buddha Self, Christ Self, give it a name you choose, is the mindful observer. Whichever one we believe it is - we will identify with, and therefore it will be real to us.
A simple way to know which one it is we are identifying or observing with, the ego or the True Self, is to recall the name of Leo Tolstoy's most famous book, War and Peace. War is another word for conflict. When we see with conflict we are in the ego. When we see with peace we see with the True Self. These are the only two ways which we can see or experience anything.
Thus mindfulness has come to mean awareness, awareness of the present moment. And no doubt, there can be awareness of the present moment, just as when we watch a movie in a theater.
We are aware or you could say mindful, of the movie we are watching. In this sense everything we see, experience, or feel in our lives, we can experience mindfully, that is to say with the understanding that we are the observers, of all we observe.
So then getting back to scrubbing meditation of its religious origins, the ONLY question then becomes, who is it that is mindful, or is the observer of what it is being seen or experienced?
There can only be one answer to this question: either the ego is the mindful observer, or the True Self, God Self, Buddha Self, Christ Self, give it a name you choose, is the mindful observer. Whichever one we believe it is - we will identify with, and therefore it will be real to us.
A simple way to know which one it is we are identifying or observing with, the ego or the True Self, is to recall the name of Leo Tolstoy's most famous book, War and Peace. War is another word for conflict. When we see with conflict we are in the ego. When we see with peace we see with the True Self. These are the only two ways which we can see or experience anything.
The phenomenon the writer seems to bemoan is neither new nor unique to USA.
Take the case of the word "nirvana" (Sanskrit) or "nibbana" (Pali) - it predates Gautam Buddha but was used in Buddhist context to convey its central goal of "dukha-nirodha" - cessation of "dukha" - by removing the conditions that promote it. Nirvana, or "blowing out"/"extinguishing", especially of fire by removing conditions that support it, therefore seemed apt usage in the context of the Buddhist goal and the manner in which, from the Buddhist perspective, "pratitya samutpad/nirodha" (dependent co-production and cessation) operates. However, later Indic traditions co-opted this word "nirvana" and it gave it different (and arguably even opposite) interpretations in their own escathalogical frameworks. "Atma Shatkam" of the great non-Dualist (Advaita) thinker Samkara is also called Nirvana-Shatkam and Samkara is considered by many (especially in South India even to this day) as an extremely effective debater who "corrected the wrong views of Buddhist tradition."
Of course, these individuals of ancient times were trained (or rather immersed) in the sophisticated linguistic traditions of Samskrit and perhaps chose deliberately to influence these varieties of re-interpretations and yes we can quibble that now ageing yuppies are influencing outcomes in such matters while shopping for Greek Yogurt (and sipping Starbucks latte) but hey, so what !
Take the case of the word "nirvana" (Sanskrit) or "nibbana" (Pali) - it predates Gautam Buddha but was used in Buddhist context to convey its central goal of "dukha-nirodha" - cessation of "dukha" - by removing the conditions that promote it. Nirvana, or "blowing out"/"extinguishing", especially of fire by removing conditions that support it, therefore seemed apt usage in the context of the Buddhist goal and the manner in which, from the Buddhist perspective, "pratitya samutpad/nirodha" (dependent co-production and cessation) operates. However, later Indic traditions co-opted this word "nirvana" and it gave it different (and arguably even opposite) interpretations in their own escathalogical frameworks. "Atma Shatkam" of the great non-Dualist (Advaita) thinker Samkara is also called Nirvana-Shatkam and Samkara is considered by many (especially in South India even to this day) as an extremely effective debater who "corrected the wrong views of Buddhist tradition."
Of course, these individuals of ancient times were trained (or rather immersed) in the sophisticated linguistic traditions of Samskrit and perhaps chose deliberately to influence these varieties of re-interpretations and yes we can quibble that now ageing yuppies are influencing outcomes in such matters while shopping for Greek Yogurt (and sipping Starbucks latte) but hey, so what !
1