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Mindfulness Training: What It Is and Isn't

Apr 4, 2014 4:00:07 AM

Mindfulness, in a short explanation, is a part of meditation. Let us start to teach mindfulness training from the basic beginning.

Concentrative Mindfulness Training

In some mindfulness training, your mind is set to concentrate on just one thing, whether that is you’re breathing, a candle or a mantra (one specific word given to you by your meditation guide). When you begin to practice this concentrative method of mindfulness, you will notice, after you begin, that eventually your mind begins to wander. In the concentrative definition of mindfulness, it is the act of refocusing your mind, mindfully training your brain to return to the object you were concentrating on. So that is one form of meditation's definition of mindfulness training, corralling your brain back to its original thought or focus.

Acceptance Mindfulness Training

The other school of thought differs in its definition of mindfulness training as the concentrative group sees it. The word mindfulness actually dates back to a Buddhist definition, but has been adapted by many psychological applications since its beginnings. One train of thought is that mindfulness training involves more of a quality of the mind, in that it is returning one’s entire focus to the present moment to experience each moment as it occurs. Another definition of mindfulness training involves the way in which the brain‘s attention is focused with concentration also on the present moment, but also emphasizing it in a non-judgmental attitude. The last mindfulness training definition is more about the mind being in the present in both a non-judgmental state as well as a non-elaborative awareness of each feeling, thought or sensation and accepting that as it is. In this last definition mindfulness training, is acceptance of each thought that enters the mind's attentional field.

Mindfulness Training Exhausted

While it may not be as important to distinguish exactly which definition applies, the accepted facts of mindfulness training being combined with cognitive psychotherapy is accepted widely as the best methods of practice for the mental disorders of depression and anxiety. This was proved by an Oxford University study conducted by John Teasdale that recorded a 50% decline in depression in patients that had not before responded to any sort of treatment. In addition to this combination, mindfulness training of the mind is extremely helpful in relieving the subconscious of stress and focusing the conscious mind's attention.

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Tammy Kabell

Written by Tammy Kabell

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