1. The disease of thinking
In Western cultures the verb meditate denotes a reflection, a consideration of a problem or a topic. In this type of meditation an interpretative, evaluative and relational thinking is used. We interpret events, evaluate situations and people (including ourselves) and we have the ability to relate the most disparate objects (and with objects I refer to something in the external environment, either to something in the internal environment, like thoughts or emotions).
Each of us is very skilled at creating relationships between the most disparate objects and this ability has proved, in the course of our evolution, to be an unrivaled tool: by relating thoughts and objects we create symbols, that is, we give meaning to what surrounds us.
So this form of thought-language is highly functional from an evolutionary point of view; when it comes to the external environment it allows us to solve almost any kind of problem.
But in terms of inner life, verbal rules can cage our freedoms significantly. [1] For example, when we evaluate and judge ourselves, we can create thoughts like: I am anxious, I am unpleasant, I am shy, and so on. And if these thoughts are frequent, we run the risk of identifying with them or, in other words, we become our thoughts.
And believing our thoughts, considering them as gospel, can create destructive effects. [2] An example may be that of a person who identifies with thoughts of the type: I am worthless, I am a failure, I feel guilty, I am unhappy and so on. When these thoughts become real and we identify with them we run the risk of falling into depression .
Surely there are biological, psychological and contextual causes, but the cultural aspect should not be overlooked. Every society creates its own language that is used to express the meaning of existence. In these two millennia, Western societies have created a language that can describe and explain the things that happen around us, but they have too much neglected the language that explains what happens inside us.
In the Buddhist cultures, in the same period, we have dealt with the internal environment, developing a language that can explain, in a simple way, what conscience, experience, knowledge and suffering are.
Summing up, in a nutshell our language is very useful in the problem-solvin g, but insufficient for the understanding of our interiority. Fortunately, in psychology, things are changing and, as Andrew Olendzki, authoritative scholar of Buddhism and Mindfulness, argues, we are witnessing a return of psychology to its introspective roots, behind the thrust of an unexpected source: the contemplative practices of meditation. [3] This return is evidenced by the innumerable psychological programs based on Mindfulness and the birth of new (third generation) psychotherapies, also based on Mindfulness and acceptance.
The effectiveness of these protocols, created to combat stress-related disorders, relapses of depressive disorders and much more, have been evaluated and verified by thousands of rigorous scientific studies.
2. Meditation
Everything I wrote in the previous paragraph, about meditating and thinking, has nothing to do with the meditation practices on which Mindfulness is based. Samadhi is a term in the Pali language (the language spoken by the Buddha) that translates that of meditation; literally means to collect the mind and bring it to an object.
In fact, when we meditate we no longer think about something, we don't judge, we don't interpret or build relationships between objects; instead, we slowly learn to focus attention on a single object (which at the beginning is the breath and subsequently it will be anything: a thought, an emotion, a tree, an animal, a person, etc.).
We know the world through the five sensory gates and cannot think of two or more things at the same time: our mind is not multitasking .
So when attention is focused on a meditative object, it is impossible to think of something. Of course, a beginner, after only three or four seconds, will be invaded by wandering thoughts and inner conversations; when he realizes it he will bring attention to the chosen meditative object and, with the passage of time, those few seconds will become minutes.
That's all? Does meditation resolve itself in paying attention to an object? Of course not: this is the beginning and without a beginning there is obviously no path. But why is developing and enhancing attentional capacity so important ? In psychology, attention is that process " that allows people to be selectively aware of a part or aspect of the sensory environment and to selectively respond to a class of stimuli. An attention disorder can manifest itself with an easy distractibility, difficulty carrying out tasks or concentrating on a job ". [4]
Therefore a scarce attention capacity can compromise the executive functions, those cognitive abilities necessary to perform complex behaviors directed to a purpose and to adapt to a range of changes required by the environment. These functions include the ability to plan and anticipate the outcome of actions, the ability to direct attention resources and the self-monitoring and self-awareness capacity that are necessary to perform appropriate and flexible behaviors. [5]
By learning to focus attention on one object at a time, we will avoid being overwhelmed by our obsessive inner conversations. As William James wrote: at this moment reality is what we pay attention to ; this means knowing how to grasp and perceive, in everyday life, aspects that previously escaped us and this process of strengthening attention will allow us to expand our personal universe quantitatively and qualitatively.
When we talk to someone, when we are going to do a work or leisure task, we will pay attention to everything, without getting distracted. And this aspect is not trivial: we will avoid misunderstandings, errors and small (or large) accidents. The contemplative practice of meditation, more used in the paths of Mindfulness, which is limited to the development of attention, concentration and awareness is Tibetan and is called Samatha and belongs to those meditations called calm abodes .
With it we come to what is called mindfulness, the first important step that leads us to the path of awareness (Mindfulness).
Like all meditations, the Samatha is also divided into formal practices (those that are learned in meetings with an Instructor) and informal practices (which are the transposition of meditative practices into everyday life). If you want to know your mind there is only one way: to observe and recognize all that concerns it.
This should be done at every opportunity, during the day no less than during the half hour of meditation. [6] Samatha meditation, when practiced with commitment and perseverance produces great benefits: the ability to recognize and manage our thoughts implies that of emotional management and, consequently, a considerable decrease in stress-related symptoms and disorders.
3. Mindfulness, a definition
Mindfulness is an extraordinarily effective practice, not only to alleviate or extinguish various symptoms and disorders, but also to transform psychological and existential distress into a state of profound well-being.
However, before continuing, for the benefit of those who are not informed about what Mindfulness is or is not, it seems correct to give a brief definition. In the mid-seventies, the young biologist Jon Kabat-Zinn began to develop a program based on Buddhist practices for reducing stress and chronic pain .
He had been practicing Tibetan meditation Shinè [7] for years (which in Sanskrit is translated as Samatha). As Daniel Goleman recalls, this work was received with skepticism, also because it referred to practices considered, then, not very scientific and not verifiable. In 1979, Kabat-Zinn released its MBSR (Mindfulness based stress reduction) protocol for reducing stress-related disorders.
He did not use or refer to terms reminiscent of Buddhism; he feared, at that time, that they would not be received with great enthusiasm. The term Mindfulness already existed and appeared in 1921, in a dictionary, to translate Sati which, in the Pali language means 'awareness' and 'having memory of' .
Mindfulness is certainly a much more attractive term than meditation - or Buddhist practice and as Kabat-Zinn states: it is neither necessary nor wise to put people, in such an explicit and theatrical way, before the Buddhist roots of Mindfulness. [8]
In his opinion, someone could have rejected a system of beliefs extraneous to his own culture. In any case, it should be noted that the psychological and philosophical system to which Mindfulness refers is Buddhism. On the other hand, for us Westerners, it is very difficult to define Buddhism as a religion, since the Buddha is not a God, but an acute philosopher who has dealt mainly with how to alleviate and extinguish the suffering that accompanies us from birth to death .
In the last forty years Mindfulness has spread exponentially in almost the entire planet and being able to give it a univocal and shared definition is an impossible task. In a recent publication of the APS (Association for Psycological Science) this topic was discussed. [9] There were about 5, 000 scientific publications on meditation and Mindfulness in 2005; in 2015 over 33, 000 (see fig. 1)
In short, considering also popular publications, about 180 articles are published daily on the subject and this, according to APS, has led to misinformation and misunderstanding. Nevertheless, a definition shared by the major world leaders of Mindfulness (I refer to Kabat-Zinn, A. Olendzki, A. Wallace, C. Saron, D. Goleman and others) exists and we find it in the words of Kabat-Zinn: Il term Mindfulness, includes all the dimensions of the Dharma (traditional Buddhist teachings) and the Four Immeasurables as well as Samatha and Vipassana. [10]
And in this definition we find all that is present in a serious path of Mindfulness. With Dharma, Kabat-Zinn refers to the Buddhadharma, that is, the Buddhist teachings codified in a universal and secular language.
The Four Immeasurable are the four virtues that are learned both in Samatha courses and in Mindfulness paths (loving kindness, compassion, empathic joy and equanimity). We have already talked about the Samatha meditation and the Vipassana meditation will be mentioned in the following pages.
Finally, even when it comes to protocols based on Mindfulness: If we say that something is based on Mindfulness, then it must really be based on Mindfulness. Which means being based on the Dharma. Mindfulness is not another cognitive-behavioral technique conceived by the western psychological tradition. [….] The founders of the MBSR and MBCT believe that these programs are 90-95% identical.
The format and essence of the process are the same, and meditative practices are virtually the same. The most important thing is always that it is always entirely rooted in the Dharma, even if in the MBSR and in the MBCT this word is never used. Everything is anchored in continuous practice and in the Instructor's understanding of Dharma. [11]
4. Mindfulness, the practice
We desperately need a new way of being. In recent times, our modern culture has given life to a tormented world of alienated individuals, schools that fail to convey any inspiration that they cannot relate to students, in short, societies without a moral compass to help us clarify how we can progress in our global community.
I have seen my children grow up in a world where human beings are increasingly distant from the human interactions that the evolution of the species has established as necessary for our brains - but which are no longer part of our educational and social systems. The human relationships that help us shape the relationships between our neurons have become dramatically few. Not only are we losing the opportunity to tune into each other, but the hectic lives of many of us leave little time even to tune into ourselves. As a doctor, psychiatrist, psychotherapist and educator, I felt sad and dismayed when I discovered that our clinical work is not based on a scientifically sound conception of healthy mental functioning. But then what have we been doing all this time? Is it not time to become aware of the mind itself, instead of always and only highlighting the symptoms of its various pathologies? [12] These words by Daniel Siegel are enough to give a comprehensive definition of how we live in this society (Daniel Siegel is one of the most famous neuropsychiatrists on the planet and is director of the Mindsight Institute; he is also known for his best-selling book The Relational Mind ).
The practice of Mindfulness is a new way to approach and experience; is able to transform this world without values, with few positive emotions and with extremely rare healthy human relationships. But, again for the benefit of those who want to approach this practice, I will briefly list some points in which it states what Mindfulness :
> is not a psychological technique, as you can instead read on Wikipedia. The techniques solve the immediate problem (the symptom or the disorder), but they do not deal with the person as a whole.
> Mindfulness is a practice - not a technical - philosophical and psychological that aims to extinguish human suffering and, consequently, to reach a remarkable state of psychological well-being. - it is not a religion. While referring to the Buddhist philosophical and psychological tradition, as already stated, in Mindfulness there is nothing religious or mystical.
The Buddhist thought of Mindfulness is a secular, secular and scientific thought : studied and adapted for the western population.
> It's not empty minded. Although it is true that there are many advanced meditation practices of concentration (Samatha) aimed at clearing the mind of thoughts, the practice of Mindfulness does not aim at this nor does it make us stupid or make us lose our analytical skills. Instead of eliminating thoughts, it gives a certain perspective, an ability to notice that our thoughts are just thoughts, instead of believing that they necessarily reflect an external reality. [13]
> It is not withdrawing from life. Meditative practices were originally developed by monks who often live years of solitary and silent retreat. But we are not monks, we do not live in a forest or in a monastery. We work, we have a family, friends and acquaintances; we also live in a stressful environment and cannot afford to meditate for hours without thinking about how to earn the money needed to live.
> It is not synonymous with meditation. Meditative practices are indispensable, but they are only a part of Mindfulness. To live a life that is conscious and free from suffering, it offers us values, an ethical aspect without which it is impossible to reach a state of profound well-being. The ethical and spiritual aspect is widely studied and practiced also by modern Positive Psychology. Values like altruism, compassion, forgiveness and tolerance have an extraordinary impact on the Quality of Life of people.
> It is not a psychotherapy. While not presenting itself as a therapy but as a psychological and philosophical practice, Mindfulness produces great therapeutic effects. However, not everyone can practice it. From what emerges in the aforementioned APS article, people suffering from major depressive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, could worsen their situation, due to the introspective peculiarity of Mindfulness. Instead it is indicated, as a prevention, in those who have overcome the Depressive Disorder.
It seems obvious, therefore, that the Mindfulness Instructor is a professional capable of recognizing these pathologies and enabled to perform (when necessary) tests to verify whether or not they are present. In a journey of Mindfulness it is not a matter of learning conceptual concepts but of practicing meditation and transposing it into everyday life.
Anyone can rebuild their world and turn discomfort into well-being, the condition for doing so is called commitment. In conclusion, practicing Mindfulness does not mean sitting cross-legged for 30/40 minutes a day to contemplate the breath, nor to develop attention, acceptance and awareness; these are fundamental but preparatory aspects.
Practicing Mindfulness also means becoming aware of one's own awareness, but above all developing an ethical life and a rare introspective capacity that is obtained with an open monitoring (Vipassana meditation) with which we notice the mental contents as they occur to the mind; and we learn to distinguish the healthy from the unhealthy (greed, hatred and illusion). What is harmful or unhealthy is recognized by meditating, but it is extinguished in our daily actions.
Claudio Bacchetti,
Person-centered counselor,
Mindfulness Instructor (AISCON N ° 125)
REGISTERED WITH THE ORDER OF PSYCHOLOGISTS OF EMILIA ROMAGNA
Maranello, 20 November 2017
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Castiglioni-Corradini, Epistemological models in psychology, Carocci Editore, Rome 2011
Dalai Lama-Kabat-Zinn-R. Davidson, Meditation as medicine, Mondadori Libri, Milan 2015 Daniel J. Siegel, Mindfulness and brain, Raffaello Cortina Editor, Milan 2009 George Kelly , The Psychology of Personal Constructs, Raffaello Cortina Editor, Milan 2004
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