According to the Wiki, ‘Mindfulness plays a central role in the teaching of Buddhist meditation …described as a calm awareness of one’s body functions, feelings, content of consciousness, or consciousness itself, it is the seventh element of the Noble Eightfold Path, the practice of which supports analysis resulting in the development of wisdom. The Satipatthana Sutta (Sanskrit) is one of the foremost early texts dealing with mindfulness. A key innovative teaching of the Buddha was that meditative stabilisation must be combined with liberating discernment.
Mindfulness practice, inherited from the Buddhist tradition, is increasingly being employed in Western psychology to alleviate a variety of mental and physical conditions, including obsessive-compulsive disorder and anxiety and in the prevention of relapse in depression and drug addiction.’
How does a therapist incorporate mindfulness?
‘Congruence’ and ‘countertransference’ are concepts that come close to a natural and organic incorporation of mindfulness. Through an inner knowledge of himself/herself and how one is feeling with the client in the present moment, a therapist is able to help the client process difficult feelings in the room.
How does a person incorporate mindfulness in everyday life?
A quiet spot in a busy day is enough to become aware of one’s feelings, who/what triggered them and letting go of their clinging negative properties, like allowing a ship to let go off the harbour. Mindfulness is the important punctuation needed to move from reaction to reflection. Reactions are lively, reflections are calming.
However, sometimes a deeper exploration cannot be embarked on when there is a crisis and life becomes a set of reactions. At such times, an effort at reflecting may stop a spiral of destructive reactions.
