How much can we change as individuals? It is common to hear that “people never change”. Yet change is actually inevitable. As humans, we are changing every moment. Old cells in our bodies are dying, being replaced by new cells. New neural connections are being made in our brains, and old ones may be pruned. This changing architecture and function of our brains is referred to as neuroplasticity and underlies many of the longer-term effects of meditation. As we intentionally direct our attention, new neural connections are made, and as we let go of certain thoughts, related neural connections decrease. These structural changes in the brain can be demonstrated using magnetic resonance imaging after only a few months of meditation. Despite this demonstrated capacity to change, we often still hold on to certain images of ourselves that we feel define us.
The first Introduction to Mindfulness for Healthcare Employees course finished last week. This is an abbreviated six-week course (nine total class hours) based on the eight-week twenty-hour Mindfulness for Healthcare…
A Single Session Mindfulness and Compassion Intervention Can Reduce Stress, Anxiety and Depression Single-session interventions (SSIs) are a potential means of expanding access to mindfulness programs. This randomized clinical trial…
March Madness, as the NCAA basketball tournaments are frequently referred to, is here again. The fields have been chosen, and a favorite team may have been selected or not, leading some of us to feel either happiness or disappointment. Now, over the next three weeks, many people will be focused on their brackets and their favorite teams, perhaps to a state of madness. Madness has a number of definitions according to dictionary.com, at least two of which might apply now. The first is intense excitement or enthusiasm. This is how many people feel during the tournaments, especially watching their favorite team, or a team that is important to their bracket. Another definition is senseless folly. This might be how people who have no interest in basketball view the whole affair. However we view March Madness, as is the case for anything that elicits strong emotions, it can be an instructive time to pay attention to our present moment experience. If we really get caught up in the tournament, we can notice the emotions that arise- happiness or even elation when our favorite team wins, sadness or anger when our team loses.
Mindfulness-Based Interventions During Pregnancy Can Reduce Postpartum Depression Symptoms This metanalysis evaluated the efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) delivered during pregnancy on post-partum depression. Five randomized controlled trials with a…
The Space Between Stimulus And Response
While driving recently, I was wondering what to write for this month’s Musing when I came to a stop sign. Seeing the red sign with STOP written on it brought my attention back to the present moment. “Aha!” I then thought - I’ll write about STOP, an acronym that reminds us to pause to practice mindfulness in the moment. The importance of pausing is well described in the quote below often attributed to Austrian psychiatrist and holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl, although I have been unable to find a reference to him actually saying it. Instead, according to the Viktor Frankl Institute, “The true origin of the quotation is somewhat involved. To put it shortly, the author Stephen R. Covey used to recount that he found the quote in a library book and thought it fitting to describe Frankl's views - but he did not note down the book's author and title.” Whatever the origin, this is still a very powerful statement: “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” Pausing allows us to pay attention to our present moment experience, and in pausing gives us the space to choose our response, rather than just reacting to our circumstances.
