Month: June 2010

Sunday Quote

Karl DuffyLeave a comment

No matter what the situation is,
we are responsible for our own mind states

Joseph Goldstein

Working with Negative Thoughts, part 2

Karl Duffy2 Comments

As I said in the previous related post, the first step in dealing with negative thoughts is simply to notice thoughts in general, as mental events that arise and pass away,  almost continually. We saw that we can develop the capacity to be aware of what is happening in our lives, by doing the simple exercise of awareness of the breath entering and leaving the body. However, what we quickly notice is often we are too busy thinking about what is happening, preferring that as a way of relating to life.

Still,  let us persevere. The more we strengthen this,  wider-than-thinking,  capacity for awareness, the more we come to understand that thoughts, assumptions and beliefs are mental events and processes rather than reflections of objective truth. In other words,we begin to see the thoughts as passing through the mind, almost like clouds passing accross a clear blue sky. We begin to realize that thoughts are not as solid as we may think they are. We see them simply as thoughts, not necessarily true reflections of reality, and we do not need to follow them. Nor do we identify with them, but rather we try to create a space around the thought and stay there, observing it in silence and without analyzing it, judging it or interfering in any way.

To do this, we can try a second simple practice. We sit and become aware of our breathing. Then we imagine our mind to be the clear blue sky, spacious and bright. As thoughts come, which they inevitably will, we imagine them as clouds passing through the sky. Some are heavy, some are light, but we identify with the sky, not with the clouds. This is the second step in working with negative thoughts, simply noticing that thoughts arise, touching them lightly as if they are clouds, and letting them go.

We are accustomed to identifying with every large or small thought that comes along. But you can train in identifying as the sky instead. When you do, tremendous confidence arises. You see beyond doubt that you can accommodate it all —sunshine, storms, mist, fog, hail —and never give up.

Susan Piver

Reduce the negative, develop the positive…

Karl Duffy1 Comment

When we are having a tough day, finding the positive side of everyday happenings can be difficult.  It is an even greater struggle for people suffering from depression. But by developing skills to tune into the positive, depressed people can strengthen their overall wellbeing and mental health, a 2009 Ohio State University study found. By staying mindful of the positive elements of daily events, or by documenting each days happiest moments in a journal, a person may lower their stress levels. “Positive emotions build resilience to stress, in addition to having an undoing effect on depression” says Alan Keck, Psychologist at the Centre for Positive Psychology.

He goes on to say that we should consciously build up our positive resilience by really focusing when we are having an experience that we find especially pleasant. This may simply be a good cup of coffee, a special brunch, a visit to friends, a nice meal. To magnify the results, he says, pay attention to what you see, hear, and feel, both physically and emotionally, and smile. Then consciously tell yourself to “remember this” experience for which you feel grateful. Doing this helps the mind store the positive effects of the moment for future use.

Effect of Mindfulness on the Brain

Karl DuffyLeave a comment

Richard Davidson, Ph.D, one of the world’s foremost brain scientists and named in TIME Magazine’s as one of the world’s top 100 most influential people, has done considerable research on the effect of mindfulness practices on the brain. As I mentioned in a previous post, he is now the Director of the Laboratory for Affective Neuroscience at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he is researching how the brain can be trained and shaped to be more positive and resilient. In his work he has specialized in research on brain function related to emotion, both in normal individuals and those with, or at risk of, depression and anxiety.

In his research on brain function in anxiety he noted:  The functional M.R.I. images reveal that when people are emotionally distressed — anxious, angry, depressed — the most active sites in the brain are circuitry converging on the amygdala, part of the brain’s emotional centers, and the right prefrontal cortex, a brain region important for the hypervigilance typical of people under stress.

By contrast, when people are in positive moods — upbeat, enthusiastic and energized — those sites are quiet, with the heightened activity in the left prefrontal cortex.

By taking readings on hundreds of people, Davidson established a bell curve distribution, with most people in the middle, having a mix of good and bad moods. Those relatively few people who are farthest to the right are most likely to have a clinical depression or anxiety disorder over the course of their lives. For those lucky few farthest to the left, troubling moods are rare and recovery from them is rapid….

Davidson found  – in research on meditators versus non-meditators –  significant increases in left-sided anterior activation in the meditators compared with the non-meditators, the pattern previously associated with positive affect. He found that regular mindfulness practice over a period of just 8 weeks significantly increased immune system functioning and additionally increased left-brain activity (furthermore, increases in the left-brain functioning directly mediated the increases in immune system functioning).

The overall results from Davidson’s mindfulness research provides evidence for the use of meditative practices to reduce negative mood states – and furthermore shows that positive mood states are more likely to become a part of a person’s natural state if they meditate regularly.

The Other Side of the World

Karl DuffyLeave a comment

Happiness is not a place that is found outside of where we are right now.
If you wanted to find a perfect get-away from all your stress and unhappiness, where and how far would you go? To the other side of the world, to the International Space Station, or just the nearest bar? Your body would be somewhere else, but still, you would be taking your stressed, unhappy mind with you

Thich Nhat Hahn

Developing your Meditation Practice, Stage 1

Karl DuffyLeave a comment

There are a number of simple stages in the establishing of a consistent, daily, meditation practice.  The preparatory stages can be found in the link in the header entitled “Starting a Meditation Practice”  and they concern time, place and posture. This series of posts will move us on from those important preparatory elements.

Once we have established our posture and relaxed the body, we begin by placing our mind on the breath. In other words, we consciously and deliberately take our mind from wherever it has been up to that moment and focus its attention simply and gently on the awareness of the breath. We are conscious that we are letting go. We knowingly mark a change from what we were doing to this activity, to the next ten or twenty minutes of awareness of the breath. So three elements: settle the posture, deliberately change the focus, recognize thoughts and let them go. We gather the mind which has been scattered on a number of activities up to that point and begin to focus it softly on the simple act of breathing.

This is the the first part of the first stage, turning our attention to  the breath, marking a change from what activity we were engaged in up to this point.