January 2011 – Page 3 – Mindfulbalance

Mindfulness meditation changes the brain

January 24, 2011February 21, 2011 Karl DuffyLeave a comment

Participation in the 8 week MBSR programme affects the brain in areas which are responsible for memory, sense of self, empathy and stress, according to a new study due to be published next week in the Journal Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging. The research was led by Sarah Lazar at the Massachusetts General Hospital and looked at MRI scans of participants before and after they took part in the MBSR Programme and compared them with a control group of non-meditators. They found, for example, that participant-reported reductions in stress were correlated with decreased density in the amygdala, which is known to play an important role in anxiety and stress. This change was not found in the control group, meaning that it was not just due to passage of time.

As Britta Hölzel, PhD, first author of the paper states: It is fascinating to see the brain’s plasticity and that, by practicing meditation, we can play an active role in changing the brain and can increase our well-being and quality of life. What is interesting about this study is that it shows how the reported effects of the MBSR Course are now beginning to be tracked in the underlying structures of the brain.

You can check out a report of the study here: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110121144007.htm

Blue Monday again: Looking deeper

January 24, 2011February 21, 2011 Karl Duffy1 Comment

Supposedly, today is another “Blue Monday”, when we are more prone to depression. Or maybe just an ordinary Monday, when we find it hard to get going, and notice more the difficulties when they arise. Or simply another day when we struggle with the aspects of our life that feel are stuck at this moment. One way or the other we have to deal with the ups and downs of life. Looking deeper and gaining insight into the overall nature of life may help.

The Buddha did not teach that life is constant misery, nor that you should expect to feel pain and unhappiness at all times. Rather, he proclaimed that suffering is an unavoidable reality of ordinary human existence that is to be known and responded to wisely. While you, like all beings, may try your hardest to experience only the good and avoid the bad, there is simply no way for any of us to escape unpleasant experiences. They are part of the dance, life being true to its own nature.

Philipp Moffitt, Dancing with Life

Learning from loss in our lives

January 23, 2011January 23, 2011 Karl DuffyLeave a comment

A clear, cold night. Stars in the night sky. They are there, as they have been for people for millions of years, seemingly unchanging, but actually moving and evolving, just as we are.

Surviving a loss and letting go is only half of the story. The other half is the secret belief that we will find, in one form or another, what we have lost. And it is that potential, shimmery as a star on a clear night that helps us survive.

Veronica Chambers

Ways we get shaken from the present:1: The improving mind

January 22, 2011January 22, 2011 Karl Duffy1 Comment

Mindfulness practice reminds us to be fully present now, and in doing that we live a more integrated life. However, it is not easy to stay completely in the present moment, open to what is actually happening. The mind has a number of simple ways that distract us from being fully at ease just with what is going on, and which shake us from being firm in this experience. If we can spot these thoughts in the small moments of each day and notice their effect, we can come to gradually notice them in the bigger picture of our life.

The first one is what I call the “improving mind”. We find ourselves in a situation, maybe quite pleasant, and we suddenly find ourselves wanting just a little bit extra. Very quickly after the arrival of a pleasant sensation – This is just lovely here– comes a thought that moves us from just being with how things actually are –It’s a pity we cannot stay a bit longer. There is nothing wrong with a thought like this; it’s just a thought; but what we notice is that it slightly moves us away from fully enjoying this moment. They move us from simple happiness of now, to “how happiness could be better”. And if we hook into these thoughts we get blown away and moved on from fully attending to here and now.

A simple practice: See if you can spot this “improving mind”. What is it like to stay solid in the moment in all its flavours and colours, just as it is?

Sheltered from the wind

January 22, 2011 Karl DuffyLeave a comment

Experience follows intention. Wherever we are, whatever we do, all we need to do is recognize our thoughts, feelings, perceptions as something natural. Neither rejecting or accepting, we simply acknowledge the experience and let it pass. If we keep this up, we’ll eventually find ourselves becoming able to manage situations we once found painful, scary or sad. We’ll discover a sense of confidence that isn’t rooted in arrogance or pride. We’ll realize that we are always sheltered, always safe and always home.

Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, The Joy of Living

When your day is blue, or grey, look for red

January 21, 2011February 21, 2011 Karl Duffy1 Comment

The snow returned briefly yesterday, and today there is a bitter north wind. When times are grey or cold, or if our mood is blue (as this week is purported to be) we need to consciously notice the moments of colour and warmth in our lives, explicitly savouring them a little longer. We have to let positive facts become positive experiences. Just as Mary Oliver does when she pays attention to the red bird in this poem. What were or are the moments of colour in your day today that you can be grateful for? Who or what brought warmth? Allow yourself to feel good if you achieve something however small, if someone smiles or if you notice a good quality in yourself. As studies have shown, the more you take in the good in little details, the more your brain tilts towards the positive in an overall sense.