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Neuro-scientific research
Listen to what Rick Hanson, a leading expert on the Neuro-science of Mindfulness, says about our brain, how it has evolved, how it often works against us and how to "rewire" our brains in order to experience life in a new way through Mindfulness.
Listen to what Rick Hanson, a leading expert on the Neuro-science of Mindfulness, says about our brain, how it has evolved, how it often works against us and how to "rewire" our brains in order to experience life in a new way through Mindfulness.
Precious moments
Mindfulness has helped me to re-discover long lost skills from my childhood which brought joy and full living but which were deliberately starved and diminished when I moved into adulthood. Sadly adults are defined (and we define ourselves) by what we do rather than by who we are. As young adults much of our time is spent “getting on”, planning our future and working to make it real. Then, as we get into middle age, we spend most of our time looking back with fondness or with regret and missing the realities of life. Too little time spent enjoying our present experience of life as it unfold moment by moment because it is seen as “naval gazing” or wasting precious time.
Mindfulness has helped me to re-discover long lost skills from my childhood which brought joy and full living but which were deliberately starved and diminished when I moved into adulthood. Sadly adults are defined (and we define ourselves) by what we do rather than by who we are. As young adults much of our time is spent “getting on”, planning our future and working to make it real. Then, as we get into middle age, we spend most of our time looking back with fondness or with regret and missing the realities of life. Too little time spent enjoying our present experience of life as it unfold moment by moment because it is seen as “naval gazing” or wasting precious time.
“You can use your mind to change your brain for the better” (Rick Hanson.)
Through evolution, our brains have developed ways of assessing stimuli so that we have a greater chance of survival. When we experience something through our senses that could be an immediate danger or an opportunity, two things happen: a message is sent via the hippocampus to the Amygdala for a quick “fight or flight” response and another signal is sent to the Prefrontal Cortex for a slower, more systematic assessment (Hanson. 2009, p25). Often the stressful attacking or running response develops into a “well worn” neural pathway and becomes a habit. These are normal through meditation we can unlock a deeper level of compassion towards ourselves which eases our suffering and results in a more fulfilled life.
Through evolution, our brains have developed ways of assessing stimuli so that we have a greater chance of survival. When we experience something through our senses that could be an immediate danger or an opportunity, two things happen: a message is sent via the hippocampus to the Amygdala for a quick “fight or flight” response and another signal is sent to the Prefrontal Cortex for a slower, more systematic assessment (Hanson. 2009, p25). Often the stressful attacking or running response develops into a “well worn” neural pathway and becomes a habit. These are normal through meditation we can unlock a deeper level of compassion towards ourselves which eases our suffering and results in a more fulfilled life.
Through evolution, our brains have developed ways of assessing stimuli so that we have a greater chance of survival. When we experience something through our senses that could be an immediate danger or an opportunity, two things happen: a message is sent via the hippocampus to the Amygdala for a quick “fight or flight” response and another signal is sent to the Prefrontal Cortex for a slower, more systematic assessment (Hanson. 2009, p25). Often the stressful attacking or running response develops into a “well worn” neural pathway and becomes a habit. These are normal through meditation we can unlock a deeper level of compassion towards ourselves which eases our suffering and results in a more fulfilled life.
Through evolution, our brains have developed ways of assessing stimuli so that we have a greater chance of survival. When we experience something through our senses that could be an immediate danger or an opportunity, two things happen: a message is sent via the hippocampus to the Amygdala for a quick “fight or flight” response and another signal is sent to the Prefrontal Cortex for a slower, more systematic assessment (Hanson. 2009, p25). Often the stressful attacking or running response develops into a “well worn” neural pathway and becomes a habit. These are normal through meditation we can unlock a deeper level of compassion towards ourselves which eases our suffering and results in a more fulfilled life.
What does the research say?
Mindfulness is more of a skill for happy and healthy living than therapy. More of a way to develop an inner strength to be set free to live fully again, free from the cluttered mind which robs us of joy. I devote an important part of each session to reminding my clients that they are special and that they have been given a life to be lived to the full and that self-judgment paralyzes us while self-compassion sets us free.
Dr Martin Seligman is one of the founders of a field of study called positive Psychology. He has found through extensive research with optimists who see bad events as momentary and limited in effect and pessimists who tend to “catastrophize” blame themselves and exaggerate the consequences of a bad event. He found clear evidence in his research that “...it is not the world per se that puts us at increased risk of illness so much as how we see and think about what is happening to us.” (Kabat-Zinn. 2013, p.245)
Mindfulness is more of a skill for happy and healthy living than therapy. More of a way to develop an inner strength to be set free to live fully again, free from the cluttered mind which robs us of joy. I devote an important part of each session to reminding my clients that they are special and that they have been given a life to be lived to the full and that self-judgment paralyzes us while self-compassion sets us free.
Dr Martin Seligman is one of the founders of a field of study called positive Psychology. He has found through extensive research with optimists who see bad events as momentary and limited in effect and pessimists who tend to “catastrophize” blame themselves and exaggerate the consequences of a bad event. He found clear evidence in his research that “...it is not the world per se that puts us at increased risk of illness so much as how we see and think about what is happening to us.” (Kabat-Zinn. 2013, p.245)