What Mindfulness Is Not

[David Baxter PhD]

What Mindfulness Is Not
Marsha Lucas, PhD
April 1, 2011

Mindfulness meditation can change your brain in ways that support healthier, more successful relationships. But how can you meditate when your brain is so busy? Marsha Lucas, PhD is a psychologist ...Mindfulness meditation can change your brain in ways that support healthier, more successful relationships. But how can you meditate when your brain is so busy? Marsha Lucas, PhD is a psychologist/neuropsychologist who explains why the busier your brain is, the more opportunities you have to do the "reps" in meditation that re-wire your brain.

 

[Modus.Ponens]

Hello

First of all, she's mixing what is mindfulness meditation (satipatthana) and concentration meditation (samatha). Samatha meditation is when you focus on a single object, such as the breath, to develop concentration. When you do this you progress trough the various levels of concentration, called jhanas. Satipatthana is when you are mindful of either the body, feelings, mind or the mental objects, in order to gain insight. Satipatthana meditation can be done in all situations, while samatha is usualy done while sitting crossleged. Now, what can happen is satipatthana combined with samatha, which is to do satipatthana while the mind is on jhana (you first attain the level of concentration you want and then with that degree of concentration you focus on either the body, feelings, mind or mental objects). This combination makes insight arise more quickly and more deeply. This is a clarification I want to make.

The other thing I want to say is that she is wrong when she says that the busier one is, the more oportunities you have in your meditation. She gave the example of samatha with the breath as the object. The less busy you are, the faster you are going to proceed trough the jhanas. She is speculating when she says that each time you're bringing your mind back to the breath (the "reps") you are rewiring your brain to regulate emotions. In fact, brain scans on experienced meditation practicioners show huge differences in the brain in comparisson to a non-meditator. The phase where you keep bringing your mind back to the breath is the initial phase of practice and these practicioners are way beyond it. This suggests that the attainment of the jhanas (where your distractions are almost inexistent) is more important in changing the brain structure than the "reps" she is talking about.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

You may well be correct, Modus.Ponens. Buit I don't think any of that conmtradicts the main point, which is that mindfulness does not mean empty mind, a confusion I have had myself in the past.

 

[Modus.Ponens]

Yes, that is totaly correct. And I must add that however busy you are. you'll benefict from mindfulness meditation.

 

[NewKarma]

The other thing I want to say is that she is wrong when she says that the busier one is, the more oportunities you have in your meditation. She gave the example of samatha with the breath as the object. The less busy you are, the faster you are going to proceed trough the jhanas...

I think this can be looked at from two directions.

Early in my meditation practice, my mind was still quite busy and much of the practice was simply "bringing it back home". I assume that a lot of people get frustrated during this phase of the early strengthening of their mindfulness. What helped me a lot (and continues to help me, both here and in other areas) was the ability to see these events as opportunities rather than setbacks. Just more "grist for the mill," as many people like to say. You may be right that you will move more quickly on the path once your mindfulness is stronger and you no longer have to keep catching yourself / bringing it back. However, the absolute with meditation is that you have to work with what's actually there. Early in the practice this might be exactly these types of events, in which case they are indeed just what the doctor ordered.

Actually, I'd generalize this concept even further. This idea has helped me enormously from the beginning, especially in terms of working with my anxiety and other day-to-day emotional (and other) issues. It was meditation and mindfulness that clued me in to the golden opportunity that is presented at exactly that moment that the rug is pulled out from under you. Of course one might say that you can proceed down the path more quickly without the obstacles. However, if the obstacles are there, then they are there, and an aversion to them is not what is necessary to work with them. They are, again, just grist for the mill. See them, and work with them as they are.