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EL29 Mindfulness Meditation

Lecture 3.1: Meditation without

spirituality

The growth and decline of religious numbers Religions by percentage increase (2013)

2013 http://www.canada.com/life/Religion+Canada+breakdown/8354112/story.html

Quick quiz to consolidate your memory!

Which religions are declining in Canada which are increasing their numbers?

Ok to chat with your neighbors

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Lecture Overview

! Topics: • Meditation breaks into spiritual and secular approaches in N. America

• High profile researchers begin to study meditation and develop therapies & institutes

Further Reading on this subject: http://www.pmalinowski.de/downloads/chiesa%26malinowski2011.pdf

Key Learnings: !  Key Learning #1: Meditation in N. America is fractionating

into two groups: 1) those still grounded in eastern spiritual traditions, 2) those secular applications stripped of spirituality and their eastern religious traditions, and 3) hybrids.

!  Key Learning #2: : secular meditation applications began to be developed in the 1970s by a number of high-profile medical researchers – most developed therapy techniques , wrote successful “how to” books and developed training institutes.

!  Key Learning #3: Some Buddhists are concerned with this approach, while others see it as another healing approach similar to what the Buddha taught. Some psychologists concerned over lack of scientific rigor and verification.

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Key Learnings: !  Key Learning #1: Meditation in N. America is fractionating

into two groups: 1) those still grounded in eastern spiritual traditions, 2) those secular applications stripped of spirituality and their eastern religious traditions, and 3 hybrids.

!  Key Learning #2: : secular meditation applications began to be developed in the 1970s by a number of high-profile medical researchers – most developed therapy techniques , wrote successful “how to” books and developed training institutes.

!  Key Learning #3: Some Buddhists are concerned with this approach, while others see it as another healing approach similar to what the Buddha taught. Some psychologists concerned over lack of scientific rigor and verification.

Meditation Groups: Grounded in Eastern Spiritual Traditions

!  Buddhist groups tend to be the most common N. American practitioners of meditation. Three subgroups: 1.  Those linked to immigrates from eastern Buddhist

countries (e.g. China, Burma, Viet Nam). !  Meditation for this group is not a focus. !  More devotional practice (offerings, chanting, prayers) and social.

2.  Those brought over in the early 20th century by individual lamas, monks, gurus, etc . !  Meditation tends to be a core spiritual practice for this group, not unlike the

original eastern monastics. !  More on this in our last lecture.

3.  Westerners who went to Asia to learn Buddhism and Came back to teach and set up communities.

!  Meditation tends to be a core spiritual practice for this group, not unlike the original eastern monastics.

!  The form of Buddhism in this group is evolving into a uniquely North American style(s) of Buddhism.

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Meditation Groups: Secular !  Early pioneers in this group led by

psychologists looking for novel therapies & interventions.

!  They would argue that this is consistent with Buddhist principles of: suffering and overcoming suffering. Buddha as a physician.

!  Mindfulness based interventions (MBI) arose in the early 1970s’. •  Market demand and because of evidence that these MBIs contribute to

well-being and relieve suffering •  Growing empirical and scientific evidence that MBIs work.

Meditation Groups: Hybrid !  Buddhist groups who teach

meditation techniques to any and all. !  Some such groups insist on adoption

of the Buddhadharma elements in addition to meditation.

!  Others focus on the meditation techniques, but present a “Buddha dharma” lite version and less insistent on participants adopting the spiritual aspects.

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Key Learnings: !  Key Learning #1: Meditation in N. America is fractionating

into two groups: 1) those still grounded in eastern spiritual traditions, 2) those secular applications stripped of spirituality and their eastern religious traditions, and 3) hybrids

!  Key Learning #2: : secular meditation applications began to be developed in the 1970s by a number of high-profile medical researchers – most developed therapy techniques , wrote successful “how to” books and developed training institutes.

!  Key Learning #3: Some Buddhists are concerned with this approach, while others see it as another healing approach similar to what the Buddha taught. Some psychologists concerned over lack of scientific rigor and verification.

Two categories of MBIs 1.  Complementary and

alternative medicine (CAM) •  Complementary medicine includes a large number

of practices and systems of health care that, for a variety of cultural, social, economic, or scientific reasons, have not been adopted by mainstream Western medicine.

•  Popular with the public – doctors remain suspicious due to lack of scientific verification and wide-spread quacks and charlatans.

•  E.g. herbalism, aromatherapy

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Two categories of MBIs 2.  Integrative medicine (IM)

•  IM depends on a partnership between the patient and the doctor, where the goal is to treat the mind, body, and spirit, all at the same time.

•  While some of the therapies used may be nonconventional, a guiding principle within IM is to use therapies that have some high-quality evidence to support them.

•  A bit more acceptance by main-stream medicine. •  E.g. acupuncture, meditation, Tai Chi, yoga,

nutrition

MBIs therapeutic approaches !  Focus on the present rather

than the past or future (no Freudian dragging up the past!)

!  Clients taught practices that they can use in the everyday lives which can be applied to alleviate suffering

!  While practicing MBIs the focus is on accepting the present moment and healing versus curing or fixing.

!  Can be taught individually or in a group.

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MBSR training & counseling sessions

!  Note: secular, non-religious setting.

!  Buddhism only mentioned in a historical sense, if at all.

!  Counseling in small groups or one-on-one, clinical setting.

MBIs can and are being tailored to specific conditions.

!  Anxiety/stress !  Asthma/COPD !  Bone marrow

transplants !  Brain injuries !  Chronic pain !  Depression !  Diabetes

!  Eating disorders !  Fibromyalgia !  Heart disease !  HIV/Aides !  Hypertension !  HPV !  Insomnia

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MBIs can and are being tailored to specific conditions (cont.)

!  Irritable bowel syndrome

!  Lupus !  Menopause

symptoms !  Obesity !  OCD !  Organ transplant !  Personality

disorders

!  PTSD and complex trauma

!  Pregnancy !  Psoriasis !  Rheumatoid

arthritis !  Schizophrenia !  Suicide !  Tinnitus

Early research in support of MBIs: Dr. Herbert Bensen

!  1970’s he began researching the impacts of Transcendental meditation (TM).

!  Later, he moved on to studying Buddhist monks.

!  Established the Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Harvard.

!  Wrote the book, The Relaxation Response in 1975 – non-religious version of TM technique

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The Relaxation Response (RR) !  Defined as ones personal ability to

encourage their body to release chemicals which encourages muscles and organs to slow down and increase blood flow to the brain.

!  Practicing RR can bring the mind-body back to pre-stress levels by engaging the parasympathetic nervous system (opposite of fight, flight or freeze).

!  In meditating subjects he observed: decreased metabolism, decreased oxygen consumption, slowed respiration rates, brain waves different than sleep.

!  Developed a long-term relationship with the 14th Dalai Lama in 1979. The Dali Lama has always been very supportive of scientific research on mediation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCXr7rxTLBE

Clinical Standardized Meditation (CSM) !  Dr. Patricia Carrington Princeton

University also studied mantra based meditation (1970s).

!  Designed the CSM an Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT or tapping) Choices methods as secular clinical forms of meditation that was not connected to a specific tradition or belief.

!  But linked to Chinese medicine, energy flows and meridian points which are a bit unproven

!  Affiliation with high-credibility universities helps build financial success!

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The Hakomi Method

!  Late 70’s, Dr. Ron Kurtz develops the Hakomi method.

!  Draws on a wide-range of scientific, psychological and spiritual practices that can be applied to a wide range of populations.

!  Core concepts: gentleness, compassion, and mindfulness meditation.

!  Workshops offered around the world.

Group Discussion Time

What is your view on these new MBIs, based on what you

have learned so far?

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Key Learnings: !  Key Learning #1: Meditation in N. America is fractionating

into two groups: 1) those still grounded in eastern spiritual traditions, 2) those secular applications stripped of spirituality and their eastern religious traditions, and 3) hybrids.

!  Key Learning #2: : secular meditation applications began to be developed in the 1970s by a number of high-profile medical researchers – most developed therapy techniques , wrote successful “how to” books and developed training institutes.

!  Key Learning #3: Some Buddhists are concerned with this approach, while others see it as another healing approach similar to what the Buddha taught. Some psychologists concerned over lack of scientific rigor and verification.

Issues & Concerns

!  Ballooning demand and pressure to get new trainers training others right away.

!  Under qualified teachers presenting themselves as mindfulness experts.

!  Rare cases of cognitive, perceptual and sensory aberrations (ASC), panic and depression esp. after long silent retreats.

!  Crash 8 week courses can be costly and for some, make it hard to continue afterwards.

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/aug/25/mental-health-meditation#img-1

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Issues & Concerns !  Professionals concerned

about the lack of scientific rigor and independent testing.

!  MBI institutions starting to do their own science, but vested interests may call into question the validity of results.

!  However, there is a lot of anecdotal and emerging scientific evidence that these techniques are providing benefits for some disorders.

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/aug/25/mental-health-meditation#img-1

Issues & Concerns !  Buddhists concerned that

stripping meditation from its ethical and spiritual foundation could lead to problems.

!  The 8 fold path spells out: •  Right wisdom •  Right morals •  Right mediation

!  Focusing only on the meditative aspect could lead to problems for individuals down the road.

!  Commercialization of meditation not in the spirit of the Buddha's original approach (free or by donation)

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/aug/25/mental-health-meditation#img-1

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Quick check: How much can you recall so far?

Which of the following is NOT a concern Buddhists have about MBIs?

a)  Commercialization of meditation

b)  Psychologists stealing their followers away

c)  Stripping meditation for moral and wisdom aspects.

!  Which of the following is NOT a concern some independent psychologists have about MBIs.? a)  Rigours scientific

verification b)  MBI institutions doing

their own verification research

c)  Not being able to train the trainers fast enough

Part 2: Hand’s on practice – movement meditation:

Tai Chi