Benedict Carey has an article in today's Science Times about mindfulness meditation. It is a bit like a secularized version of zen buddhist meditation that involves the wrangling of ones attention, not so much to change the present as to observe and exist with it, I'd almost say along side it. Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn introduced the technique to allopathic medicine about twenty years ago and many hospitals and clinics have since adopted it either to deal with the stress of illness in general or particularly in managing chronic pain, for which it appears to be useful according to a few studies. I have found it useful in coping with anxiety and with physical pain.
2 comments:
Thanks for mentioning the article, Ted. It is a topic I have read a lot about in the past months for personal reasons. I am currently reading a book on using mindfulness in dealing with depression. The title escapes me at the moment. Due to other pressing things, I haven't picked up the book in two weeks, but I intend to finish it over the weekend. Kabat-Zinn is one of the co-authors. What I have read so far is very interesting.
Myrthe - It is interesting and it is a useful practice as well!
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