Mark's Blog

March 14, 2009

In the past 25 years Mindfulness and its various practices have gone from being an esoteric spiritual practice from the east to something that is considered part of evidence-based medicine, something actually used and proscribed by doctors and other medical professionals world-wide. 

Much of this change can be attributed to the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn and his colleagues at The Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Healthcare and Society located at the University of Massachusetts.  Since the late 70’s that center has been offering classes in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction to hospital patients as well as documenting the results of their efforts.  The results of their research has been astounding and exciting. 

I will attempt to briefly summarize some of the findings of research in this blog and to draw some conclusions.  First, a short program of mindfulness has been shown to increase the activation in the left-sided anterior part of the brain associated with positive affect.  It has also been shown to strengthen the immune system of the brain (Davidson, et al, 2003) In a much earlier study, it was shown that a group mindfulness meditation program can effectively reduce symptoms of anxiety and panic and can help maintain these reductions in patients with generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder.  (Kabat-Zinn, et al, 1992) Both studies suggest that mindfulness practices have powerful effects on brain functioning, impacting both mental/emotional health and physical health. 

Another significant study which shows how mindfulness might have a positive healing effect on physical illness was done with psoriasis patients.  A brief mindfulness-based stress reduction intervention was delivered to patients by audiotape during their ultraviolet light therapy treatments was shown to increase the healing of lesions in psoriasis patients.  (Kabat-Zinn, et al, 1998)  Other studies have shown that mindfulness can have a significant impact on the self-regulation of long-term chronic pain patients (Kabat-Zinn, et al, 1985,1986)

These studies are just a small sampling of the research that has been done, but what they point to and suggest is something fairly amazing.  There has been a great deal of research and a great deal written lately about the plasticity of the brain, that experience can actually change and influence the structure and function of the brain which in turn can influence future experience and behavior.  This research is now so much more possible and accurate because of the new technology that can see subtler and subtler aspects of brain function and the dynamic movement of energy through the brain.  Perhaps the work of Dan Siegel (Siegel, 1999) is the best example of what has been written and researched about this neuroplasticity.  In his book he quotes neurobiologist Donald Hebb’s postulate that neurons that fire together, wire together, that through experience we can actually change the structures in the brain and break old habits and create new more healthy wiring in the brain. 

The research on mindfulness and meditation and its effects suggest that one very powerful way of influencing the brain and developing and strengthening underutilized areas of the brain is through the practice of mindfulness and meditation.  For instance, when we ask the question of why in the above study the immune system was strengthened by mindfulness practices or why anxiety was reduced, we can actually say that the nervous system is being changed by the practices of mindfulness, that what we do with our minds can change the brain and thus change our lives.  In fact, in one study cited above, the left-sided anterior part of the brain, the part of the brain associated with happier moods, was shown to be more activated after these practices were used. 

The implications for psychotherapeutic  work cannot be underestimated.  We are talking here about the physical, scientifically-proven, objective aspects of transformation, the science of transformation. For instance, areas of the brain that are  underdeveloped, like impulse control and affect regulation, might very well be developed by the practice of mindfulness and not only will we see the result in behavior, but also in actual brain structure and functioning. There is a sense here that we can develop our brains like we develop muscles when we go regularly to the gym.  Thus, we are not imprisoned by our past or by the ways our brains have developed.  We can create and choose our lives. 

In his recent visit to Seattle as part of the Seeds of Compassion events the Dalai Lama in a public talk with Dan Siegel spoke about the failure of religion and the need for us to develop a secular ethic that might support the transformation of human beings, so we can move away from life destroying mind states and behavior and move toward more life serving and loving mind states and behavior, so, we can ultimately survive as a species and contribute to the thriving of life on this planet.  The exciting thing is that this scientific research is developing that very ethic.  We now know scientifically, for the first time in  human history, the very mechanisms of change and transformation, the very practices that can help our brains, minds and behavior move toward greater compassion, love, peace and happiness. 


References:

Davidson R, Kabat-Zinn J, Schumacher J, Rosenkranz M, Mueller D, Santorelli S, Urbanowski F, Harrington A, Bonus K, Sheridan , Alterations in brain and immune function produced by mindfulness meditation, Psychsomatic Medicine  65: 564-570.

Kabat-Zinn, J, Lipworth L, Burney R , The clinical use of mindfulness meditation for the self-regulation of chronic pain.  Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 1985; 8: 163-90

Kabat-Zinn, J, Lipworth L, Burney R, Sellers W, Four-year follow-up of meditation-based program fpr the self-regulation of chronic pain: treatment outcomes and compliance. Clinical Journal of Pain  1986; 2:159-73

February 2, 2009

In a workshop in Portland I attended the late Irish poet John O'Donahue said: “The visible is the first shoreline of the invisible.” I believe that beauty is the place where the invisible touches the visible, where the divine penetrates and makes contact with the human, where the unknown mystery makes contact with the known.  Thinking about this lately, I am realizing that one function of mindfulness is to provide a bridge from the invisible to the visible so that this encounter can happen.  Without this meeting life often becomes a boring drudgery, without much meaning or vitality.  We live on the shore of this invisible and awesome mystery and yet in our busyness and in our distracted lives, we do not take the time to stop and notice and to breathe it in.  

One of the reasons I am so passionate about mindfulness is that human beings need this encounter with this mystery to be fully alive and to find joy.  I talk to so many people who are hungry for joy and beauty, whose soul’s are starving from the lack of soul nourishment in their lives.  Yet, that nourishment is simply a breath away.  All we have to do is stop long enough and grow quiet and suddenly the awe and mystery of our lives begin to whisper to us.  We begin to hear the forgotten song of our own aliveness once again.  

In this my daughter has been a wonderful teacher for me of late.  She is 22 months old and everything to her right now is amazing.  Every time she sees the moon she points and exclaims, “Moon!” as if there was nothing else more incredible than that, as if to question how I could go on with the routine of my evening when this incredible thing is hanging in the sky.  And every time she hears a story she loves, even if she has heard the story thirty times before, she is full of joy and excitement, as if it is a whole new story and a whole new experience.  I think she goes through her days being amazed by everything, so touched and in touch with the miracle of her being here.  She is constantly being touched by joy.  What would it be like to go through life like that, in constant amazement, full of gratitude and awe?

Meditation and mindfulness teachers often talk about having a beginner’s mind which is, I think, having a mind like a young child’s.  We see so much of our lives through our rational filters, through the layers of our past experiences, through a jaded “been there, done that” mentality that we actually do not have a live encounter with the moment.  We are living at a remove from our lives.  How do we reestablish an intimate relationship with our own lives, where we actually touch our lives and are touched by them?  What would it be like to greet this next breath as if it was your first breath or your last?  How would you see the moon if you were going blind and were never going to see it again?   

I remember seeing my daughter on the ultrasound for the first time. Both my wife and I were in tears and I turned to her and said, “Look what we created.” and then, “Look what 15 billion years of creation and evolution has created.”  I do wonder at times what it would be like to live with this consciousness much more of the time, that this improbable moment, this aliveness and love in my heart and beauty all around me, is possible because of the 15 billion years of stars exploding and stars being born and galaxies forming and dying and planets being created and crumbling and molecules and atoms being created and destroyed and really the whole universe needing to conspire to make this moment possible.  

I have the sense that the beauty of the world is an incredible gift that is there to help us get through the challenges, difficulties and pain of our lives, yet we have to be willing to take the time to receive the gift.  It is our habituated minds that keep us from a true encounter with life, with the beauty and mystery around us.  

Mindfulness is a practice that allows us to turn off the automatic pilot of our habits and to be pierced once again by the miracle of our shimmering beautiful aliveness. 

January 6, 2009

As the new year begins I find myself reflecting on what it means to commit to or to recommit to a mindful life.  And I think this is an important reflection because the commitment to a mindful life is not made once.  We need to make this commitment every day, indeed, every moment, every breath. The force of habit is so strong and our default is to fall back into mindlessness and unconsciousness.  It is so easy for us to go back to sleep.  So, asking the question of how I will recommit to my mindfulness practice this year is such an important question to ask.  And getting into the habit of asking the question, of waking up each morning and asking how I will commit to a mindful approach to life today, is part of the practice of mindfulness, part of the reminding ourselves that we can choose to wake up and live a conscious and intentional life.

So, as I ask myself the question today the commitment I want to make is to use everything as an invitation to wake up.  Every moment brings with it that invitation if we are willing to greet the moment and welcome the moment and explore the moment.  In my mindlessness, I divide my life up into good moments and bad moments.  The good moments should last and the bad moments should end as quickly as possible.  Yet, if we are to truly claim our lives we need to lean into every moment with curiosity.  What is this moment of life revealing about life, about the human experience, about being alive? Can I be curious, can I explore it, can I use the moment and my reaction to the moment as a mirror helping me see more of who I am and more of what the human mind does?  Can I stop running from pieces of my life?

One of the powerful teachings I took away from my seven day Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) training with Jon Kabat-Zinn was the idea he put forth right at the beginning of the seven days.  He suggested that we see everything that happens in the seven days as part of the curriculum.  Which meant that the seven days were not necessarily divided into class time where we were to learn about mindfulness and then other non-learning time.  It meant that everything, even interruptions to the curriculum, even petty annoyances, even Jon losing his voice (which he did), even moments of tiredness or boredom, were all things we could use to sharpen our awareness and aliveness.  It meant, in a weird way, that the whole universe was conspiring to wake us up if we were willing to lean into life, all of life, and see what happens.  I want to take this idea and live my life in this way, that everything is part of the curriculum, a curriculum which is teaching me about how to be alive, how to love and open my heart, how to be awake and how to be human.  

To do this I will need to set the intention of approaching everything with an attitude of curiosity and gratitude.  This, too, this moment, even if it is challenging, even if there is tremendous pain in the moment, is a part of being alive.  I do not want to wall off this piece of my aliveness and live a half life.  I want to know this moment.  I want to end the war I often have with the moment—if only this moment were different, if only this person was not doing this to me, if only this event could happen, if only my vacation would come faster, then I could be happy.   As I practice mindfulness I sometimes get a glimpse of a radical idea, that my happiness and peace are irrelevant to what is happening to me, to what is occurring in my life, and has everything to do with my relationship to what is happening, how I am choosing to respond to my life.  I want to choose to respond to my life with openness, with a sense that this too is my life, this too, can have a place in my heart.  Am I willing to open to the mystery and adventure of being alive or am I going to exclude parts of my life, try to control and freeze the fluidity of my aliveness and try to always find comfort and safety?  

I want to say YES to this grand adventure of being alive.  That is my commitment and that is what it means to live a mindful life.  

June 19, 2008

Lately I have been thinking that all of the work of being in a couple and being intimate comes down to our ability to soften to and accept our own and each other’s imperfect humanity. In my work with couples I watch so often people lashing out at others, blaming their partners, when they begin to come close to the tender raw spots inside themselves. We are so defended against our fragile humanity. It seems there is a part of us, a wounded part of us, that we would rather act out of than turn around and face directly. We would rather blame our partners or shut down than touch the fire of our own woundedness. We are longing to be seen and held and known and yet we are so afraid of letting ourselves or another get that close.

What I see over and over, though, is that when we allow ourselves to touch our own wounds with tenderness and presence and when we let our partners see that part of us that we see as ugly and horrible, then melting and healing can happen.  The fire of our own woundedness is actually an alchemical fire that transforms us, transforms our relationships, and transforms our hearts. We begin to see that the very thing we were running from, the thing that we believe makes us unloveable, is actually the doorway out of our suffering and disconnection and alienation, is actually the doorway into love. Ultimately, can we allow our partners and ourselves to hold and bless the previously cursed parts of ourselves?

So, the challenge is can we catch our habitual patterns of defense and avoidance and choose to do something different? The habit energy of defensive anger rushes through us and instead of getting on that train, we pause, we breathe and in that pause and breath a different choice is possible. In that pause and breath, there is freedom. We can choose to go inside, move toward the pain, and share from that vulnerable conscious place. We can choose vulnerability and connection and relationship over isolation and fear. We can choose love.

I sometimes call this process the unilateral disarmament of the heart and it takes a great deal of courage. Yet the alternative is the war of relationships that we see all around us. There is so much violence in the world coming from our fears and when we choose this path away from violence and toward love and relationship, a small part of the world is healed. Thus, the work of relationship and intimacy becomes the work of ending the violence in our world, starting with the violence we perpetrate on ourselves and on the ones we love.

May 1, 2008

What does it mean to be a mindfulness-based therapist, to put mindfulness at the center of my practice. Mindfulness is often defined as paying attention non-judgmentally, moment-to-moment to the unfolding life process. It is a way of being more alive and embodied and awake; a way of not being on automatic pilot, at the whim of habit energies. So, to be a mindfulness-based therapist is to believe it matters where you choose to put your attention and to put attention on the here and now moment is a healing act and a loving act.

Often, it is our very resistance to this unfolding moment and to ourselves as we are in this moment that create our suffering and unhappiness. Something amazing and wonderful begins to happen when we stop fighting with the moment and with ourselves and simply welcome what is. Suddenly, there is room inside of us for all of who we are; suddenly the moment becomes fresh and dynamic and fluid.

So many times I watch my clients move from resisting something within them, something they have been running from their whole lives. When they finally find the courage to actually turn and face this darkness, this wound, this exiled part of themselves, there is often a softening, a melting, and the stuck energy and emotions begin to move and even transform. It is the unblessed parts of ourselves that cause the damage and the pain. Once some part of us is blessed by human presence, by our own loving and kind attention, it becomes life-serving rather than life-destroying.

One of my clients said, “There are no thought crimes”, which I take to mean that there is nothing inside of us that is inherently horrible or evil, that is not worthy of our love and often the parts of us that we deem most ugly are the very parts of us that are most needy of our love and our blessing. In a way mindfulness is a deep and profound act of love, a bringing of our kind attention and acceptance to the parts of us that have been bereft of such attention. Paradoxically, change becomes possible when we stop trying to change ourselves, when we stop making ourselves a project that needs to be fixed and instead accept ourselves, accept our own flawed and beautiful humanity.