Mindfulness studies youth

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Amishi Jha, B4Peace, free mindfulness exercises, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Mindfulness, mindfulness training, Richard Davidson

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Richard Davidson: “Happiness is a skill.”

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Jon Kabat-Zinn: “Mindfulness is paying attention
in the present moment in a non-judgmental way.” 

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When we engage in mental training,
we change the function and structure of our brain.
In this respect, the mind is no different than the body… 

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Becoming Conscious: The Science of Mindfulness

The final event of the 2013 “The Emerging Science of Consciousness Series” presented by the Nour Foundation, Wisconsin Public Radio’s nationally-syndicated program features Neuroscientists Richard Davidson and Amishi Jha joined clinical mindfulness expert Jon Kabat-Zinn to explore the role of consciousness in mental and physical health.

These experts report that we can train the mind to become more flexible and adaptable. 

The entire session is included (below)
in the comments section of this post.

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Now, news on studies that focus
on mindfulness and our youth: 

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Mindfulness-Based Meditation Helps Teenagers With Cancer

Mar. 13, 2014 — Mindfulness-based meditation could lessen some symptoms associated with cancer in teens, according to the results of a clinical trial intervention. Mindfulness-based meditation focuses on the present moment and the connection between the mind and body. Adolescents living with cancer face not only the physical symptoms of their condition, but also the anxiety and uncertainty related to the progression of the disease, the anticipation of physical and emotional pain related to illness and treatment, the significant changes implied in living with cancer, as well as the fear of recurrence after remission …  full story 

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Mindfulness at School Reduces (Likelihood Of) Depression-Related Symptoms in Adolescents

Mar. 15, 2013 — Secondary school students who follow an in-class mindfulness program report reduced indications of depression, anxiety and stress up to six months later. Moreover, these students were less likely to develop pronounced depression-like symptoms …  full story 

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Mindfulness Meditation Increases Well-Being in Adolescent Boys, Study Finds

Sep. 1, 2010 — “Mindfulness,” the process of learning to become more aware of our ongoing experiences, increases well-being in adolescent boys, a new study reports …  full story

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Need help or want to collaborate with me?
Just e-mail me at thehunt4truth@yahoo.com

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Thanks for visiting.

 Eric

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Mindfulness training downloads (free)

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Teaching mindfulness-based practices to parents has the potential to improve parent emotion regulation and parents’ ability to cope with the stress and emotional complexity of raising a young teenager. Levels of child negative affect rise during adolescence and there is evidence that adolescents transmit their negative affect to their parents.

[See: Collins, W. A. (1990). Parent-child relationships in the transition to adolescence: Continuity and change in interaction, affect, and cognition. In R. Montemayor, G. R. Adams, & T. P. Gullotta (Eds.), From childhood to adolescence: A transitional period (pp. 85–106). London: Sage.; AND Larson, R. W., & Richards, M. H. (1994). Family emotions: Do young adolescents and their parents experience the same states? Journal of Research on Adolescence, 4(4), 567–583.]

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4-26.

contemplative… practices

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contemplative, embrace silence, forgive, Forgiveness, God, life is beautiful, Love without resentment, Meditation Changes Brains, Mind-wandering, Mindfulness, mindfulness training, morning Meditation, Religion and Spirituality, Spiritual awakening, Success and Inner Peace

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Contemplative practices are counter-cultural. Broadly defined, contemplative practices, are more than the stereotype of prayer of a religious nature or meditation within an eastern tradition. Contemplative mind-body practices cultivate a focus on experiences, ideas or situations that act to remind us to connect to what we find most meaningful.

Contemplative practices are widely varied. I included an illustration below from the center for Contemplative Mind in Society that visually expands contemplative practices; for instance: various forms of meditation; focused thinking or brainstorming; time out in nature; writing; performing in the arts; contemplative movement in active, physical practices like yoga or tai chi; and silent practices like mindfulness and prayer of course.

Some people find that rituals rooted in a religious or cultural tradition sooth their soul. Not all practices are done in solitude. Groups and communities engage in practices that support reflection in a social context.

We may each benefit by a contemplative practice.

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The Tree of Contemplative Practices

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Click to enlarge: The Tree of Contemplative Practices

© the center for Contemplative Mind in Society
Concept and design by Maia Duerr
Illustration by Carrie Bergman

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From the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society…

Historically, contemplative practice has been taught by the world’s spiritual traditions. However, in the last three decades, the fields of psychology, medicine, and education have recognized that contemplative practice can contribute to well-being and maturation. As a result, health professionals and educators have been teaching contemplative practices in ‘non-religious forms’ that can be used as a resource for resilience by agnostics and atheists, as well as by people with a spiritual or religious worldview.

There are two major types of contemplative practice:

• Contemplation of behavior: When stressed out, angry, or afraid, we tend to become reactive. In such moments, we often act impulsively, in ways that harm ourselves or others. Contemplative practice teaches us to examine and change these destructive forms of behavior.
• Elevation of awareness: The stress of daily life is like a sticky spider’s web. It ensnares us. It prevents us from experiencing the beauty that surrounds us, our capacity for love and compassion, and the presence of a transcendent dimension in life. Through meditation, prayer, the arts, and observation of the natural world (and many other techniques), contemplative practice can help us restore our ability to rise above our anxieties, and to perceive life’s mystery and beauty.

The links below offer some examples of contemplative practices:

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Activist	Relational
Creative	Movement
Generative	Cyclical
Stillness	Ritual

The roots of the tree encompass and transcend differences in the
religious traditions from which many of the practices originated.

see also: The Tree of Contemplative Practices

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Additionally… here is a short program of eastern contemplative Christian practices:

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Program Description
An in depth dialogue on the teachings of early Christianity and the spirituality of eastern Orthodoxy, still little known in the West. A rare source of mystical wisdom.

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Thanks for visiting.

 Eric

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mindfulness: a state of non-distraction

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attention, B4Peace, cognitive ability, Dawa Tarchin Phillips, embrace silence, forgive, Forgiveness, free mindfulness exercises, Jonathan Schooler, life is beautiful, Love without resentment, Meditation Changes Brains, Memory, Michael Mrazek, Michael S. Franklin, Mind-wandering, Mindfulness, mindfulness training, morning Meditation, reading, reading comprehension, ScienceDaily, Success and Inner Peace, task focus, working memory, working memory capacity

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Mindfulness improves reading ability,
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working memory, and task-focus

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If you think your inability to concentrate is a hopeless condition, think again — and breathe, and focus. According to a new study, as little as two weeks of mindfulness training can significantly improve one’s reading comprehension, working memory capacity, and ability to focus. (source)

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Findings were recently published online in the empirical psychology journal Psychological Science.

Michael Mrazek, author of the paper:

“What surprised me the most was actually the clarity of the results. Mindfulness Training Improves Working Memory Capacity and GRE Performance While Reducing Mind Wandering.” “Even with a rigorous design and effective training program, it wouldn’t be unusual to find mixed results. But we found reduced mind-wandering in every way we measured it.“

To investigate whether mindfulness training can reduce mind-wandering and thereby improve performance, the scientists randomly assigned 48 undergraduate students to either a class that taught the practice of mindfulness or a class that covered fundamental topics in nutrition. Both classes were taught by professionals with extensive teaching experience in their fields. Within a week before the classes, the students were given two tests: a modified verbal reasoning test from the GRE (Graduate Record Examination) and a working memory capacity (WMC) test. Mind-wandering during both tests was also measured.

The mindfulness classes provided a conceptual introduction along with practical instruction on how to practice mindfulness in both targeted exercises and daily life. Meanwhile, the nutrition class taught nutrition science and strategies for healthy eating, and required students to log their daily food intake.

Within a week after the classes ended, the students were tested again. Their scores indicated that the mindfulness group significantly improved on both the verbal GRE test and the working memory capacity test. They also mind-wandered less during testing. None of these changes were true of the nutrition group.

Mrazek:

“This is the most complete and rigorous demonstration that mindfulness can reduce mind-wandering, one of the clearest demonstrations that mindfulness can improve working memory and reading, and the first study to tie all this together to show that mind-wandering mediates the improvements in performance.“

He added that the research establishes with greater certainty that some cognitive abilities often seen as immutable, such as working memory capacity, can be improved through mindfulness training.

Mrazek and the rest of the research team –– which includes Michael S. Franklin, project scientist; mindfulness teacher and research specialist Dawa Tarchin Phillips; graduate student Benjamin Baird; and senior investigator Jonathan Schooler, professor of psychological and brain sciences –– are extending their work by investigating whether similar results can be achieved with younger populations, or with web-based mindfulness interventions. They are also examining whether or not the benefits of mindfulness can be compounded by a program of personal development that also targets nutrition, exercise, sleep, and personal relationships.

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For more information on the mindfulness training program,
contact Dawa Tarchin Phillips
(805) 680-3988 or phillips@psych.ucsb.edu

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University of California – Santa Barbara. “Mindfulness improves reading ability, working memory, and task-focus.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 26 March 2013. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130326133339.htm>.

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see also:

Meditation Changes Brains
Gamma brain wave production is associated with consciousness, attention, learning and memory. We want to train our brains to increase peace and serenity and this changes the brain.

Embrace Silence
Instead of rationalizing and asking your friends and family what to do without being you, just be you. Relax your mind. Open up the small spaces between your thoughts to silence.

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Thanks for visiting.

 Eric

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Need help or want to collaborate with me?
Just e-mail me at thehunt4truth@yahoo.com

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RELATED ARTICLES

• Meditation Changes Brains
• Embrace Silence
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• what is the happiest person in the world saying?
• awake my soul

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Mar 25, 2014 .