Attentional and contemplative practice.
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Qurʾān
القرآن6 shownVerses named for this subject by hand come first. The rest are found by the subject’s own Arabic and English senses and are shown as lexical matches, not as anchors anyone has confirmed.
Qur'ān 10:24Arabic sense: تفكر | English sense: reflect
إِنَّمَا مَثَلُ ٱلۡحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنۡيَا كَمَآءٍ أَنزَلۡنَٰهُ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ فَٱخۡتَلَطَ بِهِۦ نَبَاتُ ٱلۡأَرۡضِ مِمَّا يَأۡكُلُ ٱلنَّاسُ وَٱلۡأَنۡعَٰمُ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَآ أَخَذَتِ ٱلۡأَرۡضُ زُخۡرُفَهَا وَٱزَّيَّنَتۡ وَظَنَّ أَهۡلُهَآ أَنَّهُمۡ قَٰدِرُونَ عَلَيۡهَآ أَتَىٰهَآ أَمۡرُنَا لَيۡلًا أَوۡ نَهَارࣰ ا فَجَعَلۡنَٰهَا حَصِيدࣰ ا كَأَن لَّمۡ تَغۡنَ بِٱلۡأَمۡسِۚ كَذَٰلِكَ نُفَصِّلُ ٱلۡأٓيَٰتِ لِقَوۡمࣲ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ
The life of this world is like this: rain that We send down from the sky is absorbed by the plants of the earth, from which humans and animals eat. But when the earth has taken on its finest appearance, and adorns itself, and its people think they have power over it, then the fate We commanded comes to it, by night or by day, and We reduce it to stubble, as if it had not flourished just the day before. This is the way We explain the revelations for those who reflect
Qur'ān 2:219Arabic sense: تفكر | English sense: reflect
۞يَسۡـَٔلُونَكَ عَنِ ٱلۡخَمۡرِ وَٱلۡمَيۡسِرِۖ قُلۡ فِيهِمَآ إِثۡمࣱ كَبِيرࣱ وَمَنَٰفِعُ لِلنَّاسِ وَإِثۡمُهُمَآ أَكۡبَرُ مِن نَّفۡعِهِمَاۗ وَيَسۡـَٔلُونَكَ مَاذَا يُنفِقُونَۖ قُلِ ٱلۡعَفۡوَۗ كَذَٰلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمُ ٱلۡأٓيَٰتِ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَتَفَكَّرُونَ
They ask you [Prophet] about intoxicants and gambling: say, ‘There is great sin in both, and some benefit for people: the sin is greater than the benefit.’ They ask you what they should give: say, ‘Give what you can spare.’ In this way, God makes His messages clear to you, so that you may reflect
Qur'ān 2:266English sense: reflect | Arabic sense: تفكر
أَيَوَدُّ أَحَدُكُمۡ أَن تَكُونَ لَهُۥ جَنَّةࣱ مِّن نَّخِيلࣲ وَأَعۡنَابࣲ تَجۡرِي مِن تَحۡتِهَا ٱلۡأَنۡهَٰرُ لَهُۥ فِيهَا مِن كُلِّ ٱلثَّمَرَٰتِ وَأَصَابَهُ ٱلۡكِبَرُ وَلَهُۥ ذُرِّيَّةࣱ ضُعَفَآءُ فَأَصَابَهَآ إِعۡصَارࣱ فِيهِ نَارࣱ فَٱحۡتَرَقَتۡۗ كَذَٰلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمُ ٱلۡأٓيَٰتِ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَتَفَكَّرُونَ
Would any of you like to have a garden of palm trees and vines, graced with flowing streams and all kinds of produce, which, when you are afflicted with old age and feeble offspring, is struck by a fiery whirlwind and burnt down? In this way God makes His messages clear to you, so that you may reflect on them
Qur'ān 3:191Arabic sense: تفكر | English sense: reflect
ٱلَّذِينَ يَذۡكُرُونَ ٱللَّهَ قِيَٰمࣰ ا وَقُعُودࣰ ا وَعَلَىٰ جُنُوبِهِمۡ وَيَتَفَكَّرُونَ فِي خَلۡقِ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ رَبَّنَا مَا خَلَقۡتَ هَٰذَا بَٰطِلࣰ ا سُبۡحَٰنَكَ فَقِنَا عَذَابَ ٱلنَّارِ
who remember God standing, sitting, and lying down, who reflect on the creation of the heavens and earth: ‘Our Lord! You have not created all this without purpose- You are far above that!- so protect us from the torment of the Fire
Qur'ān 6:50English sense: reflect | Arabic sense: تفكر
قُل لَّآ أَقُولُ لَكُمۡ عِندِي خَزَآئِنُ ٱللَّهِ وَلَآ أَعۡلَمُ ٱلۡغَيۡبَ وَلَآ أَقُولُ لَكُمۡ إِنِّي مَلَكٌۖ إِنۡ أَتَّبِعُ إِلَّا مَا يُوحَىٰٓ إِلَيَّۚ قُلۡ هَلۡ يَسۡتَوِي ٱلۡأَعۡمَىٰ وَٱلۡبَصِيرُۚ أَفَلَا تَتَفَكَّرُونَ
Say, ‘I do not have the treasures of God, nor do I know the unseen, nor do I tell you that I am an angel. I only follow what is revealed to me.’ Say, ‘Is a blind person like one who can see? Why will you not reflect?’
Qur'ān 7:176English sense: reflect | Arabic sense: تفكر
وَلَوۡ شِئۡنَا لَرَفَعۡنَٰهُ بِهَا وَلَٰكِنَّهُۥٓ أَخۡلَدَ إِلَى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ وَٱتَّبَعَ هَوَىٰهُۚ فَمَثَلُهُۥ كَمَثَلِ ٱلۡكَلۡبِ إِن تَحۡمِلۡ عَلَيۡهِ يَلۡهَثۡ أَوۡ تَتۡرُكۡهُ يَلۡهَثۚ ذَّٰلِكَ مَثَلُ ٱلۡقَوۡمِ ٱلَّذِينَ كَذَّبُواْ بِـَٔايَٰتِنَاۚ فَٱقۡصُصِ ٱلۡقَصَصَ لَعَلَّهُمۡ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ
if it had been Our will, We could have used these signs to raise him high, but instead he clung to the earth and followed his own desires- he was like a dog that pants with a lolling tongue whether you drive it away or leave it alone. Such is the image of those who reject Our signs. Tell them the story so that they may reflect
Research library, full list
726 to 750 of 1,240Complementary medicine in palliative care and cancer symptom management.
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use among cancer patients varies according to geographical area, gender, and disease diagnosis. The prevalence of CAM use among cancer patients in the United States has been estimated to be between 7% and 54%. Most cancer patients use CAM with the hope of boosting the immune system, relieving pain, and controlling side effects related to disease or treatment. Only a minority of patients include CAM in the treatment plan with curative intent. This review article focuses on practices belonging to the CAM domains of mind-body medicine, CAM botanicals, manipulative practices, and energy medicine, because they are widely used as complementary approaches to palliative cancer care and cancer symptom management. In the area of cancer symptom management, auricular acupuncture, therapeutic touch, and hypnosis may help to manage cancer pain. Music therap…
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Feasibility and Efficacy of the Addition of Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback to a Remote Digital Health Intervention for Depression.
A rise in the prevalence of depression underscores the need for accessible and effective interventions. The objectives of this study were to determine if the addition of a treatment component showing promise in treating depression, heart rate variability-biofeedback (HRV-B), to our original smartphone-based, 8-week digital intervention was feasible and whether patients in the HRV-B ("enhanced") intervention were more likely to experience clinically significant improvements in depressive symptoms than patients in our original ("standard") intervention. We used a quasi-experimental, non-equivalent (matched) groups design to compare changes in symptoms of depression in the enhanced group (n = 48) to historical outcome data from the standard group (n = 48). Patients in the enhanced group completed a total average of 3.86 h of HRV-B practice across 25.8 sessions, and were more likely to repor…
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Feasibility of an Internet-based positive psychological intervention for hemodialysis patients with symptoms of depression.
Background: Depression is a pervasive psychological issue facing hemodialysis (HD) patients. Novel technology-based treatment strategies that deploy psychology-based interventions have not been the focus for therapy and few published studies exist. The aim of the current trial is to determine the feasibility and acceptability of an Internet-based positive psychological intervention in HD patients with comorbid depressive symptoms.
Methods: HD patients (n = 14) with elevated symptoms of depression were enrolled in a single-arm pre-post trial with clinical assessments at baseline and immediately post intervention. Chairside during regularly scheduled HD treatment, patients utilized a web browser to complete online modules promoting skills for increasing positive emotion over a 5-week period using Apple IPads. Targeted skills included noting of daily positive events, gratitude, positive rea…
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The relaxation response resiliency program (3RP) in patients with neurofibromatosis 1, neurofibromatosis 2, and schwannomatosis: results from a pilot study.
NF1, NF2, and Schwannomatosis are incurable tumor suppressor syndromes associated with poor quality of life. The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of an NF adapted, 8-week group mind body skills based intervention, the relaxation response resiliency program (3RP) aimed at improving resiliency and increasing satisfaction with life. Patients seen at MGH's Neurofibromatosis Clinic were offered participation if they described difficulties coping to a treating physician. Participants completed measures of life satisfaction, resiliency, stress, mood, lifestyle, pain, post-traumatic growth and mindfulness at baseline and after completing the 3RP program. The intervention had relative feasible enrollment rate (48% rate, 32 out of 67 of patients signing the informed consent form). However, out of the 32 patients who signed the informed con…
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The development of a patient-centered program based on the relaxation response: the Relaxation Response Resiliency Program (3RP).
Background: Chronic daily stress has significant physical, emotional, and financial implications; levels of stress are increasing in the US. Dr. Benson highlighted how the mind and body function together in one's experience of the stress response and proposed the existence of the relaxation response (RR).
Objective: The current paper describes the foundation and development of an 8-session multimodal treatment program for coping with chronic stress: the Relaxation Response Resiliency Program (3RP).
Methods: We review the past decades of RR research, outline the development of the 3RP treatment, and provide an overview of the program's theory and content.
Results: Extensive research and clinical work have examined how eliciting the RR may combat stress through down-regulation of the sympathetic nervous system. Related to this work are the multidimensional constructs of resiliency and allo…
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Malik S (2026)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usThe American journal of orthopsychiatry Spiritual empowerment: A conceptual model of mindfulness-based healing for Muslim mothers.
Muslim mothers in Western nations encounter unique challenges, including Islamophobia, cultural stigma, social isolation, and the pressures of balancing family and societal responsibilities. Spiritually integrated mindfulness support groups can serve as a vital intervention to address these challenges, alleviate stress, and foster cultural revitalization and spiritual empowerment. This article introduces a framework integrating Islamic concepts with mindfulness and its application in the Mindfulness Meditation Fundamentals pilot program to reduce stress, promote collective healing, spiritual growth, and strengthen community bonds among Muslim mothers. Participants learned mindfulness core concepts, Islamic coping strategies and practical tools for integrating mindfulness into daily life. Grounded in Imam al-Ghazali's framework, the program emphasized muraqaba (Islamic mindfulness meditat…
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Understanding students' motivations for participating in a mindfulness course: a qualitative analysis of medical students' views.
Objectives: Improving medical students' wellbeing and empowerment through curricular activities is a topic of interest worldwide. Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are increasingly implemented in medical education often as part of elective courses. To better understand training outcomes and adjust curriculum to students' needs, we will explore why will medical students participate in meditation-based education?
Methods: We analyzed 29 transcripts from the first session of an 8-week MBSR program offered to medical students in French. Transcripts were coded and analyzed using a qualitative content thematic analysis and the constant comparison method.
Results: Analyses resulted in three themes describing students' motivation: (1) Medical education and the physician's role, i.e. improving interpersonal skills, acquiring skills oriented toward a more integrative medicine, being more prod…
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Defining and measuring meditation-related adverse effects in mindfulness-based programs.
Background: Research on the adverse effects of mindfulness-based programs (MBPs) has been sparse and hindered by methodological imprecision.
Methods: The 44-item Meditation Experiences Interview (MedEx-I) was used by an independent assessor to measure meditation-related side effects (MRSE) following three variants of an 8-week program of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (n = 96). Each item was queried for occurrence, causal link to mindfulness meditation practice, duration, valence, and impact on functioning.
Results: Eighty-three percent of the MBP sample reported at least one MRSE. Meditation-related adverse effects (MRAEs) with negative valences or negative impacts on functioning occurred in 58% and 37% of the sample, respectively. Lasting bad effects occurred in 6-14% of the sample and were associated with signs of dysregulated arousal (hyperarousal and dissociation).
Conclusion: …
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Influence on Forgiveness, Character Strengths and Satisfaction with Life of a Short Mindfulness Intervention via a Spanish Smartphone Application.
Mindfulness-based interventions (MBI) are a recognized effective psychological practice characterized by attention control, awareness, acceptance, non-reactivity, and non-judgmental thinking obtained through the practice of meditation. They have been shown to be useful in reducing stress and enhancing well-being in different contexts. In this research, the effectiveness of an MBI was evaluated on variables that can promote successful job performance such as mindfulness trait, positive and negative affect, forgiveness, personality strengths and satisfaction with life. The intervention was carried out through a smartphone application called "Aire Fresco" (Fresh Air) during 14 days in the middle of the quarantine produced by the Covid-19 pandemic. The study sample was composed of 164 Spanish people who were distributed in two groups: control group and experimental group, which were evaluate…
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Lengacher CA, Reich RR, Ramesar S, Alinat CB, Moscoso M, Cousin L, Marino VR, Elias MN, Paterson CL, Pleasant ML, Rodriguez CS, Wang HL, Kip KE, Meng H, Park JY (2018)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usPsycho-oncology78 citations Feasibility of the mobile mindfulness-based stress reduction for breast cancer (mMBSR(BC)) program for symptom improvement among breast cancer survivors.
Objective: The purpose of this pilot study was to test the feasibility of delivering the mobile mindfulness-based stress reduction for breast cancer (mMBSR(BC)) program using an iPad and to evaluate its impact on symptom improvement.
Methods: A single group, pre-posttest design was implemented among female stages 0-III breast cancer survivors (BCS) who completed treatment. Data were collected at baseline and week 6 on measures of psychological and physical symptoms and quality of life. The mMBSR(BC) program is a standardized, stress-reducing intervention that combines sitting and walking meditation, body scan, and yoga and is designed to deliver weekly 2-hour sessions for 6 weeks using an iPad.
Results: The mean age of the 15 enrolled BCS was 57 years; one participant was non-Hispanic black, and 14 were non-Hispanic white. Of the 13 who completed the study, there were significant improve…
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Improvements in Stress, Affect, and Irritability Following Brief Use of a Mindfulness-based Smartphone App: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Mindfulness training, which involves observing thoughts and feelings without judgment or reaction, has been shown to improve aspects of psychosocial well-being when delivered via in-person training programs such as mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT). Less is known about the efficacy of digital training mediums, such as smartphone apps, which are rapidly rising in popularity. In this study, novice meditators were randomly allocated to an introductory mindfulness meditation program or to a psychoeducational audiobook control featuring an introduction to the concepts of mindfulness and meditation. The interventions were delivered via the same mindfulness app, were matched across a range of criteria, and were presented to participants as well-being programs. Affect, irritability, and two distinct components of stress were measured immedia…
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Women Benefit More Than Men in Response to College-based Meditation Training.
Objectives: While recent literature has shown that mindfulness training has positive effects on treating anxiety and depression, there has been virtually no research investigating whether effects differ across genders-despite the fact that men and women differ in clinically significant ways. The current study investigated whether college-based meditation training had different effects on negative affect for men and women. Methods: Seventy-seven university students (36 women, age = 20.7 ± 3.0 years) participated in 12-week courses with meditation training components. They completed self-report questionnaires of affect, mindfulness, and self-compassion before and after the course. Results: Compared to men, women showed greater decreases in negative affect and greater increases on scales measuring mindfulness and self-compassion. Women's improvements in negative affect were correlated to im…
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Effects of a 12-Week Mindfulness, Compassion, and Loving Kindness Program on Chronic Depression: A Pilot Within-Subjects Wait-List Controlled Trial.
In this pilot study, N = 11 patients suffering from chronic depression were treated in a 12-week group program consisting of basic mindfulness exercises from Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy and compassion exercises from Compassion Focused Therapy and Loving Kindness Meditation. In a 3-month waiting period prior to treatment, depression symptoms both in self-report and clinician rating did not change significantly. After treatment, depression severity was significantly reduced. After a 3-month follow-up, the symptoms further improved, with almost large effect sizes being observed in primary outcome measures. Changes in emotion regulation styles reflected by a significant increase in acceptance and significant decrease in suppression of emotions were observed at follow-up. Rumination about oneself was also significantly reduced at follow-up. Compassionate love and mindfulness were incr…
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From a state to a trait: Trajectories of state mindfulness in meditation during intervention predict changes in trait mindfulness.
Theory suggests that heightening state mindfulness in meditation practice over time increases trait mindfulness, which benefits psychological health. We prospectively examined individual trajectories of state mindfulness in meditation during a mindfulness-based intervention in relation to changes in trait mindfulness and psychological distress. Each week during the eight-week intervention, participants reported their state mindfulness in meditation after a brief mindfulness meditation. Participants also completed pre- and post-intervention measures of trait mindfulness and psychological symptoms. Tests of combined latent growth and path models suggested that individuals varied significantly in their rates of change in state mindfulness in meditation during the intervention, and that these individual trajectories predicted pre-post intervention changes in trait mindfulness and distress. T…
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An on-the-job mindfulness-based intervention for pediatric ICU nurses: a pilot.
The feasibility of a 5-minute mindfulness meditation for PICU nurses before each work-shift to investigate change in nursing stress, burnout, self-compassion, mindfulness, and job satisfaction was explored. Thirty-eight nurses completed measures (Nursing Stress Scale, Maslach Burnout Inventory, Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale and Self-Compassion Scale) at baseline, post-intervention and 1 month after. The intervention was found to be feasible for nurses on the PICU. A repeated measures ANOVA revealed significant decreases in stress from baseline to post intervention and maintained 1 month following the intervention. Findings may inform future interventions that support on-the-job self-care and stress-reduction within a critical care setting.
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The effectiveness of mindfulness based programs in reducing stress experienced by nurses in adult hospital settings: a systematic review of quantitative evidence protocol.
Review question/objective: The objective of this review is to identify the effectiveness of mindfulness based programs in reducing stress experienced by nurses in adult hospitalized patient care settings.
Background: Nursing professionals face extraordinary stressors in the medical environment. Many of these stressors have always been inherent to the profession: long work hours, dealing with pain, loss and emotional suffering, caring for dying patients and providing support to families. Recently nurses have been experiencing increased stress related to other factors such as staffing shortages, increasingly complex patients, corporate financial constraints and the increased need for knowledge of ever-changing technology. Stress affects high-level cognitive functions, specifically attention and memory, and this increases the already high stakes for nurses. Nurses are required to cope with …
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[Mindfulness-based-relapse prevention (MBRP): Evaluation of the impact of a group of Mindfulness Therapy in alcohol relapse prevention for alcohol use disorders].
Unlabelled: For several years, the learning of mindfulness has developed in a psychological intervention perspective, particularly in the field of addiction. Presently, the management of addictions with substances is centered on two questions: the motivation in the change of behaviour and in a significant change in alcohol consumption. Concerning alcohol dependence, the evolution of behaviour is variable and characterized by forgiveness episodes and relapses. Over many years, a treatment for the abuse of substance associated with techniques based on full consciousness (Kabat-Zinn, 1990; Segal et al., 2002) Mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP) was developed by Marlatt et al. (2011). The prevention of the relapse therapy, based on full consciousness, is a program of eight sessions integrating techniques of "mindfulness" into the techniques of prevention of the relapse. However, not …
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Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) reduces anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation in veterans.
Introduction: Anxiety, depression, and pain are major problems among veterans, despite the availability of standard medical options within the Veterans Health Administration. Complementary and alternative approaches for these symptoms have been shown to be appealing to veterans. One such complementary and alternative approach is mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), a brief course that teaches mindfulness meditation with demonstrated benefits for mood disorders and pain.
Methods: We prospectively collected data on MBSR's effectiveness among 79 veterans at an urban Veterans Health Administration medical facility. The MBSR course had 9 weekly sessions that included seated and walking meditations, gentle yoga, body scans, and discussions of pain, stress, and mindfulness. Pre-MBSR and post-MBSR questionnaires investigating pain, anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and physical and m…
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Examining the factor structures of the five facet mindfulness questionnaire and the self-compassion scale.
The five facet mindfulness questionnaire (FFMQ; Baer, Smith, Hopkins, Krietemeyer, & Toney, 2006) and the self-compassion scale (SCS; Neff, 2003) are widely used measures of mindfulness and self-compassion in mindfulness-based intervention research. The psychometric properties of the FFMQ and the SCS need to be independently replicated in community samples and relevant clinical samples to support their use. Our primary aim was to establish the factor structures of the FFMQ and SCS in individuals with recurrent depression in remission, since mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) was developed as a treatment for preventing depressive relapse. In order to determine the consistency across populations, we examined the factor structures of the FFMQ and SCS in 3 samples: (1) a convenience sample of adults, (2) a sample of adults who practice meditation, and (3) a sample of adults who suffe…
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Malinowski P (2013)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usFrontiers in neuroscience213 citations Neural mechanisms of attentional control in mindfulness meditation.
The scientific interest in meditation and mindfulness practice has recently seen an unprecedented surge. After an initial phase of presenting beneficial effects of mindfulness practice in various domains, research is now seeking to unravel the underlying psychological and neurophysiological mechanisms. Advances in understanding these processes are required for improving and fine-tuning mindfulness-based interventions that target specific conditions such as eating disorders or attention deficit hyperactivity disorders. This review presents a theoretical framework that emphasizes the central role of attentional control mechanisms in the development of mindfulness skills. It discusses the phenomenological level of experience during meditation, the different attentional functions that are involved, and relates these to the brain networks that subserve these functions. On the basis of current…
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Mindful attention reduces neural and self-reported cue-induced craving in smokers.
An emerging body of research suggests that mindfulness-based interventions may be beneficial for smoking cessation and the treatment of other addictive disorders. One way that mindfulness may facilitate smoking cessation is through the reduction of craving to smoking cues. The present work considers whether mindful attention can reduce self-reported and neural markers of cue-induced craving in treatment seeking smokers. Forty-seven (n = 47) meditation-naïve treatment-seeking smokers (12-h abstinent from smoking) viewed and made ratings of smoking and neutral images while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Participants were trained and instructed to view these images passively or with mindful attention. Results indicated that mindful attention reduced self-reported craving to smoking images, and reduced neural activity in a craving-related region of subgenual anterio…
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Enhancing the resilience of nurses and midwives: pilot of a mindfulness-based program for increased health, sense of coherence and decreased depression, anxiety and stress.
Health workers in general, and midwives and nurses in particular, experience high levels of stress/distress due to the nature of their work and workplaces; and, their socialization into ways of working that minimizes the likelihood of self-care. Increasing interest in the development of resilient workers has meant an enormous growth in interest in the role of holistic practices such as mindfulness meditation. Kabat-Zinn's mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is one of the most commonly used by those seeking to practise, theorize or research mindfulness across multiple contexts. The primary aim of this study was to pilot the effectiveness of an adapted mindfulness-based stress reduction intervention on the psychological wellbeing of nurses and midwives. More specifically, we sought to test the acceptability and feasibility of a modified MBSR intervention to inform a future randomized…
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Altered anterior insula activation during anticipation and experience of painful stimuli in expert meditators.
Experientially opening oneself to pain rather than avoiding it is said to reduce the mind's tendency toward avoidance or anxiety which can further exacerbate the experience of pain. This is a central feature of mindfulness-based therapies. Little is known about the neural mechanisms of mindfulness on pain. During a meditation practice similar to mindfulness, functional magnetic resonance imaging was used in expert meditators (>10,000 h of practice) to dissociate neural activation patterns associated with pain, its anticipation, and habituation. Compared to novices, expert meditators reported equal pain intensity, but less unpleasantness. This difference was associated with enhanced activity in the dorsal anterior insula (aI), and the anterior mid-cingulate (aMCC) the so-called 'salience network', for experts during pain. This enhanced activity during pain was associated with reduced base…
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Influence of mindfulness practice on cortisol and sleep in long-term and short-term meditators.
Background: There is growing scientific interest in assessing the biological correlates of non-pharmacological interventions such as mindfulness. Examinations of the beneficial effects of mindfulness on hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenocortical system activity (HPA SA) and sleep are sparse. The aim of the present study was to explore the impact of long- and short-term meditation experience on HPA SA and sleep.
Method: There were 20 participants, 9 of whom had long-term experience in meditation (mean = 264 months) and 11 novices. Novices underwent an 8-week course in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), and cortisol samples were taken in the lab at the beginning and end of the course. To assess the cortisol awakening response, 4 morning cortisol samples were collected. Sleep and mindfulness were assessed by self-rating questionnaires.
Results: Among participants with long-term meditatio…
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Regular, brief mindfulness meditation practice improves electrophysiological markers of attentional control.
Mindfulness-based meditation practices involve various attentional skills, including the ability to sustain and focus ones attention. During a simple mindful breathing practice, sustained attention is required to maintain focus on the breath while cognitive control is required to detect mind wandering. We thus hypothesized that regular, brief mindfulness training would result in improvements in the self-regulation of attention and foster changes in neuronal activity related to attentional control. A longitudinal randomized control group EEG study was conducted. At baseline (T1), 40 meditation naïve participants were randomized into a wait list group and a meditation group, who received three hours mindfulness meditation training. Twenty-eight participants remained in the final analysis. At T1, after eight weeks (T2) and after 16 weeks (T3), all participants performed a computerized Stroo…
matched on Meditation (keyword), Mindfulness (keyword), mindfulness-based (text), meditation (text), mindfulness (text)