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Article On Mindfulness & Depression

Started by Anatta, August 24, 2013, 04:10:48 PM

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Anatta

Kia Ora,

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2010/jan/05/religion-buddhism

MINDFULNESS

Have you tried it ?

Is it an ongoing practice in your daily life ?

How helpful do you 'think' the practice of mindfulness is in relieving depression ?

Thought itself is the thinker of positive, negative, neutral thoughts ! By becoming consciously 'aware' of this, one can reduce and or eliminate the amount of self-inflicted suffering...

"We are what we think-But we are not our thoughts!" 


Happy Mindfulness :)

Metta Zenda :)
"The most essential method which includes all other methods is beholding the mind. The mind is the root from which all things grow. If you can understand the mind, everything else is included !"   :icon_yes:
  •  

Sandra M. Lopes

A good practitioner never talks about their own practice hehe :-)

Fun besides, all I can say is that the practice of mindfulness is rather interesting. At some stage what will happen is that we won't take our own ideas so seriously — i.e. they will not be "so important". "The world will not end" if I don't do this or that, or, vice-versa, the world will also not end if I do this or that. Once we really start to experiencing that, it becomes progressively easier to deal with frustration and even depression, as we notice that all those "depressing thoughts" are not as solid as we thought...

On the other hand, it takes a lot of time and a rather serious commitment in order to achieve results. I was actually surprised with that article you linked to! It's just because some sorts of cognitive-behavioural therapy (clearly inspired in Buddhist practice) take just a few years to have some effect (if the patient is very willing to commit to it), while a more traditional Buddhist mindfulness practice can take much longer — but its effects are permanent!

My own wife, who went through a few episodes of panic attacks, actually combined both techniques, plus some medication at the beginning. After a couple of years, her doctors were actually surprised that she dropped the medication almost completely but still continued to improve. Her own explanation is that a more conventional cognitive-behavioural therapy just achieves a certain degree of eliminating depression, but can achieve that relatively quickly, while Buddhist practice, once taken hold of your mind (pun intended!!), tends to go way beyond what therapy is able to provide. Because it takes longer, however, and because Westerners want results fast, it comes as a surprise to me that it's seriously being considered as an alternative.

One point worth emphasising is that cognitive-behavioural therapy is not 100% successful forever; you might relapse, and require new amounts of medication, start from scratch, etc. The Buddhist practice of mindfulness, once mastered, will never "go back". Put into technical terms, once you realise the nature of your own mind, you cannot be deluded again in thinking it's something different than what you've realised :) At that point, depressive thoughts cannot affect you any longer — ever. Now, achieving that result, that's hard stuff :-)
Don't judge, and you won't be judged.
  •  

Anatta

Quote from: Sandra M. Lopes on August 26, 2013, 08:53:12 PM
A good practitioner never talks about their own practice hehe :-)

"Don't practice to become enlightened-Let your practice be the natural expression of your enlightenment!"

Fun besides, all I can say is that the practice of mindfulness is rather interesting. At some stage what will happen is that we won't take our own ideas so seriously — i.e. they will not be "so important". "The world will not end" if I don't do this or that, or, vice-versa, the world will also not end if I do this or that. Once we really start to experiencing that, it becomes progressively easier to deal with frustration and even depression, as we notice that all those "depressing thoughts" are not as solid as we thought...

On the other hand, it takes a lot of time and a rather serious commitment in order to achieve results. I was actually surprised with that article you linked to! It's just because some sorts of cognitive-behavioural therapy (clearly inspired in Buddhist practice) take just a few years to have some effect (if the patient is very willing to commit to it), while a more traditional Buddhist mindfulness practice can take much longer — but its effects are permanent!

My own wife, who went through a few episodes of panic attacks, actually combined both techniques, plus some medication at the beginning. After a couple of years, her doctors were actually surprised that she dropped the medication almost completely but still continued to improve. Her own explanation is that a more conventional cognitive-behavioural therapy just achieves a certain degree of eliminating depression, but can achieve that relatively quickly, while Buddhist practice, once taken hold of your mind (pun intended!!), tends to go way beyond what therapy is able to provide. Because it takes longer, however, and because Westerners want results fast, it comes as a surprise to me that it's seriously being considered as an alternative.

One point worth emphasising is that cognitive-behavioural therapy is not 100% successful forever; you might relapse, and require new amounts of medication, start from scratch, etc. The Buddhist practice of mindfulness, once mastered, will never "go back". Put into technical terms, once you realise the nature of your own mind, you cannot be deluded again in thinking it's something different than what you've realised :) At that point, depressive thoughts cannot affect you any longer — ever. Now, achieving that result, that's hard stuff :-)

Kia Ora Sandra,

Glad to hear your wife has overcome her panic attacks, I know from past experience how debilitating they can be...

If one could bottle mindfulness (or make it in pill form) they'd be the wealthiest person on the planet... ;) ;D

Gautama Siddharta was a Mind doctor 'extraordinaire' and his legacy (Gift) lives on (In whatever form it takes)...

I guess one could say mindfulness in lay-person's term is just watching/observing the working of the mind, and performing maintenance work as and when necessary and Gautama Siddharta  gave us the tools along with the instruction manual to do this...

Metta Zenda :)
"The most essential method which includes all other methods is beholding the mind. The mind is the root from which all things grow. If you can understand the mind, everything else is included !"   :icon_yes:
  •  

Sandra M. Lopes

Quote from: Kuan Yin on August 28, 2013, 01:07:03 AM
I guess one could say mindfulness in lay-person's term is just watching/observing the working of the mind, and performing maintenance work as and when necessary and Gautama Siddharta  gave us the tools along with the instruction manual to do this...

I guess you're right :) but it's so easy to write it down and so hard to accomplish...

The good news is that it's actually possible, and yes, the tools and the instruction manual do work!
Don't judge, and you won't be judged.
  •  

Anatta

Quote from: Sandra M. Lopes on August 29, 2013, 07:50:20 PM
I guess you're right :) but it's so easy to write it down and so hard to accomplish...

The good news is that it's actually possible, and yes, the tools and the instruction manual do work!

Kia Ora Sandra,

::) If something as beneficial as mindfulness was too easy, people would become somewhat sceptical-"if it's that easy surely it can't work ?"  and if it's too hard/difficult people shy away from it (Putting it in the too hard basket)...

So like all things Dharma there's always a middle way  ;) ;D

Practice and when you 'think' you have it down pat  practice some more...Practice makes perfect...

Mind maintenance is ongoing, but after awhile it becomes part and parcel of ones waking day (and when sleeping)...

Metta Zenda :)
"The most essential method which includes all other methods is beholding the mind. The mind is the root from which all things grow. If you can understand the mind, everything else is included !"   :icon_yes:
  •  

Sandra M. Lopes

Hehe but it can actually be too easy! Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche is often quoted to have said something like: "abiding in the nature of your mind is so simple that Buddhist students would actually disregard it as being 'too simple' and be discouraged in their training. So that's why we have very complex practices in order to experience something that is so simple!"

Maybe!
Don't judge, and you won't be judged.
  •  

Anatta

Quote from: Sandra M. Lopes on August 30, 2013, 05:32:32 PM
Hehe but it can actually be too easy! Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche is often quoted to have said something like: "abiding in the nature of your mind is so simple that Buddhist students would actually disregard it as being 'too simple' and be discouraged in their training. So that's why we have very complex practices in order to experience something that is so simple!"

Maybe!

Kia Ora Sandra,

"There was a young (wo)man who said though it seems that "I" know what "I" know, what I would like to see is the "I" that knows me when I know that I know that "I" know !"

There more to life than what meets the eye "I"

Happy Mindfulness

Metta Zenda :)
"The most essential method which includes all other methods is beholding the mind. The mind is the root from which all things grow. If you can understand the mind, everything else is included !"   :icon_yes:
  •