Mindfulness and the contemplative life: pathways to connection, insight, and purpose

Meditating on psychedelics. A randomized placebo-controlled study of DMT and harmine in a mindfulness retreat

BACKGROUND

In recent years, both meditation and psychedelics have attracted rapidly increasing scientific interest. While the current state of evidence suggests the promising potential of psychedelics, such as psilocybin, to enhance meditative training, it remains equivocal whether these effects are specifically bound to psilocybin or if other classical psychedelics might show synergistic effects with meditation practice. One particularly promising candidate is N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), an active ingredient of ayahuasca.

AIM

This study aims to investigate the effect of the psychedelic substance DMT, combined with the monoamine oxidase inhibitor harmine (DMT-harmine), on meditative states, compared to meditation with a placebo.

METHOD

Forty experienced meditators (18 females and 22 males) participated in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study over a 3-day meditation retreat, receiving either placebo or DMT-harmine. Participants' levels of mindfulness, compassion, insight, and transcendence were assessed before, during, and after the meditation group retreat, using psychometric questionnaires.

RESULTS

Compared to meditation with a placebo, meditators who received DMT and harmine self-attributed greater levels of mystical-type experiences, non-dual awareness, and emotional breakthrough during the acute substance effects and, when corrected for baseline differences, greater psychological insight 1 day later. Mindfulness and compassion were not significantly different in the DMT-harmine group compared to placebo. At 1-month follow-up, the meditators who received DMT and harmine rated their experience as significantly more personally meaningful, spiritually significant, and well-being-enhancing than the meditators who received placebo.

CONCLUSION

Investigating the impact of DMT-harmine on meditators in a naturalistic mindfulness group retreat, this placebo-controlled study highlights the specific effects of psychedelics during meditation.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT05780216.

Wu Wei in Mindfulness: A Systematic Perspective

Resuming the theoretical and historical conceptualization of mindfulness research is of utmost importance if we want to transcend the positivistic and instrumental trend in the present field and to understand better what mindfulness is and how mindfulness works. Based on von Fircks (2023)'s introduction of Daosim's wu wei into Meadian Social Psychology, this commentary continues dialoguing the two different traditions for understanding mindfulness's functioning by exploring the systematic principle underlying wu wei. From the systematic perspective, we can distinguish: 1) two focus of meaning in wu wei: (a) not forcing/interfering and (b) the existence of a spontaneously evolving system; 2) two positions a person can take faced with the spontaneous system: (a) as stepping back and not interfering; (b) as actively connecting and cultivating new relations into systems. Based on the two positions, the dynamic emergence of altered I from mindfulness is also approached in two different ways.

Psilocybin enhances insightfulness in meditation: a perspective on the global topology of brain imaging during meditation

In this study, for the first time, we explored a dataset of functional magnetic resonance images collected during focused attention and open monitoring meditation before and after a five-day psilocybin-assisted meditation retreat using a recently established approach, based on the Mapper algorithm from topological data analysis. After generating subject-specific maps for two groups (psilocybin vs. placebo, 18 subjects/group) of experienced meditators, organizational principles were uncovered using graph topological tools, including the optimal transport (OT) distance, a geometrically rich measure of similarity between brain activity patterns. This revealed characteristics of the topology (i.e. shape) in space (i.e. abstract space of voxels) and time dimension of whole-brain activity patterns during different styles of meditation and psilocybin-induced alterations. Most interestingly, we found that (psilocybin-induced) positive derealization, which fosters insightfulness specifically when accompanied by enhanced open-monitoring meditation, was linked to the OT distance between open-monitoring and resting state. Our findings suggest that enhanced meta-awareness through meditation practice in experienced meditators combined with potential psilocybin-induced positive alterations in perception mediate insightfulness. Together, these findings provide a novel perspective on meditation and psychedelics that may reveal potential novel brain markers for positive synergistic effects between mindfulness practices and psilocybin.

Meditation, Compassionate Love, and Mental Health in Later Life

PURPOSE

Understanding of the mechanisms by which meditation imparts beneficial effects on later-life mental health is limited. The current study assessed the role of compassionate love in mediating the relationship between meditation and mental health in later life.

METHOD

Using data from a nationwide web-based survey (N = 1,861), we examined the indirect effects of meditation on depressive symptoms and anxiety via compassionate love.

RESULTS

Participants who practiced meditation (compared to those who did not) had significantly higher feelings of being loved (b = 0.11, p < 0.05); those who experienced more love had lower depressive symptoms (b = -2.10, p < 0.001) and anxiety (b = -0.99, p < 0.001). Meditation also had significant indirect effects (via compassionate love) on depressive symptoms (b = -0.23, p < 0.05) and anxiety (b = -0.11, p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

This study underscores the need for contemplative interventions that foster compassionate love to improve mental health in later life. [Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 50(3), 40-50.].

Challenge or Threat? The Effects of the Standard and a Second-Generation Mindfulness Intervention with Buddhist Practices on Cognitive Appraisals of Stress: Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Experiment Performed in Switzerland

Contemplative approaches rooted in Buddhist traditions have been linked to the attenuation of response to social stress. Anticipatory cognitive appraisals of social situations potentially represent a mechanism explaining the stress-reducing effects of contemplative practices. The cognitive appraisal of threat is associated with an anticipated loss of social self-esteem. In contrast, the cognitive appraisal of challenge involves recognizing the potential for gain or growth in stressful situations and is associated with a more adaptive cardiovascular response. In this secondary analysis of a randomized controlled experiment performed in Switzerland, we evaluated the effects of two contemplative interventions on cognitive appraisals of challenge and threat and associated physiological profiles. The interventions were a standard Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program and a new program (MBSR-B), which included several elements from Buddhist practices. After an eight-week intervention, participants completed the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) and underwent the assessment of primary cognitive appraisals and cardiovascular response to stress. The results demonstrated greater challenge appraisal in the MBSR (n = 20) and MBSR-B (n = 21) groups compared to Control (n = 24), and MBSR-B participants scored higher on the challenge than threat appraisal. At the physiological level, the groups did not differ on changes in cardiac output and total peripheral resistance. Still, an exploratory analysis demonstrated that the MBSR-B group's cardiovascular profile best resembled challenge appraisal. The results suggest that contemplative approaches foster challenge appraisal, contributing to a more adaptive response to stress.

How do mindfulness and compassion programs improve mental health and well-being? The role of attentional processing of emotional information

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Although the benefits of Meditation-Based Programs are well documented, the mechanisms underlying these benefits have not been fully elucidated. Therefore, we examined whether: (1) formal training in mindfulness and compassion meditation modifies the distribution of attentional resources towards emotional information; and (2) whether changes in attentional processing of emotional information after the meditation programs mediate the improvements in psychological distress, emotion regulation, and well-being.

METHODS

A sample of 103 participants enrolled in the study: 36 in the mindfulness program (MBSR), 30 in the compassion program (CCT), and 37 in the no-intervention comparison group (CG). The assessment before and after the programs included the completion of an emotional Attentional Blink task (AB) together with self-report measures of psychological distress, emotion regulation, and well-being.

RESULTS

MBSR and CCT reduced similarly the AB deficit, whereas no changes occurred in the CG. This AB reduction was found for the different emotional and non-emotional stimuli (i.e., negative, positive, and neutral), showing a significant disengagement from first-target emotions and significant accessibility of second-target emotions to consciousness. The effects of both meditation programs on the psychological measures were mediated by changes in the AB and emotion regulation skills.

LIMITATIONS

Due to our naturalistic design in a real-world community setting, random assignment of participants was not feasible.

CONCLUSIONS

Meditation may promote more flexible and balanced attention to emotional information, which may be a key transdiagnostic mechanism underlying its benefits on emotional distress and well-being.

Kin relationality and ecological belonging: a cultural psychology of Indigenous transcendence

In this article, we consider prosociality through the lens of an Indigenous "ethics of belonging" and its two constitutive concepts: kin relationality and ecological belonging. Kin relationality predicates that all living beings and phenomena share a familial identity of interdependence, mutuality, and organization. Within the value system of ecological belonging, an individual's identity is constituted in relation to the natural environment, centered on the sentiments of responsibility and reverence for Nature. We detail how Indigenous perspectives upon prosociality differ from Western scientific accounts in terms of the motives, scope, and rewards of altruistic action. Grounded in this understanding, we then profile three self-transcendent states, compassion, gratitude, and awe, and their similarities across Indigenous and Western approaches, and how kin relationality and ecological belonging give rise to cultural variations. We consider convergent insights across Indigenous and Western science concerning the role of ritual and narrative and the cultural cultivation of kin relationality and ecological belonging. We conclude by highlighting how these two core concepts might guide future inquiry in cultural psychology.

Do contemplative practices make us more moral?

Contemplative practices are a staple of modern life and have historically been intertwined with morality. However, do these practices in fact improve our morality? The answer remains unclear because the science of contemplative practices has focused on unidimensional aspects of morality, which do not align with the type of interdependent moral functioning these practices aspire to cultivate. Here, we appeal to a multifactor construct, which allows the assessment of outcomes from a contemplative intervention across multiple dimensions of moral cognition and behavior. This offers an open-minded and empirically rigorous investigation into the impact of contemplative practices on moral actions. Using this framework, we gain insight into the effect of mindfulness meditation on morality, which we show does indeed have positive influences, but also some negative influences, distributed across our moral functioning.

A compassion-based program to reduce psychological distress in medical students: A pilot randomized clinical trial

OBJECTIVES

Physicians and medical students are subject to higher levels of psychological distress than the general population. These challenges have a negative impact in medical practice, leading to uncompassionate care. This pilot study aims to examine the feasibility of Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT) to reduce psychological distress and improve the well-being of medical students. We hypothesize that the CCT program, as compared to a waitlist control group, will reduce psychological distress (i.e., stress, anxiety, and depression) and burnout symptoms, while improving compassion, empathy, mindfulness, resilience, psychological well-being, and emotion-regulation strategies after the intervention. Furthermore, we hypothesize that these improvements will be maintained at a two-month follow-up.

METHODS

Medical students were randomly assigned to an 8-week CCT or a Waitlist control group (WL). They completed self-report assessments at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and a 2-month follow-up. The outcomes measured were compassion, empathy, mindfulness, well-being, resilience, emotional regulation, psychological distress, burnout, and COVID-19 concern. Mixed-effects models and Reliable Change Index were computed.

RESULTS

Compared with WL, CCT showed significant improvements in self-compassion, mindfulness, and emotion regulation, as well as a significant decrease in stress, anxiety, and emotional exhaustion component of burnout. Furthermore, some of these effects persisted at follow-up. No adverse effects of meditation practices were found.

CONCLUSIONS

CCT enhanced compassion skills while reducing psychological distress in medical students, this being critical to preserving the mental health of physicians while promoting compassionate care for patients. The need for institutions to include this type of training is also discussed.

Metacognition and insight dynamics exploration in borderline personality disorder: Exploring the underlying dynamics

Metacognition and Insight are related to hard-to-treat disorders and among them is Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). We recruited 190 BPD patients and measured Insight, Metacognition, Impulsivity, and BPD traits. Results showed BPD's significant links with Insight and Metacognition. Metacognition significantly correlated with two Impulsivity dimensions, whereas Insight significantly correlated with most of them. Regressions analysis revealed a significant relationship between Insight and Metacognition on Impulsivity and Borderline traits. Mediation analysis proved the indirect effect of Metacognition/Insight on Borderline traits through Impulsivity at a significative level. Both seem relevant for research and therapeutic application in BPD following different dynamics even if the limitation of our study stands in its gender ratio and possible comorbidity issues. Urgency appears as a critical factor to assess, notably with Positive emotion-based impulsivity.

Restructuring insight: An integrative review of insight in problem-solving, meditation, psychotherapy, delusions and psychedelics

Occasionally, a solution or idea arrives as a sudden understanding - an insight. Insight has been considered an "extra" ingredient of creative thinking and problem-solving. Here we propose that insight is central in seemingly distinct areas of research. Drawing on literature from a variety of fields, we show that besides being commonly studied in problem-solving literature, insight is also a core component in psychotherapy and meditation, a key process underlying the emergence of delusions in schizophrenia, and a factor in the therapeutic effects of psychedelics. In each case, we discuss the event of insight and its prerequisites and consequences. We review evidence for the commonalities and differences between the fields and discuss their relevance for capturing the essence of the insight phenomenon. The goal of this integrative review is to bridge the gap between the different views and inspire interdisciplinary research efforts for understanding this central process of human cognition.

Enhanced declarative memory in long-term mindfulness practitioners

OBJECTIVES

Mindfulness meditation (MM) practice is considered to benefit physical and mental health. In particular, several studies have shown a beneficial effect of MM practice on memory performance. However, it is still not clear how long-term training affects long-term declarative memory. In this study we aimed to examine whether long-term MM training impacts declarative memory formation for diverse memoranda types, as well as the role of trait mindfulness, and the possible mediating role of anxiety.

METHODS

We examined long-term memory performance in 23 experienced MM practitioners and 22 meditation-naïve age-matched individuals, by administering a variety of declarative memory tests, ranging from item recognition to narrative and autobiographical memory recollection and future projection. The participants also filled the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI).

RESULTS

Compared to the control group, long-term MM practitioners exhibited heightened memory performance for the picture recognition test and experienced enhanced vividness during autobiographic memory retrieval and future simulations. We also report a significant trait mindfulness and memory performance correlation, stemming exclusively from the Mm group.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings extend previous reports of the beneficial effect of a short-term MM training on memory performance, by showing the beneficial effect of long-term training on declarative memory. We also provide initial evidence that trait mindfulness is positively correlated with declarative memory performance, as a function of MM practice, and discuss these findings in light of the role of self-mode and cognitive diffusion, as well as attention and emotion.

Classic psychedelics, health behavior, and physical health

Background

Preliminary evidence suggests that classic psychedelics may be effective in the treatment of some psychiatric disorders, yet little remains known about their effects on health behavior and physical health.

Objectives

The purpose of this study was to investigate associations of lifetime classic psychedelic use and psychological insight during one's most insightful classic psychedelic experience with health behavior and physical health.

Methods

Using data representative of the US population with regard to sex, age, and ethnicity (N = 2822), this study examined associations of lifetime classic psychedelic use and psychological insight with health behavior and physical health.

Results

Lifetime classic psychedelic use was associated with more healthy tobacco-related and diet-related behavior (β = 0.05 and 0.09, respectively). Among lifetime classic psychedelic users (n = 613), greater Psychological Insight Questionnaire (PIQ) total scale, PIQ Avoidance and Maladaptive Patterns (AMP) subscale, and PIQ Goals and Adaptive Patterns (GAP) subscale scores were each associated with higher odds of more healthy exercise-related behavior [adjusted odds ratios (aOR) (95% confidence interval, CI = 1.38 (1.13-1.68), 1.38 (1.13-1.68), and 1.32 (1.10-1.60), respectively] and higher odds of having a healthy body mass index (BMI) [aOR (95% CI) = 1.32 (1.07-1.63), 1.36 (1.10-1.69), and 1.23 (1.01-1.50), respectively], and greater GAP subscale scores were associated with more healthy diet-related behavior (β = 0.10). All PIQ scales were positively associated with some health behavior improvements (overall, diet, exercise) attributed to respondents' most insightful classic psychedelic experience (β = 0.42, 0.18, and 0.17; β = 0.40, 0.19, and 0.17; and β = 0.40, 0.15, and 0.15, respectively), but only PIQ total scale and AMP subscale scores were positively associated with alcohol-related health behavior improvements (β = 0.13 and 0.16, respectively).

Conclusion

Although these results cannot demonstrate causality, they suggest that psychological insight during a classic psychedelic experience may lead to positive health behavior change and better physical health in some domains, in particular in those related to weight management.

Associations between mindfulness, posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, and posttraumatic growth in police academy cadets: An exploratory study

Mindfulness-based treatments have been increasingly noted in the professional literature as a possible means to reduce posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and promote well-being, especially among law enforcement officers. Scant research, however, has been conducted to study dispositional mindfulness and health outcomes in police cadets. The current exploratory study examined the association between the various facets of dispositional mindfulness (i.e., observing, describing, acting with awareness, nonjudging, and nonreactivity) and PTSD symptoms, posttraumatic growth (PTG), and other variables, including world assumptions, in police cadets (N = 379). Consistent with findings from previous studies of experienced officers, the results indicate that (a) mindful nonjudging is a salient trait in police cadets, which uniquely predicted lower PTSD symptoms, β = -.31, p < .001, and was related to lower levels of PTG, r = -.12, p = .025, and (b) mindful observing was related to higher levels of PTSD symptoms, r = .14, p = .009 and higher levels of PTG, r = .26, p < .001, in the present sample. In addition, the findings demonstrate that nonjudging is an important trait in police cadets regarding world assumptions such that nonjudging was a significant, unique predictor of world assumption facets, including controllability of events, β = .15, p = .025, and trustworthiness and goodness of people, β = .18, p = .004. Clinical implications, including the importance of understanding the association between mindful nonjudging and the shattering and rebuilding of worldviews and following trauma reactions, are discussed.

Meditation experience is associated with lower levels of repetitive negative thinking: The key role of self-compassion

The primary aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between meditation experience and repetitive negative thinking (RNT) in regular meditators with a wide range of experience, and to examine the extent to which self-compassion and mindfulness mediate this relationship. RNT is a transdiagnostic process that is implicated in the development and maintenance of several mental health disorders. Converging evidence suggests that meditation practice is associated with improved mental health and may reduce levels of RNT. Increased levels of self-compassion and mindfulness have been associated with decreased levels of RNT and proposed as theoretically consistent mediators by which meditation practice exerts its beneficial effects; however, they are seldom considered in combination. In a cross-sectional design, 1281 meditators (mean age = 44.7 years, SD = 13.9, 53.7% female) completed questionnaires about meditation experience, RNT, self-compassion, and mindfulness. Linear regression and generalised structural equation models were used to examine the data. Longer duration of meditation experience was associated with lower levels of RNT and higher levels of self-compassion and mindfulness. Meditation experience was associated with RNT indirectly through self-compassion, but not through mindfulness. The results offer preliminary support for longer-term meditation as a potential means for reducing the maladaptive process of RNT. Clinically, self-compassion could be identified as a promising treatment target for interventions.

Optimizing a mindfulness-based intervention to alleviate stress from discrimination among young sexual and gender minorities of color: A study protocol

Background

Young sexual and gender minorities (SGMs) of color may face unique experiences of discrimination based on their intersectional positions (eg, discrimination based on both racial or ethnic identity and sexual identity). Emerging evidence suggests that mindfulness practices may reduce stress from discrimination and improve overall well-being among young SGM. Moreover, the omnipresence of smartphone access among racial or ethnic and sexual minority communities provides a method through which to administer mindfulness-based interventions among young SGMs of color.

Objective

This paper outlines the protocol of the Optimizing a Daily Mindfulness Intervention to Reduce Stress from Discrimination among Young Sexual and Gender Minorities of Color (REDUCE) study, a pilot optimization trial of a smartphone-based mindfulness intervention that was developed in conjunction with the Healthy Minds Program (HMP) with the aim of reducing stress from discrimination among young SGMs.

Methods

In total, 80 young (ages 18-29 years) SGMs of color will be enrolled in the study. The HMP is a self-guided meditation practice, and participants will be randomized to either a control condition or an intervention that uses a neuroscience-based approach to mindfulness. We will use the multiphase optimization strategy to assess which combination of mindfulness interventions is the most effective at reducing stress from discrimination among young SGMs of color. A combination of mindfulness-based meditation intervention components will be examined, comprising mindfulness-based practices of awareness, connection, and purpose. Awareness refers to the practice of self-awareness, which reduces the mind’s ability to be distracted and instead be present in the moment. Connection refers to the practice of connection with oneself and others and emphasizes on empathy and compassion with oneself and others. Purpose encourages goal-making in accordance with one’s values and management of behavior in accordance with these goals. In addition, we will assess the feasibility and acceptability of the HMP application among young SGMs of color.

Results

The REDUCE study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of New York University, and recruitment and enrollment began in the winter of 2021. We expect to complete enrollment by the summer of 2022. The results will be disseminated via social media, journal articles, abstracts, or presentations, as well as to participants, who will be given the opportunity to provide feedback to the researchers.

Conclusions

This optimization trial is designed to test the efficacy, feasibility, and acceptability of implementing an application-based, mindfulness-based intervention to reduce stress from discrimination and improve well-being among young SGMs of color. Evidence from this study will assist in the creation of a sustainable, culturally relevant mobile app–based mindfulness intervention to reduce stress from discrimination among young SGMs of color.

Trial Registration

Clinicaltrials.gov NCT05131360; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05131360

International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)

DERR1-10.2196/35593

The Mindfulness Map: A Practical Classification Framework of Mindfulness Practices, Associated Intentions, and Experiential Understandings

When considering the numerous mindfulness-based and mindfulness-informed programs that have flourished in the past decades it is not always clear that they all refer to the same "mindfulness. " To facilitate more clarity and precision in describing, researching and teaching mindfulness in the secular settings, we propose a classification framework of mindfulness practices, intentions behind them and the experiential understandings the practices may aim to develop. Accordingly, the proposed framework, called the Mindfulness Map, has two axes. The first axis outlines mindfulness practices (and associated instructions) classified into four groups (MGs), e.g. the MG1 focuses on cultivating attention to the present moment somatic and sensory experience while the MG4 focuses on cultivating the ability to recognize and deconstruct perceptual, cognitive and emotional experiences and biases. The second axis outlines possible intentions (INTs) to cultivate particular experiential understanding (EU) via teaching and practicing the MGs, e.g., the INT1 designates the intention to gain EU of how our relationship to experience contributes to wellbeing, the INT2 refers to the intention to gain EU of the changing nature of body, mind and external phenomenon. We suggest that the same MG can lead to different EUs outcomes based on the specific INTs applied in their teaching or practice. The range of INTs and EUs included here is not exhaustive, there are further types the Map could be expanded toward. Aside from encouraging more fine-grained distinctions of mindfulness practices, the proposed Map aims to open discussions about interactions between MGs, INTs, EUs and practice outcomes. The Map may facilitate more nuanced and precise approaches to researching the range of outcomes cultivated by mindfulness practices, help bridge contradictory findings, and catalyze further debate and research into ethical aspects of mindfulness. The Map also highlights the need for further teaching development and research on longer-term trajectories of mindfulness practice. While the proposed Mindfulness Map organises the mindfulness practice territory along two axes, it is aimed as a starting point for further discussion and can be further revised and/or expanded by other axes.

Coping with the COVID-19 pandemic: Contemplative practice behaviors are associated with better mental health outcomes and compliance with shelter-in-place orders in a prospective cohort study

Psychosocial health can influence the development and experience of several chronic diseases, and has been negatively affected for many individuals amid the COVID-19 global pandemic. To understand the impact of contemplative practices on emotional and mental health during COVID-19, the Stanford WELL for Life Study (US component), incorporated a series of additional surveys into its ongoing study. A total of 1,097 participants residing in California who responded to at least one of three COVID-19 surveys were included in this analysis. Linear and generalized mixed-effects regression models were used to investigate relationships between individual contemplative practice behaviors (CPB) (embodied observing meditation, non-reactive mindfulness meditation, self-compassion cultivation, cultivation of compassion for others) and four psychosocial outcomes measured in the original WELL questionnaire (resilience, dealing with stress, positive emotions, and negative emotions). In addition, the associations between CPB and depression, distress, and compliance with local Shelter-In-Place orders were also investigated. Participants who engaged in any contemplative practice reported significantly more resilience and positive emotions, dealing better with stress, lower distress, and were less likely to report an experience with depression in the last week. Similar findings held when CPB was modeled as a continuous variable. Significant interactions between the duration of the SIP and CPB were also observed for resilience and SIP compliance outcomes, indicating that steeper declines were observed among participants with little or no CPB across the study period. Further investigation into the potential protective benefits of CPB during times of major disruption and uncertainty is warranted.

Not all types of meditation are the same: Mediators of change in mindfulness and compassion meditation interventions

BACKGROUND

The general aim of the study was to examine the relative effectiveness and mediators of change in standardized mindfulness and compassion interventions.

METHODS

A sample of 431 participants enrolled in a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program (MBSR = 277) and a Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT = 154). The assessment before and after the program included a set of outcomes and mediators measures. A three-step data analysis plan was followed: ANCOVAs, Reliable Change Index, and mediations (simple and multiple).

RESULTS

Both interventions yielded increased mindfulness, decentering, body awareness, and self-compassion. Yet, present-moment awareness improvements (i.e., decentering, and body awareness) were significantly larger in the MBSR than in CCT, whereas socio-emotional changes (i.e., common humanity and empathic concern) were larger in the CCT than in MBSR. The magnitude of effect sizes ranged from medium to large. Furthermore, both mindfulness and compassion interventions yielded similar changes in psychological distress (i.e., stress, anxiety, and depression), maladaptive cognitive processes (i.e., rumination and thought suppression), and well-being. The mediation models showed that although the MBSR program seemingly relies on changes in present-moment awareness mechanisms (i.e., decentering and body awareness) to reduce psychological distress and to improve well-being, the CCT program seemingly achieves the same positive outcomes through changes in socio-emotional mechanisms (i.e., common-humanity and empathy concern).

LIMITATIONS

Due to our naturalistic design in real-world community setting, it was infeasible to randomly assign participants to conditions.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that mindfulness and compassion programs operate through different pathways to reduce psychological distress and to promote well-being.

Efecto de la respiración consciente en la tarea de atención en adultos

El presente ensayo pretende revisar las publicaciones asociadas a la tarea de atención en adultos en virtud del impacto de la respiración consiente. Las técnicas de respiración en los diferentes estilos de meditación han cobrado relevancia a la hora de evaluar el proceso de enseñanza aprendizaje en niños, principalmente en algunas funciones superiores cognitivas como lo es el control inhibitorio. En adultos, hay información difusa no sistematizada de cómo podrían impactar estas prácticas en el proceso de enseñanza aprendizaje, considerando que los adultos presentan supresión de la neurogénesis y la neuroprotección, lo que conduce a alteraciones patológicas en el estado de ánimo, la atención, memoria y aprendizaje, según lo descrito por Innes y Selfe (2014). La evidencia determina que es factible generar una intervención para la mejora del ambiente de aprendizaje, basado en el impacto que produce en los procesos atencionales. Este impacto podría determinar la adecuación de políticas públicas o intervenciones de instituciones públicas o privadas, con el fin de potenciar el aprendizaje en adultos y limitar el deterioro cognitivo de estos, a través del estímulo de sus funciones cognitivas que produce la respiración consiente.

Why was Tao Lujia so willing and swift to greenlight the Red Flag Canal Project in 1960? New insights via a lens of compassion practice

In an extraordinarily willing and swift fashion, the top leader of Shanxi Province in China, Tao Lujia [, (1917-2011)], gave permission to the Red Flag Canal Project in 1960. Why was he so willing and swift to greenlight a project that would divert water from his home province to benefit the people in a neighbor province? We explored this question through a bipartite investigation. First, we dug into the empirical literature, the literature based on experience and/or observation, in search of his motivations for the action. Second, for a more systematic, deeper understanding, we examined the instance via a lens of compassion practice, an eclectic collection of theoretical constructs on compassion practice through which one can examine an individual's behavior and performance for new insights. This article reports the second part of our research. It is a sequel to Why was Tao Lujia so willing and swift to greenlight the Red Flag Canal Project in 1960? The instance and his motivations which reports the first part of our research and is also published in this journal. Both articles are part of the SEPR mini-series on the Red Flag Canal, one of the best kept secrets in the world history of socio-ecological practice.

Promoting Spiritual Healing by Stress Reduction Through Meditation for Employees at a Veterans Hospital: A CDC Framework-Based Program Evaluation

Background: Employees in the Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital experience psychological stress from caring for vulnerable veteran populations. Evidence suggests that mindfulness meditation decreases stress in health care employees and military personnel. The purpose of this worksite program was to explore the acceptability of a mindfulness meditation program among VA workers. Methods: Chaplain residents developed the "Promoting Spiritual Healing by Stress Reduction Through Meditation" (Spiritual Meditation) program for employees in a VA hospital. To evaluate acceptability, a 13-multiple-choice-item survey with an open-ended question was administered after the intervention. Descriptive statistics and qualitative content analysis were performed. Findings: In 29 participants, 70% to 100% agreed with positive statements for the personal learning experience, program components, teacher quality, time to practice, and place to practice. Two categories emerged from qualitative responses: "positive practical experience of Spiritual Meditation" and "perceived values from Spiritual Meditation." Conclusion/Application to Practice: Occupational health nurses are uniquely positioned to lead and collaborate with chaplains to deliver Spiritual Meditation in their workplace setting.