Meditation and Mindfulness – An age old mental health resource
“Meditation brings wisdom, lack of meditation brings ignorance. Know well, what pushes you forward, and what holds you back.”
The Budda
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) or the art simply known since times immemorial as meditation is a family of therapies focusing on grounding and awareness building. Of oneself, our bodies, our thoughts, the present moment. The general process is experiential (the act of the meditation itself, at regular intervals) and broad-based. It aims at building a fundamental level of awareness in the patient, and does not address any specific issues, traumas or dynamics.
The general process of MBCT is to bring a client/patient to a state of higher awareness (of the present moment, of their body, of their thoughts) so that they can develop a “gap” between themselves and their thoughts.
Verse 282 of the Dhammapada – Buddah – Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back
By practicing meditation and mindfulness building exercises, patients learn gradually to develop a margin of consciousness between them and their thoughts. They learn to accept and observe their thoughts, without judging them, which is central. This way they can gradually develop “distance” to “look at” their thoughts, with little in terms of lens, which helps them accept what must be, and handle what should not.
By being able to steady their inner chatter patients can gradually start “seeing” and “observing” their thoughts for what they are, only thoughts. “You are not your thoughts” is a little expression you may hear when discovering about meditation. This is a telling line. You (who you are, your actual life, your mind, your body, your position in your family, society, life, the animal kingdom) are not your thoughts! You do not HAVE to be railroaded by your thoughts, sometimes for hours ruining your inner life for days on end, without ever becoming aware of it.
By being able to step back in the moment and see them more fully for what they actually are, you develop resilience to anxiety. You can in time build resilience to depressive bouts and long integrated trauma.
Meditation and Stoicism
Explaining the tenets of meditation reminded me multiple times of quotes from Marcus Aurelius, one of the main exponents of Stoic thought. And interestingly enough his most famous opus was called “Meditations”!
“You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”
“Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.”
“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.”
“Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.”
“If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.”
“The soul becomes dyed with the colour of its thoughts.”
“I have often wondered how it is that every man loves himself more than all the rest of men, but yet sets less value on his own opinion of himself than on the opinion of others.”
“Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself the following question: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?”
“The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit. The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are.”
“How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it.”
Marcus Aurelius – Meditations
I’ll stop here, but it goes on, and on, and on. Stoic thought, as expressed by Marcus Aurelius is akin to timeless meditation. He famously spent deliberate time “thinking” about things, something so rare still today, and that meditation in its own way tends to do. Deliberate thinking time. Deliberate time to not just think, but also examine how we think and just what we think by staying longer, more consciously with our thoughts.
Meditation & Mindfulness in contemporary mental health care
Meditation, the ability to bring ourselves in a different mental state deliberately, has been in existence ever since a Cro-Magnon dared look up to the stars. The World Health Organisation includes it in their toolbox for mental health. To quote:
“Meditation and spiritual enhancement have a wide range of meanings in different cultures. Meditation may be defined as a group of practices that train attention to enhance awareness through mental discipline with the ultimate aim of development of insight into the nature of mental processes, consciousness, identity, reality and spiritual values (Bhaskaran, 1991).
Although meditation commands much public attention in developed countries, the roots of its use for personal growth are found in the cultures of many developing countries. Various studies have suggested that practices such as yoga and t’ai chi may have significant benefits for both mental and physical well-being (Brown et al., 1995; La Forge, 1997; Li, Hong & Chan, 2001).
Given that such practices focus on both physical and spiritual components, they may be especially valuable in terms of their meaning to the vast majority of the world’s population, who do not neatly divide the physical, emotional and spiritual worlds into separate categories. Other practices that make use of meditation practices, such as Qigong, have also been argued to have mental health benefits (Mason & Hargreaves, 2001).
Once again, most such practices make use of a combination of spiritual and physical methods. This wide array of meditation techniques may represent an individual-focused strategy to promote mental health. Apart from the potential of such techniques to enhance cognitive processes, they are often accompanied by a strong sense of belonging and group identity and social
support from other members or participants. There are now innumerable variations and schools that teach meditation in developing and developed countries, and many have been subjected to research that demonstrates a range of physiological and behavioural changes (Bhaskaran, 1991; West, 1979).
Some have also been evaluated as treatments for mental disorders, though there is limited evidence for their effectiveness (Grover et al., 1996; Shapiro, 1982).
Apart from meditation techniques, there has also been a remarkable growth in syncretic religious belief systems in many developing countries, some of which have been shown to have a beneficial effect on coping and self-esteem (Bourguignon, 1976).
Meditation and mindfulness benefits
As is plain in the WHO quote above, meditation comes in many shapes and forms. Some aspects seem cultural and spiritual (Qi’Gong), other of a sportive nature (yoga, or most repetitive sports can induce a meditative state) and others yet of a artistic dimension.
Art itself has been researched in recent years as a key conduit for meditative states and self-connection. By nurturing acceptance, creating art and enjoying art creates its own type of meditation, an active training of the mind that increases awareness. That fosters the acceptance of thoughts without judgment.
The most common benefits associated with meditation and mindfulness building are:
- Lower anxiety
- Lower depression / fewer depressive episodes
- Enhanced decision making
- Enhanced sense of self-image and self-worth
- Increased ability to handle stress and conflicting thoughts
Practicing meditation and mindfulness
There is no easy way to say this: Most people who never tried to meditate often find it dully, boring and uncomfortable. It requires a minimum of perseverance, regularity and effort. In this sense it is usually advised to do the first few sessions with a qualified therapist, if at least for an initial amount of guaranteed practice and minimum repetition. We often do things more gladly when we pay for them, ironically.
It can also be an idea to define a quick plan when launching into a brand new meditation “course”. Some meditations will be absolutely fundamental and work mostly at grounding the patient into the here and now. Some will allow the patient more time and space to observe their thoughts, including what ails them and what is neutral looking but present in their mindspace. Finally other, guided meditations can aim at specific issues and outcomes, such as building self-confidence, relaxation and clear vision, and more and more meditation is also used in trauma therapy.
Meditation is often compared to a “muscle” that needs time and training, just the way a living muscle fiber grows. Good character takes time to build, as Heraclitus reminded us brutally 2500 years ago already.
“He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God.” as the equally blunt Aeschylus put it.
Good news is, modern meditation practice has never been so easy and for those who suddenly catch themselves liking a meditation right for them, it brings massive benefits. Beyond the obvious ones (anxiety, depression, decision making, trauma management) it can free up patients. Those with more debilitating benefits before therapy (panic attacks, schizophrenia) often speak of it as “not being afraid of themselves anymore”, and such enormous positive change.
