“Mindfulness is paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally”.

Mindfulness.An awareness that is not about the past or the future; but about the present moment.

The concept of Mindfulness dates back 2500 years to Buddhist philosophical preaching that in life, suffering is inevitable and is always preceded by a cause. The solution to this suffering is the path of ‘nirvana’ or enlightenment. Such practices include mindful meditation.

Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) finds its roots in mindful meditative practices borrowed from Buddhist preaching and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). This is a group-based educational program pioneered by Jon Kabat-Zinn which incorporates various theoretical models of stress and training into mindful meditation.

Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapycombines the technique of mindful meditation with psychological principles of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) developedby Aaron T. Beck. CBT aims to(i) identify, (ii) challengeand(iii) restructureone’s erroneous thinking patterns and beliefs that are antecedent to maladaptive behavioral and emotional reactions.

Awareness of experiences and non-judgmental acceptance towards ego dystonic thoughts and resultant emotionsare the key elements of MBCT that serve as antidotes against psychological problems such as anger, rage, anxiety, rumination, fear, stress and negative affect. Many of these problems arise due to distressing thoughts and emotions and the tendency to suppress, escape or excessively engage with them. A distinctive feature of MBCT is that it increases meta-cognitive awareness by emphasizing the mode of ‘being’ rather than ‘doing’. Let us explore this further.

The ‘doing’ mode: is action-oriented where one actively tries to bridge the gap between ‘what is’ and ‘what should be’. Persistent and unsuccessful efforts might lead to distress and dissatisfaction. The characteristics of the doing mode are:

• An action-oriented approach to change things
• Insight of how things are and how they should be
• Striving harder to attain goals
• Automatic actions without thoughtful consideration
• Lack of awareness of the present

The ‘being’ mode: is characterized by increased awareness of the present which is purposive and non-critical. Such awareness might break the patterns of erroneous thinking and resultant emotional and behavioural consequences. The characteristics of the being mode are:

• An awareness of how things are in the moment
• Being anchored to the present
• Receptivity to pleasant, unpleasant or neutral thoughts, sensations, emotions and all aspects of being
• Letting things be as they are without need or desire to change them

Mindfulness meditation is associated with increased psychological well-being and awareness of emotions, cognition, excitement and environmental stimuli like sight and sound. It has also been found to enhance attention, improve focus and concentration, reduce stress and improve task performance. MBCT has been successfully used for individuals with insomnia, depression, cancer, chronic pain, stress, anxiety, suicidal thoughts and tendencies, ADHD and practical obsessions. According to Dr. Rebecca Crane, teacher, trainer and director at the Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice, School of Psychology, Bangor University, UK – learning MBCT can help:

• (i) break ruminative thinking patterns;
• (ii) increase awareness of thinking patterns that might trigger relapse;
• (iii) learn new ways of relating to one’s experiences; and
• (iv) become more receptive and compassionate towards experiences.