In the past 20 years, mindfulness therapeutic programs have moved firmly into the mainstream of clinical practice and beyond. As they have, we have also seen the development of an increasingly vocal critique. At issue is often less whether or not these mindfulness practices “work,” and more whether there is a danger in dissociating them from the ethical frameworks for which they were originally...
OBJECTIVE: The underlying changes in biological processes that are associated with reported changes in mental and physical health in response to meditation have not been systematically explored. We performed a randomized, controlled study on the effects on brain and immune function of a well-known and widely used 8-week clinical training program in mindfulness meditation applied in a work...
This chapter sees into the mountain slopes of the Himalayas, where Tibetan monks who have spent many years in training and learning Buddhist philosophy and psychology, live in a retreat far from the secular world. These well educated monks have taken the brave step of joining forces with scientists to help with the understanding of how hours of meditation can have a substantial effect on...