Mindfulness-integrated Cognitive Behavior Therapy (MiCBT) produced large reductions in stress and increases in equanimity among 326 adults assessed at two psychology clinics. More severe depression and PTSD diagnoses predicted faster distress reduction, while PTSD and ADHD predicted greater life satisfaction gains. Younger age, lower baseline life satisfaction, and personality disorder diagnosis predicted lower treatment retention. Prior meditation experience increased the likelihood of enrolling in MiCBT but did not affect retention, whereas ADHD diagnosis predicted non-enrolment but not discontinuation after starting.
AI systems can now engage with nondualist philosophical concepts and simulate Zen teaching methods with remarkable sophistication. However, this technological facility may produce only simulated understanding, where nondualist principles are applied without the dissolution of subject-object boundaries that contemplative traditions consider essential for genuine insight. Arguments for AI's utility highlight its potential as a philosophical partner that democratizes access to esoteric domains, while arguments against emphasize that easy access may undermine the existential friction and struggle contemplative traditions deem necessary for authentic realization. This tension between technological facilitation and contemplative transformation requires systematic empirical investigation to determine how AI might appropriately support nondualistic understanding without compromising its trans-discursive essence.
Buddhist mindfulness integrates ethical guidelines, whereas Western psychology typically presents mindfulness as nonjudgmental awareness without a moral code. This paper argues that nonjudgmental characteristics are not necessarily misaligned with Buddhist practice. Theoretical confusion arises because ideas from diverse Buddhist traditions have been borrowed and integrated outside their original context, and modern psychology uses a single term for nuanced concepts that Buddhism distinguishes with rich jargon. The paper proposes adopting the term "heedfulness" from Buddhism to refer to self-regulatory aspects like monitoring behavior incongruent with a person's goals, values, or moral principles. Using heedfulness alongside mindfulness would refine psychological jargon and clarify future research on ethical dimensions of mindfulness.