Editorial: Mindfulness-based interventions in clinical settings: are there benefits for both patients and their physicians?
Frontiers in Psychology June 11, 2024 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1423847 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key points | The text states that mind wandering is the brain's default mode, that meditation and mindfulness involve resisting it to remain in the present, and that philosophical and religious traditions have long held happiness is found by living "in the moment." It characterizes mindfulness as a decontextualized, "modern" form of meditation. |
Abstract
Humans are programmed to think about issues outside their immediate vicinity, for example past events and speculation of the future. In fact, mind wandering appears to be the human brain's default mode of operation (Killingsworth & Gilbert, 2010). The opposite of mind wandering is meditation and mindfulness. For thousands of years, philosophical and religious traditions have studied the implications of meditation for individuals and society (Sun, 2014) concluding that happiness is found by living "in the moment". Practitioners are trained to resist mind wandering and to be grounded in the "here and now". Mindfulness is considered to be a decontextualized and 'modern' form of meditation.