Contemporary philosophical and neurocognitive studies of the self have dissociated two distinct types of self-awareness: a "narrative" self-awareness (NS) weaving together episodic memory, future planning and self-evaluation into a coherent self-narrative and identity, and a "minimal" self-awareness (MS) focused on present momentary experience and closely tied to the sense of agency and...
Using a common set of mindfulness exercises, mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) and mindfulness based cognitive therapy (MBCT) have been shown to reduce distress in chronic pain and decrease risk of depression relapse. These standardized mindfulness (ST-Mindfulness) practices predominantly require attending to breath and body sensations. Here, we offer a novel view of ST-Mindfulness's...
Various forms of mental training have been shown to improve performance on cognitively demanding tasks. Individuals trained in meditative practices, for example, show generalized improvements on a variety of tasks assessing attentional performance. A central claim of this training, derived from contemplative traditions, posits that improved attentional performance is accompanied by subjective...
The use of mindfulness-related methods for the treatment of a variety of psychological, somatic and interpersonal problems has increased dramatically in the last decade. Almost all mindfulness-based therapies include the practice of meditation in addition to various cognitive and/or behavioral techniques. The source of inspiration for mindfulness has traditionally been Buddhism, while Islamic...
IN the 3rd edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED3) the word ‘tantra’ has been defined as a Hindu or Buddhist mystical or magical text, and adherence to the doctrine or principles of the tantras, involving mantras, meditation, yoga, and ritual. While offering etymological explanation of the word the origin is stated in OED3 to have been traced to a Sanskrit word ‘tantra’ which is said to...
In recent years, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatments have increased in popularity. This is especially true for treatments that are related to exercise and mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) in the treatment of both mental and physical illness. MBIs, such as Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), which are derived from...
All articles of this category Kernaussagen Unter Achtsamkeit versteht man die absichtsvolle, bewusste und nicht wertende Lenkung der Aufmerksamkeit auf den gegenwärtigen Augenblick. Grundsätzlich besitzt jeder diese Fähigkeit und ist in der Lage sie weiter zu kultivieren. In den vergangenen Jahren wurden verschiedene verhaltenstherapeutische und -medizinische Verfahren entwickelt, die eine...
Sir, Dr. Satwant Pasricha's Guest Editorial[1] (Vol. 53 Number 1), ‘Relevance of para-psychology in psychiatric practice’, makes an interesting reading. There is no denying the fact that many people have personally experienced intuition, gut-feelings, premonitions and dreams, empathy, and inspired creativity. They also include more extreme experience, such as telepathy, clairvoyance,...
This chapter discusses a development that took place in Buddhism in the sixth century, and subsequently had wide repercussions in the Indian discussion of self. Reflexivism (svasaṃvedana) is the thesis that self‐consciousness consists in conscious mental occurrences being reflexively conscious of themselves. Dignāga's defence of reflexivism consists in part in a new “two aspects” theory of...
Abstract There are two ways to account for the nature of phenomenologically presented ownership constitutive of the "immersed" self. One sees it as fundamentally a relationship of bodily ownership: the theory of a core self as bodily feeling of presence to oneself is a bodily account of immersion. Other accounts develop an analysis out of a more detailed study of the structure of...