A Research Study On Meditation Awareness Training

This source provides a description of the pedagogical revolution that is occurring in our universities regarding mindfulness. University curriculums are now being implemented with mindfulness. This will for a greater dissemination of mindfulness and I want to discuss this specifically in my

Based on the evidence, mindfulness could be expanded to be included in teaching individuals not only intrapersonal skills but also the

Effective mindfulness meditation requires training and practice and it has distinct measurable effects on our subjective experiences, our behavior, and our brain

This paper is about my experience with mindfulness based meditation and scientific inquiry of these experiences. Mindfulness based meditation is describes as technique used to cultivate nonreactive, non-judgmental and stable awareness of the present moment (Garland and Gaylord, 2009). The end goal is to sustain this meta-cognitive state for a long period of time. I practiced non-denominational form of mindfulness based meditation for the first time in my psychology class, which was devoted towards intellectual and experiential examination of meditation. The practice was conducted in a group it was instructed by our own professor and it begun at the end of class. There was one sessions per week and each session was structured meaning it was

Mindfulness is another way of meditation. Meditation was used to seek to improve one’s psychological or physical health, or spiritual growth. (Brantley, 2007). The history of Mindfulness comes from Buddhism and his search for enlightenment and a foundation of the four noble truths. The Buddha teaching focus on the four noble truths which consist of knowing suffering exists, there is a cause of suffering, there is cessation of suffering and there is a path that leads to the cessation of suffering. (Van Gordon, 2015). The four noble truths were not only there to represent the Buddha’s experiential understanding of suffering, but also to express the truth (Van Gordon, 2015). Studies of Buddhism and the Four Noble Truths teach us that there is always going to be suffering in our life but to find ways to overcome suffering (Tsering, 2005).

Meditation is a form of stress management that will allow our mind to experience an oasis of peace and love within our

Rooting back to its’ ancient times, meditation has been around for thousands of years, especially in the Eastern part of the world and has spread to the Western countries in early 1970s.

Proponents of the Transcendental Meditation program initiated by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi have expressed their ideas in various web sites on the World Wide Web, through pages such as The Transcendental Meditation Program at http://www.tm.org and the Scientific Research on Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program of the Maharishi University of Management at http://www.miu.edu/TM_Research. In these sites positive messages are conveyed about the benefits of meditation to its practitioner within the physiological, psychological, sociological, intellectual, and interpersonal realms. Within these sites, the web-browser is presented with an abundance of information relating

Many studies have found that Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) meditations enhance well-being by building a mindful awareness. Shaprio et al. (2007), found that MBSR programs taught over the course of a semester help decrease rumination, perceived stress, negative affect, and state and trait anxiety. It was also found to help increase positive affect and self-compassion. These findings are based off the concept that self-awareness (achieved through MBSR) is the basis of self-care, as it is an unbiased observation of inner behaviors and

The bulk of literature examining the effectiveness of mindfulness consists of qualitative studies. Of those studies, the focus has been on how effective mindfulness interventions and therapies are for clients and not so much regarding mindfulness practices of clinicians and its implications.

The second stated “long-term meditators would show superior performance to short-term meditators”. And the third stated “concentrative meditators would be more subject to expectancy effects…mindfulness meditators would show superior performance relative to concentrative meditators when the stimulus was unexpected” (Valentine & Sweet, 1999, p. 63). Using the Wilkins’ Counting Test (a measure of sustained focused attention) the control group was placed in a classroom to perform the test while the meditation groups were tested post meditation sessions in a separate room. The test was comprised of a series of tones which each group was asked to count (the meditation groups were told there would be three rather than two sets). The results confirmed the three hypotheses, overall concurring the use of meditation leads to improved concentration with little difference between concentrative and mindfulness meditation (Valentine & Sweets, 1999).

Mindfulness meditation can help clinicians in training become better therapist regardless of the therapeutic approach they use. In a study conducted in Germany both patients and psychotherapist in training participated in Zen meditation. The course that was offered included motionless sitting in the lotus position or half lotus position on a mediation pillow. The Zen training was directed meditation focusing on the breath and in part in silence without assistance (Grepmai, Mitterlehner, Lowe and Nickel, 2007). The patients were treated with a variety of skills and techniques from varying orientations such as individual therapy, gestalt therapy, art and music group therapy, indicative group therapy, sports therapy, kinesiotherapy and physical therapy to name a few.

Zeidan et al. (2014) concluded that twenty minutes of mindfulness meditation significantly reduced state anxiety in each session that meditation was practised. After each meditation training session there was a decrease in anxiety. In MRI session one four subjects showed results of decreased anxiety and nine subjects in MRI two. Throughout the four days of training results also showed that mindfulness levels increased. The average of the mindfulness levels increased by 14% (after

In the research concerning transcendental meditation, variables linked with and most often tested in relation to TM include stress, anxiety, depression, ego development, and cognition, all of which contribute to overall well-being. Sample sizes in these studies vary greatly, some consisting of smaller groups and other that synthesize information collected from larger studies. There is also great variation in terms of time, some studies spanning over only a few months while others study groups over the span of ten years. This diversity within the studies is helpful in gaining a more well-rounded understanding of TM and its effects.

The study was conducted at an alternative school for high school students in a rural community of the northeast United States. Twenty eight of the thirty six students enrolled at this school participated; with a break down of 12 male and 16 female, one bi-racial and 27 Caucasian.