For the past year or so I have been studying the research on mindfulness and how effective a tool it can be for managing stress, depression, anxiety, and countless other difficulties so many of us face. Then this fall the Kesher survey came back reflecting a strong interest in managing stress and meditation, which is the heart of mindfulness. This encouraged me to ask the Rabbi if he thought programming around mindfulness might be a good fit for the temple – but it turned out Andy had already begun planning both last month’s Sounds of Silence program and this month’s Jewish Approaches to Mindful Living program!

Although both Andy and I are focused on temple members’ well-being, I come to it from the clinical point of view. And the growing scientific evidence that meditation can help even the least granola-crunchy among us is exciting! “Serious” researchers from places like Harvard, UC Berkeley, and
University of Wisconsin have used clinical studies and brain imagery tools like fMRIs to confirm that a consistent mindfulness practice can improve attention and mood and increase calmness and feelings of well-being. These studies provide firm evidence that mindfulness, especially in conjunction with other modalities like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, can reduce anxiety and relapses of depression and decrease stress. Research has even shown that regular mindfulness practice increases activity in the regions of the brain associated with positive emotions and reduces activity in those associated with negative responses.

So exactly what is mindfulness practice? As Jon Kabat-Zinn, has explained, “Mindfulness is the awareness that emerges through paying attention, on purpose, in the present
moment, non-judgmentally, to the unfolding of experience moment by moment.” This awareness focuses us on the mind itself so we can observe its workings and its concerns as separate from ourselves, and then let them go. Essentially, mindfulness is meditation, usually beginning with focusing on the breath. Remember, meditation is referred to as a “practice.” The point is that, with practice, you can get better at steadying the mind, even if you, like me, tend toward an active mind. And by non-judgmentally observing your thoughts and feelings when your mind does wander, you can begin to see them as being just the workings of the busy mind, which in turn reduces their influence and helps you keep perspective. Over time you get better at accepting things as they are and letting go of intense emotional reactions and the desire to control the uncontrollable.

Don’t worry about getting meditation “right.” The effort is the goal – so long as you do it non-judgmentally and with compassion for yourself.
In fact, research has shown that a consistent mindfulness practice can also increase activity in brain centers related to our ability to feel compassion for others. And as a final note, a tradition of mindfulness practice can be found in both Eastern and Western religions, including Judaism. Although it can be practiced solely for its mental health benefits, meditation can also be a powerful complement to more famil-iar religious traditions. In fact, many leaders in the mindful-ness field are Jewish!

References http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jan/08/health/la-he-mindfulness-20110109 http://www.psyn-journal.com/article/S0925-4927(10)00288-X/abstract http://www.mindfulconnections.net/Mindful_Connections/Research_files/Relationships%20between%20mindfulness%20practice%20and%20levels%20of%20Mindfulness.pdf http://www-psych.stanford.edu/~pgoldin/Buddhism/MBCTrelapsedepressionTeasdale2000JCCP.pdf
For the General Reader Kabat-Zinn, Jon (1991). Full Catastrophe Living. New York: Bantam Dell. Kornfield, Jack (2008). The Wise Heart. New York: Ban-tam Books. Siegel, Ronald D. (2009). The Mindfulness Solution. New York: Guilford Press.

Barbara J. Gordon, LCSW
Kesher Program Social Worker at Temple Habonim

bgordon@templehabonim.org

401-338-7861

Temple Habonim
165 New Meadow Road
Barrington, RI 02806
401-245-6536
Rabbi: rabbiklein@templehabonim.org
Office: office@templehabonim.org