During this past decade, the exploration and practice of mindfulness grew on a global scale. Utilized in settings ranging from preschools to prisons, mindfulness was studied extensively by scientists, educators, medical and mental health practitioners. This expansive study and practice revealed that mindfulness has a profound impact on our health and wellbeing.
Mindfulness improves attention, memory, and problem solving, enhances the experience of empathy and positive emotions, lowers stress, and is effective in the treatment of varied medical and mental health conditions such as ADHD, post traumatic stress, chronic pain, cancer, addiction and depression.
The practice of mindfulness can take many forms, from meditation to psychotherapy, and can be practiced individually or in groups. A study published last month in the Archives of General Psychiatry reported that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy delivered in a group format is as effective as antidepressant medication in treating depression http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/67/12/1256
Another recent study, published in the journal Pain, showed that regular practice of mindfulness meditation decreases sensitivity to pain by training the brain to be more focused on the present moment and less focused on the anticipation of and experience of pain. http://www.painjournalonline.com/article/S0304-3959(10)00223-X/abstract
Brief mindfulness exercises can be effective in improving mood and in reducing anxiety and fatigue after only 4 days of practice, as noted in the June 2010 journal Consciousness and Cognition. Other studies have shown that longer term practice permanently rewires the brain, increasing the growth of new neurons and neural connections within the brain. These brain changes are associated with greater tolerance of negative emotions and an enhanced ability to experience compassion, empathy and insight. http://www.examiner.com/mindfulness-in-national/mindfulness-demystified
Neuroscientists Richard Davidson at the University of Wisconsin and Daniel Siegel at UCLA have noted that our brains are, in essence, “wired” to experience empathy and compassion, and that the practice of mindfulness serves to activate and strengthen areas in the brain associated with these emotions.Siegel suggests that mindfulness is associated with "empathetic joy", the shared, interconnected experience of happiness and joy.
The positive effects of mindfulness begin at the cellular level, altering levels of telomerase immune cells, according to a study published in the September 2010 issue of Psychoneuroendocrinology. The first study to link specific cellular changes to mindfulness, it concluded that these practices also influence how individuals perceive their stress level, emotional states, sense of control, and “purpose in life”. http://bit.ly/bZo0KM
From the cellular to global level, the practice of mindfulness can have a profoundly positive effect. As we enter into a new year and the dawning of a new decade, should we now explore how the practice of mindfulness impacts the evolution of humanity?
Research suggests that humans are evolving to “become more compassionate and collaborative in our quest to survive” and that it is, indeed, these qualities that will enable us to thrive. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091208155309.htm
Whether we define humanity collectively as our species, “humankind”, or individually as in the quality of being compassionate or “humane”, the practice of mindfulness can provide the tools through which we guide our own evolution.
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