Mindfulness Practitioners

The ancient and universal practice of mindfulness has been shown recently to improve physiological, mental, and relational well-being.  Mindfulness is often thought of as a way of being aware of one’s present moment sensory experience without grasping onto judgments.  An Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB) exploration of mindful awareness suggests that mindfulness can be considered a relational process in which you become your own best friend. The Mindsight Institute offers Mindful Brain™ Seminars to explore the ways in which the social circuitry of the brain is harnessed within mindful awareness practices that promote health in our minds, brains, and relationships.

An intriguing overlap of several independent domains of knowledge illuminates this relational aspect of mindfulness.  The research outcomes for mindfulness correlate with the integrative functions of the prefrontal cortex; and to a large degree they are consistent with the scientifically established results of secure parent child relationships.  Furthermore, this same set of functions is a common wish list for psychotherapists in describing mental health.  And finally, spiritual teachers and community leaders have suggested that this list overlaps with thousands of years of teachings from tribal elders about the nature of wisdom.

This list of functions includes:

  1. Body regulation
  2. Attuned communication
  3. Affective balance
  4. Fear modulation
  5. Response flexibility
  6. Insight
  7. Empathy
  8. Intuition
  9. Morality

These overlapping findings suggest the possibility that mindfulness practice, secure attachment relationships, well-being, and wisdom each share the common neural mechanism of integration.  Mindsight – the weaving of insight and empathy to promote kindness and compassion – is the integrating thread that links these important dimensions of human life. 

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