Mindfulness Technical Resources and Strategies.

Learn about mindfulness two most important technical resources that can help you be more flexible, handle attention, and expose yourself to the circumstances that need to be dealt with.

The English word mindfulness is the translation of the word sati, from the Pali language. In Portuguese, we also use the terms 'mindfulness' or 'mindfulness'. The word sati means 'awareness, attention and remembrance'. Its origin comes from a meditation technique belonging to Vipassana meditation. Today, I'm going to talk about the main technical features of mindfulness.

Professor Jon Kabat-Zinn was a pioneer in the application of mindfulness in the West in terms of the clinical sphere. He defines it as "a consciousness that is the product of the action of paying attention intentionally to the present moment, without judging the experiences that unfold in each moment".

Therefore, the essential element is the radical acceptance of the present experience without judging it. This means being willing to experience and live with sensations, mental events, and circumstances, regardless of whether they are negative or positive.

Regarding negative sensations, the idea is to expose yourself without taking any direct action on the experience, such as taking medication, distracting yourself or trying to perform some type of control or avoidance.

It is an idea closely related to Buddhist detachment, which instructs the patient to see themselves disconnected and alien to their experiences, thoughts and emotions. A frequently used phrase is “I am not my thoughts, I am more than that”.

Some of the fundamental elements of the attitude necessary for the practice of mindfulness are: non-judgmental, patience, “beginner's mind” without letting previous experiences influence us, trust, not trying hard, acceptance and seeing things the way they are.

Some technical resources of mindfulness.

Bishop (2002) proposed a very detailed model that includes the following components of mindfulness: self-regulation of attention and orientation towards one's own experiences in the present moment, characterized by curiosity, openness and acceptance.

Self-regulation of attention.

This resource refers to keeping attention on the immediate experience, without seeking control, thus allowing for greater recognition of mental events in the present moment.

For this, the patient has to train other skills, such as sustained attention, or the ability to maintain attention for a continuous period of time.

Another skill is attention shifting, which trains us to focus our attention on the breath by recognizing thoughts, feelings, or sensations.

Finally, I also highlight the importance of not elaborating the thoughts, feelings and sensations, that is, not getting involved with them, but observing them and redirecting attention.

This feature involves the concept of “beginner's mind”. That is, learning to use attention in such a way that it focuses on a direct and refined observation of various objects around us, as if it were the first time we had seen them.

Instead of looking at the object through the distorted filter of our experiences, beliefs or expectations, we focus attention on getting rid of all that baggage.

Orientation towards experience.

The secret of this feature is to maintain an attitude of curiosity, opening the mind to identify each of the thoughts, feelings and sensations that arise.

The person has to be willing to allow themselves to think, feel and experience, without using avoidance strategies.

It means, therefore, approaching the experience with an attitude of curiosity, regardless of its emotional charge. This involves learning to make a radical acceptance of the experience.

Other technical features of mindfulness, in addition to those just explained, are present-oriented attention, radical acceptance without judgment, and free choice to actively engage in something (breathing, activity, etc.).

Benefits of practicing mindfulness.

The technical features of mindfulness help reinforce the ability to maintain a stable focus of attention. This is in contrast to the automatism that usually defines automatic negative thoughts, which arise in the mind without us realizing it.

We have seen that mindfulness, as a practice that breaks with automation, helps to decrease levels of physiological activation and somatic symptoms.

There would be an activation of the parasympathetic nervous system that would help the person to relax, even more than with traditional relaxation.

In addition, some neuroscience research may claim that mindfulness practice modifies brain activity, including perceptual processes, higher cognitive processes, and emotional regulation processes (Cahn & Polich, 2006).

Finally, another of the great benefits provided by the practice of mindfulness is the improvement of emotional and physical health.

Evidence suggests that mindfulness is associated with greater behavioral flexibility and that this has a positive impact on health.