Mindfulness, or Full Attention is an example of the extent to which Psychology can be nourished by principles and knowledge that were already present in certain cultures long before science as such began to exist.
This practice has its roots in meditation associated with the religions of Buddhism and Hinduism, although it keeps aside the religious elements linked to rituals whose meaning is in the belief systems associated with that faith. And he does it because his reason for existence has to do with health and well-being, and not with tradition or the mystical. For this reason, its use is becoming more and more popular in areas such as Psychology or Education.
As we have seen, Mindfulness is inspired by a practice linked to Asia; specifically, Vipassana meditation. However, unlike the latter, Mindfulness has been conceived and designed as the product of a series of systematic efforts to obtain concrete and objectively measurable benefits, something that goes beyond the pretensions of what mediation has historically been.
Mindfulness is based on ways of regulate our attention focus and make it oriented towards the present state, making you fully aware of the here and now. In short, it provides the benefit of a mental “reset.” It is not about evading or fleeing to an imaginary plane of reality, but rather about not allowing obsessions or artificial narratives of the reality that we carry from the past determine what our mental and emotional state should be.
This is why Mindfulness can be useful in several areas, given that the management of attentional processes is something that affects our way of experiencing all types of situations. For example, it can be used to manage the experience of certain unpleasant events, or even in educational or learning contexts
Its use in Psychology
In the field of psychological intervention in the context of health, Mindfulness is becoming one of the tools that clinics and psychology centers have, often combining it with therapies from the cognitive-behavioral paradigm. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ECRT) Specifically, Mindfulness has one of its most important pillars.
Thus, although Mindfulness is usually used by mental health specialists, its fundamental principles can also be learned at the user level by practically anyone interested in training in this practice and using it in their daily lives.
To continue learning about Mindfulness
If you are interested in knowing more about Mindfulness, it is easy for you. Currently, there is a lot of information about this practice and its effects in contexts as diverse as education and mental health, so that books have emerged that combine both information related to its Asian origins in Buddhist meditation, as well as that extracted from scientific research and that does not belong to the field of the humanities.
In this sense, one of the best ways to get started in the world of Mindfulness is the book What do we know about Mindfulness?written by Javier García Campayo and Marcelo Demarzo, two experts on this exciting topic.
Through its pages, What do we know about Mindfulness? It reviews both the most practical aspects of its application, useful for practitioners, therapists, instructors and teachers, as well as the part linked to scientific research referring to its uses and effects on those who resort to Mindfulness. Being a very complete book, is willing to resort to him whenever specific doubts arise about some of the characteristics and applications of Mindfulness.
A good help to face complicated situations
Mindfulness helps to overcome certain moments that we usually associate with stress and unpleasantness, but it can also be combined with certain tools that have been created to respond to very specific problems, such as relaxation techniques or controlled breathing exercises Thus, training this repertoire of skills can be very useful to self-regulate states of consciousness and face challenging situations.
