Abstract
Basic definitions, assumptions, and working principles of the Buddhist and mindfulness-based intervention conception of “mindfulness” are characterized. Fundamental distinctions are drawn between Buddhist psychology and mainstream Western behavioral science in terms of aims, types of acquired knowledge, and professional training requirements. Particular emphasis is placed upon issues related to clinical intervention and biopsychosocial dysfunction. An argument is made and examples presented to show that mindfulness is best understood within an experience-based psychological perspective, integrating cognitive, affective, and ethical dimensions. The systematic nature of the development of mindfulness is illustrated by examination of an ancient program aimed at mindful awareness of breathing. Comparisons are made between developmental progression of mindful awareness and a neuroscience-based model of the ontogenesis of capacities of human consciousness; also, the act of awareness or being conscious is distinguished from the capacity for consciousness. In conclusion, acknowledgement of inherent differences—and tensions—between Buddhist and Western psychologies may actually serve to safeguard the concept of mindfulness from being denatured, banalized, or distorted. The potential of mindfulness-based approaches may, in turn, be enhanced for contributing to critical aspects of healthcare, quality of life, and wellbeing.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
(1995). Roget’s II: The New Thesaurus, 3rd edn. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Boiten, F. A. (1998). The effects of emotional behavior on components of the respiratory cycle. Biological Psychology, 49, 29–51.
Buchheld, N., Grossman, P., & Walach, H. (2001). Measuring mindfulness in insight meditation (Vipassana) and meditation-based psychotherapy: The development of the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory. Journal of Meditation Research, 1, 11–34.
Depraz, N., Varela, F., & Vermersch, P. (2003). On becoming aware. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Edelman, G., & Tononi, G. (2000). A universe of consciousness. NY: Basic Books.
Epstein, M. (1995). Thoughts without a thinker: Psychotherapy from a Buddhist perspective. NY: Basic Books.
Goldstein, J. (1993). Insight meditation. Boston: Shambhala.
Goleman, D. (1988). The meditative mind: The varieties of meditative experience. New York: Dutton.
Grossman, P. (1983). Respiration, stress, and cardiovascular function. Psychophysiology, 20(3), 284–300.
Grossman, P., Niemann, L., Schmidt, S., & Walach, H. (2004). Health-related benefits of mindfulness-based stress reduction: A meta-analysis. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 57, 35–43.
Grossman, P., & Wientjes, C. J. (2001). How breathing adjusts to mental and physical demands. In Y. Haruki, I. Homma, A. Umezawa, & Y. Masaoka (Eds.), Respiration and emotion (pp. 43–55). New York: Springer.
Guilleminault, C., Poyares, D., Palombini, L., Koester, U., Pelin, Z., & Black, J. (2001). Variability of respiratory effort in relation to sleep stages in normal controls and upper airway resistance syndrome patients. Sleep Medicine, 2, 397–405.
James, W. (1958). The varieties of religious experience. NY: New American.
Kabat-Zinn, J. (1990). Full catastrophe living: Using the wisdom of your body and mind to face stress, pain and illness. NY: Delacorte.
Kabat-Zinn, J. (1993). Mindfulness meditation: health benefits of an ancient Buddhist practice. In D. Goleman & J. Gurin (Eds.), Mind/body medicine (pp. 259–275). NY: Consumer Report Books.
Kabat-Zinn, J. (2003). Mindfulness-based interventions in context: Past, present, and future. Clinical Psychology: Science & Practice, 10, 144–156.
Langer, E. (1997). Power of mindful learning. Reading: Addison-Wesley.
Mischel, W. (2004). Toward an integrative science of the person. Annual Review of Psychology, 55, 1–22.
Nanamoli, B., & Bodhi, B. T. (1995). The middle length discourses of the Buddha. Boston: Wisdom Press.
Phillipson, E., McClean, P. A., Sullivan, C. E., & Zamel, N. C. (1978). Interaction between metabolic and behavioral repsiratory xontrol during hypercapnia and speech. The American Review of Respiratory Disease, 117, 903–909.
Roberts, B. W., & DelVecchio, W. F. (2000). The rank-order consistency of personality traits from childhood to old age: A quantitative review of longitudinal studies. Psychological Bulletin, 126, 3–25.
Rosenberg, L. (1998). Breath by breath: The liberating practice of insight meditation. Boston: Shambhala.
Segal, Z. V., Williams, J. M. G., & Teasdale, J. D. (2002). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression: A new approach to relapse prevention. NY: Guilford Press.
Shapiro, S. L., & Schwartz, G. E. (2000). Intentional systemic mindfulness: an integrative model for self-regulation and health. Advances in Mind-Body Medicine, 16, 128–134.
Sloan, R. P., Shapiro, P. A., Bagiella, E., Fishkin, P. E., Gorman, J. M., & Myers, M. M. (1995). Consistency of heart rate and sympathovagal reactivity across different autonomic contexts. Psychophysiology, 32, 452–459.
Sternberg, R. J. (2000). Images of mindfulness. Journal of Social Issues, 56, 112–126.
Teasdale, J. D., Moore, R. G., Hayhurst, H., Pope, M., Williams, S., & Segal, Z. V. (2002). Meta-cognitive awareness and prevention of relapse in depression: empirical evidence. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 70, 278–287.
Thera, N. (1962). The heart of Buddhist meditation. New York: Weiser.
Van den Bergh, O., Stegen, K., & Van de Woestijne, K. P. (1997). Learning to have psychosomatic complaints: Conditioning of respiratory behavior and somatic complaints in psychosomatic patients. Psychosomatic Medicine, 59, 13–23.
Varela, F., Thompson, E., & Rosch, E. (1991). The embodied mind: Cognitive science and human experience. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Walsh, R. (1980). The consciousness disciplines and the behavioral Sciences: Questions of comparison and assessment. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 137, 663–673.
Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. (1998) Tenth Edition New York: Simon and Schuster.
Western, P. J., & Patrick, J. M. (1988). Effect of focusing attention on breathing with and without apparatus on the face. Respiration Physiology, 72, 125–130.
Acknowledgments
This investigation was supported by grants from the Swiss National Science Foundation, The Swiss Multiple Sclerosis Society, The Swiss Cancer League, and the Samueli Institute (Corona del Mar, CA, USA).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Grossman, P. Mindfulness for Psychologists: Paying Kind Attention to the Perceptible. Mindfulness 1, 87–97 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-010-0012-7
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-010-0012-7