Mindfulness Talks
Mindfulness is the cognitive skill, usually developed through meditation, of sustaining meta-attention of the contents of one's own mind in the present moment. Mindfulness derives from sati, a significant element of Hindu and Buddhist traditions, and is based on Zen, Vipassanā, and Tibetan meditation techniques. Though definitions and techniques of mindfulness are wide-ranging, Buddhist traditions describe what constitutes mindfulness such as how past, present and future moments arise and cease as momentary sense impressions and mental phenomena. Individuals who have contributed to the popularity of mindfulness in the modern Western context include Thích Nhất Hạnh, Joseph Goldstein, Herbert Benson, Jon Kabat-Zinn, and Richard J. Davidson.
Clinical psychology and psychiatry since the 1970s have developed a number of therapeutic applications based on mindfulness for helping people experiencing a variety of psychological conditions. Mindfulness practice has been employed to reduce depression, stress, anxiety, and in the treatment of drug addiction. Programs based on mindfulness models have been adopted within schools, prisons, hospitals, veterans' centers, and other environments, and mindfulness programs have been applied for additional outcomes such as for healthy aging, weight management, athletic performance, helping children with special needs, and as an intervention during early pregnancy.
Clinical studies have documented both physical- and mental-health benefits of mindfulness in different patient categories as well as in healthy adults and children. Studies have shown a positive relationship between trait mindfulness (which can be cultivated through the practice of mindfulness-based interventions) and psychological health. The practice of mindfulness appears to provide therapeutic benefits to people with psychiatric disorders, including moderate benefits to those with psychosis. Studies also indicate that rumination and worry contribute to a variety of mental disorders, and that mindfulness-based interventions can enhance trait mindfulness and reduce both rumination and worry. Further, the practice of mindfulness may be a preventive strategy to halt the development of mental-health problems. Mindfulness practices have been said to enable individuals to respond more effectively to stressful situations by helping them strike the balance between over-identification and suppression of their emotional experiences by finding the middle point which is recognition and acceptance.
Evidence suggests that engaging in mindfulness meditation may influence physical health. For example, the psychological habit of repeatedly dwelling on stressful thoughts appears to intensify the physiological effects of the stressor (as a result of the continual activation of the sympathetic nervous system and the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis) with the potential to lead to physical health related clinical manifestations. Studies indicate that mindfulness meditation, which brings about reductions in rumination, may alter these biological clinical pathways. Further, research indicates that mindfulness may favorably influence the immune system as well as inflammation, which can consequently impact physical health, especially considering that inflammation has been linked to the development of several chronic health conditions. Other studies support these findings.
Critics have questioned both the commercialization and the over-marketing of mindfulness for health benefits—as well as emphasizing the need for more randomized controlled studies, for more methodological details in reported studies and for the use of larger sample-sizes. While mindfulness-based interventions may be effective for youth, research has not determined methods in which mindfulness could be introduced and delivered in schools.
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February 18th, 2008, Serial No. 01116 Impermanence, Mindfulness, Funeral, Doubt, Lay, Happiness, Priest, Humility, Patience... |
Feb 18 2008 |
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January 5th, 2008, Serial No. 01107 Emotions, Nirvana Sutra, Impermanence, Hindrances, Nirvana, Mindfulness, Liberation,... |
Jan 05 2008 |
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November 17th, 2007, Serial No. 01096 Patience, Mindfulness, training, Anger, Right Speech, Emotions, Aspects of Practice,... |
Nov 17 2007 |
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November 10th, 2007, Serial No. 01095 Manjushri, Mindfulness, Four Noble Truths, Buddha Nature, Doubt, Subject-and-Object,... |
Nov 10 2007 |
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The Five Powers of Practice and How They InteractSerial: BZ-00986 Kid Zendo: Zen: inside and outside the circle's center, Saturday Lecture Practice, Concentration, Mindfulness, Daily Life, Intuition, Mahayana, Instruction,... |
Jul 21 2007 Berkeley Zen Center |
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This Is ItSerial: BZ-01436A Saturday Lecture Mindfulness, Koan, Karma, Doubt, confusion, Big Mind, Instruction, Religion, Priest,... |
May 19 2007 Berkeley Zen Center |
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May 5th, 2007, Serial No. 01434 Branching Streams, Light-and-Darkness, Bodhisattva Ceremony, Oneness, Duality, Priest... |
May 05 2007 |
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March 17th, 2007, Serial No. 01053, Side A Subject-and-Object, Doubt, Religion, Mahayana, First Principle, Concentration, Buddha... |
Mar 17 2007 |
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November 28th, 2006, Serial No. 01402, Side B Four Noble Truths, Right Speech, Teacher-and-Student, Mindfulness, Right Effort,... |
Nov 28 2006 |
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November 2nd, 2006, Serial No. 01048 Precepts, Offering, Mindfulness, Bodhisattva Precepts, Buddha Ancestors, Anger,... |
Nov 02 2006 |
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Seijiki Ceremony - Relating to Death and DyingSerial: SF-00029 Heading into winter; what is the most important thing at the end of your life? taking refuge; how are we also hungry ghosts; six realms. Ceremony, Offering, Vows, Ordination, Death-and-Dying, Six Realms, Sangha, Emptiness... |
Oct 29 2006 |
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August 5th, 2006, Serial No. 01177 zen meditation, Right Effort, Ego, Mindfulness, Beginners, Instruction, Chanting,... |
Aug 05 2006 |
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The Great MatterSerial: SF-00085 How awareness of death, and our own mortality, spurs us to greater effort in practice. Birth-and-Death, Suzuki Roshi, Impermanence, Gratitude, Heart Sutra, Ceremony,... |
Mar 11 2006 City Center |
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March 11th, 2006, Serial No. 01221 Gaining Mind, Mindfulness, Heart Sutra, Four Noble Truths, Separation, Non-duality,... |
Mar 11 2006 |
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2006.02.01-serial.00003 Offering, Patience, confusion, Sangha, Precepts, Mindfulness, Beginners, Gratitude,... |
Feb 01 2006 |
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Sutra on BreathingSerial: BZ-01210D One-Day Sitting Breath, Happiness, Four Foundations, Birth-and-Death, Mindfulness, Subject-and-Object... |
Jan 14 2006 Berkeley Zen Center |
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Resuming Big MindSerial: BZ-01202 Sesshin Practice, Rohatsu Day 2 Sesshin, Big Mind, Monkey Mind, Pure Existence, Posture, Buddha Mind, Mindfulness,... |
Nov 29 2005 Berkeley Zen Center |
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August 13th, 2005, Serial No. 01341 Silence, Right Speech, Culture, Conversation, Intimacy, Echo, Observe, Passions,... |
Aug 13 2005 |
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July 16th, 2005, Serial No. 01336 Concentration, Impermanence, Four Noble Truths, Right Speech, Hindrances, Right... |
Jul 16 2005 |
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Sesshin: Tips on Serving, Eating, Kinhin, ZazenSerial: BZ-01329 Sesshin Day 1 Sesshin, Oryoki, Kinhin, Zazen, Instruction, Bell, Posture, Passions, Concentration,... |
Jun 22 2005 Berkeley Zen Center |
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2005.05.08-serial.00184 Buddha Nature, Mindfulness, Posture, Observe, Dependent Origination, confusion,... |
May 08 2005 |
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Guidelines for Practice PeriodSerial: BZ-01318B One-Day Sitting Practice Period, Practice Period, Commitment, Forgiveness, Daily Life, Precepts,... |
Apr 16 2005 Berkeley Zen Center |
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Teacher-Student RelationshipsSerial: BZ-00599 Hierarchy, Sesshin Day 5 Teacher-and-Student, Teacher-and-Student, Precepts, Anger, Intimacy, Practice Period... |
Mar 27 2005 |
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March 12th, 2005, Serial No. 00767 Pure Existence, Practice Position, Five Ranks, Absolute-and-Relative, Daily Life,... |
Mar 12 2005 |
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Big MindSerial: BZ-00571 Sesshin Day 2 Buddha Mind, Monkey Mind, Big Mind, Concentration, stubbornness, Right Effort, Don... |
Feb 21 2005 |
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January 31st, 2005, Serial No. 00567 Four Noble Truths, Right Speech, Right Effort, Concentration, Birth-and-Death,... |
Jan 31 2005 |
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January 22nd, 2005, Serial No. 01302, Side D Heart Sutra, Death-and-Dying, Four Noble Truths, confusion, Demons, Non-duality,... |
Jan 22 2005 |
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DisciplineSerial: SF-00077 Relationship with the rules while training. training, Practice Period, Vinaya, Emotions, Don't Know Mind, Mindfulness,... |
Oct 20 2004 |
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July 24th, 2004, Serial No. 01277 Mindfulness, Non-duality, Bodhisattva Ceremony, Concentration, Impermanence, Oneness... |
Jul 24 2004 |
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March 8th, 2004, Serial No. 01020, Side B Monastic Practice, Birth-and-Death, Buddha's Birthday, Mindfulness, Cultivation... |
Mar 08 2004 |
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Digging Deep: Getting to the Bottom of the Soup PotSerial: BZ-01250 Getting to the Bottom of Ourselves, Sesshin Day 3 Buddha Nature, Happiness, Dragons, confusion, Bowing, Liberation, Discrimination,... |
Feb 16 2004 Berkeley Zen Center |