| This month's edition of the psychological journal | | | | up from 3 in the year 2000 - to help relieve |
| Emotion features a number of entirely new | | | | stress, soothe addictive cravings, improve |
| studies on the effects of mindfulness meditation | | | | attention, lift despair. |
| on both working memory capacity (how much | | | | Mindfulness and the military: Coping with stress |
| information we can manage in our minds at once) | | | | In one study just published in the journal Emotion |
| and our ability to manage our emotions - to be | | | | by Amishi Jha and her colleagues persuaded 48 |
| 'emotionally intelligent.' The basic idea is that | | | | Marines who were headed to Iraq to participate in |
| working memory is used not just to manage our | | | | their scientific study. During a full eight weeks |
| cognitive resources to help with fluid intelligence | | | | before deployment, one group of 31 Marines |
| but also to regulate our emotions better. This | | | | spent two practiced regular mindfulness |
| connection between working memory and | | | | meditation while another group of 17 men had no |
| emotion is breaking news. Before summarizing the | | | | mindfulness training. |
| results, here is some background on mindfulness | | | | Jha wanted to know if mindfulness would improve |
| meditation - what it is, and what is known about | | | | soldiers' ability to control emotion by improving |
| it. You'll be surprised about its benefits. | | | | working memory capacity. The reasoning behind |
| What is Mindfulness? | | | | this was the idea that working memory capacity |
| Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular | | | | may not just helps manage information in |
| way, on purpose, in the present moment, | | | | reasoning and problem solving - but it might also |
| non-judgmentally. | | | | help manage emotion and keep the brain |
| Mindfulness, a state of alertness in which the mind | | | | functioning well under stress. This is a type of |
| does not get caught up in thoughts, emotions, | | | | emotional intelligence. |
| desires or sensations, but lets them come and go, | | | | The stress of deployment did - as expected - |
| much like watching a river flow by. | | | | decrease the Marines' working memory capacity. |
| Mindfulness is nonjudgmental observation: It is that | | | | But those who practiced mindfulness for longer |
| ability of the mind to observe without criticism. | | | | periods actually saw a slight increase in working |
| When mindful, one sees things without | | | | memory capacity. Compared with soldiers who |
| condemnation or judgment. One does not decide | | | | didn't have the training, the 'mindful' Marines also |
| and does not judge. One just observes. | | | | experienced more positive moods and fewer |
| Mindfulness is non-egotistic alertness. It takes | | | | negative moods. |
| place without reference to self. With mindfulness | | | | Take home: Build fluid intelligence and shield it from |
| one sees all phenomena without references to | | | | stress with mindfulness meditation and working |
| concepts like "me," "my," or "mine." decide and | | | | memory training. |
| does not judge. One just observes. | | | | Mindfulness could benefit people who are in similar |
| Mindfulness is cultivated through meditation. It is a | | | | situations to the military - those who require |
| practice. | | | | periods of intensive physical, mental and emotional |
| Benefits of Mindfulness | | | | demands on the job, such as firefighters, police |
| Mindfulness meditation practice can be | | | | officers, other first responders and crisis workers, |
| transformative. It has been shown scientifically to | | | | the researchers say. |
| have diverse and far-reaching impacts, and has | | | | But more generally, mindfulness meditation can |
| the potential to transform the way we respond | | | | help shield cognitive functioning and the exercise |
| to life events. | | | | of our fluid intelligence under conditions of stress. |
| - It reduces stress and negative emotional | | | | Let's face it: life is stressful - whether taking |
| reactivity. | | | | exams, or dealing with cognitive pressures at |
| - It reduces psychopathology. | | | | work! If the meditation is combined with brain |
| - It heightens attention and awareness. | | | | training that our company supplies, we have a |
| - It promotes self-actualization. | | | | powerful training combination. |
| - It enables seeing opportunities for open, | | | | I personally have for a long time combined |
| spontaneous action in the world, free from | | | | working memory training with mindfulness |
| egoism | | | | meditation. These results come as a nice |
| Mindfulness in Society | | | | vindication of something I've experienced to be |
| Mindfulness meditation is becoming widely | | | | highly valuable for more than a year now. I've |
| recognized as an effective tool for mental and | | | | understand for a long time that our intelligence is |
| physical health. For example in the States, the | | | | not just about information processing - it is also |
| National Institutes of Health (NIH) is financing more | | | | about smart with our emotions. |
| than 50 studies testing mindfulness techniques - | | | | |