Last Updated on November 9, 2022 by Editors Desk
Mindfulness meditation has been gaining popularity as a method to reduce stress, increase focus, and cultivate inner peace. Mindfulness meditation involves focusing on a particular object or sensation in the body for a period of time and when you notice that you have stopped paying attention to it. The practice is typically slow and calming. There’s been scientific research showing that mindfulness meditation can produce positive physical and mental health outcomes such as lowered stress levels, reduced depression, and improved self-esteem. In this blog post we will explore how mindfulness meditation practice can produce a healthy altered state of consciousness and inhibit addictive behavior.
Focus on the breath to achieve mindfulness
Mindfulness is a conscious, relaxed state of focus on the present. Mindfulness is the opposite of the “reactive” state which is hyper-aroused and frequently occurs when we feel stressed or anxious. When we are in the mindful state, we are aware of our thoughts and feelings without becoming attached to them. This is where the ‘meditation’ part of the mindfulness practice comes in. During meditation, we are consciously and actively focusing on our breathing.
We are not trying to achieve any kind of ‘higher state of consciousness’. All we are trying to do is ‘ground ourselves in the present moment’. Focus on the breath to achieve mindfulness. When we are in the mindful state, we are actively focusing on our breathing.
Cultivate gratitude and loving-friendliness feelings
During mindfulness practice, we cultivate gratitude. Gratitude is the appreciation of what is. It’s often linked with feelings of loving-friendliness. Loving-friendliness is a feeling of kindness and appreciation towards others. It is generally linked with feelings of compassion. Cultivating gratitude and loving-friendliness feelings are two important aspects of mindfulness practice. Firstly, gratitude is an emotion that is linked with optimism and optimism is linked with health. It can be explained as follows: We often don’t feel grateful because we often don’t make the connection between what we have and what we have received.
For example, whenever we experience something pleasant in our life, we should pause for a moment and ask ourselves, “Why do I deserve to feel grateful for this experience? Where did this thing come from?” If we don’t make the effort to find these answers, we can easily get stuck in an “all good things must come to an end” mindset. When we get stuck in this mindset, we can end up getting unhealthy feelings of pessimism. Similarly, feelings of pessimism can also be linked with pessimism about our health. So the key to staying healthy is to keep a balance between feeling grateful for things we have and feeling optimistic about our future. Secondly, loving-friendliness is the opposite of the “indifference” feeling. As human beings, we crave connection and human connection is formed as a result of sharing gratitude and feeling compassionate towards others.
There are several studies that have shown that cultivating gratitude and loving-friendliness has a positive effect on our brain functioning. It can be explained as follows: Gratitude is an appreciation for what we have. It’s linked with optimism and optimism has been linked with health. Loving-friendliness is a feeling of kindness and appreciation towards others. It is generally linked with feelings of compassion. There are several studies that have shown that cultivating gratitude and loving-friendliness has a positive effect on our brain functioning.
Develop perspective and emotional regulation
During mindfulness practice, we develop perspective. Perspective is the ability to see things from different perspectives and accept them as they are. For example, when we practise gratitude and appreciate what we have, we develop more gratitude as we go along. Similarly, when we experience something unpleasant, we also experience gratitude.
This process of cultivating more gratitude is called “positive feedback” and it strengthens our gratitude neural pathway in the brain. As a result, we have a healthier perspective towards our life. The same concept applies to negative experiences. When we practise loving-friendliness, we experience less anger and less rage towards others. This process of cultivating “less” neural pathways is called “regulation” and it helps to curb out the “more” neural pathways that are linked with unhealthy emotions.
Develop corresponding neuronal pathways in the brain
Mindfulness meditation activates the “salience network” in our brains. The salience network is responsible for detecting and prioritizing salient stimuli such as danger, threats, and opportunities. These neural pathways are then linked with our “executive functions”. An executive function is defined as a mental process that helps us to plan, organize, and solve problems. It’s linked with our “self-control”. During mindfulness practice, the salience network and the executive functions are strengthened.
This is where the “extended-state” and the “altered-state” come into play. Mindfulness meditation is an “extended-state” experience. It’s linked with the “extended-state” and the “altered-state”. Extended-state is a “higher state of consciousness” that is “linked with the “extended-state” and the “altered-state”. Altered-state is an “altered state of consciousness” that is “linked with the “extended-state” and the “altered-state”.
Conclusion
Mindfulness meditation has been shown to produce positive physical and mental health outcomes such as lowered stress levels, reduced depression, and improved self-esteem. In addition, research has shown that mindfulness meditation can help to improve one’s attention and focus. There has also been research demonstrating that mindfulness can improve empathy. Mindfulness meditation is also a great way to relieve stress, improve emotional regulation, and cultivate gratitude and loving-friendliness feelings. We have only scratched the surface of the many benefits of mindfulness meditation. If you would like to learn more about mindfulness meditation, please visit MindUP!
