thegoodfellas/blogset-br huggingface dataset:
Every now and then, a piece of mindfulness research turns up that I get excited about, not just because it tells us more about the potential benefits of practice, but because I know its going to make it easier to explain those benefits to others.This is usually because a) the study is easy to describe b) it connects with an experience that most of us empathize with and c) it offers a clear picture of how mindfulness helps. I felt one of those waves of excitement (a springy sensation in the solar plexus) when I read Bruce Barretts latest study, which looks at whether theres a relationship between starting a mindfulness practice or exercise regime and the subsequent incidence of respiratory infections. Would taking a mindfulness course or exercise have an effect on how often people caught a cold or the flu, and how sick they felt when they did fall ill?The study ticks all three boxes. First, the study design was simple: Barrett and his colleagues at the University of Wisconsin randomly assigned 149 people (aged 50+) to either a mindfulness-based stress reduction course, an equivalent exercise program, or a control group given no particular instructions to follow. Then they tracked how often they fell prey to a cold or the flu over the following months. It ticks the empathy box because everyone knows what its like to get a chest infection and can see the value of succumbing less often. And the results are clear compared to those in the control group, people who took the mindfulness course had four times fewer "sick days" (16 compared to 67), fewer bouts of infection (27 compared to 40), and were ill for just over half as long, with less severe symptoms.Given that a flu vaccine reduces incidence of infection by around 60-70 percent (and only works for some strains), this suggests that meditation practice, associated with a 40-50 percent reduction, may be a pretty good alternative or addition thats box three ticked.Including an exercise group for comparison was a bonus stroke of genius. Everybody understands that exercise is good for you, and it probably isnt a surprise to learn that the group who worked out also got sick less often. But the discovery that mindfulness matched the exercise program in its protective impact really brings home a message that meditation is good for you in about the same measure as exercising, which most everyone agrees is a jolly healthy thing to do. In some aspects, mindfulness may be more effective the fewer reported "sick days" and reduced symptom severity among the meditating group might suggest the practice helped them manage illness sensations more easily perhaps, they were able to experience symptoms more mindfully, without being overwhelmed or struggling with them, as often happens when we get ill?Americans suffer around 500 million colds between them each year, costing some $40 billion in lost work days, doctors visits and medicines. There are currently no proven ways of protecting from a cold (apart from hand-washing and avoiding infected people) so its not hard to see
the public health benefits of encouraging practices that might reduce incidence and severity to such a large extent.Of course, being the first study of its kind, this research needs replicating, but as we already know that meditation reduces stress, and that stress damages the immune system, there are very plausible mechanisms to explain this rather spectacular-seeming result. Its also worth remembering that one of the best-known trials of mindfulness-based stress reduction found increased antibody response to a flu vaccine among course completers. Bruce Barretts work adds further to our understanding, and could be a big step on the way to widespread recommendation of meditation, along with exercise, as a simple and effective way of looking after your well-being.See Mindful.org coverage of the study here.
Last month I spent a rich and rewarding week on a training retreat for teachers, run by Bangor Universitys dedicated mindfulness centre. Glorious Welsh mountains provided the backdrop for our practice (not hard to find inspiration for embodying stillness, steadiness and strength here), while sharing in the wisdom of so many experienced guides made for a fertile learning environment. I felt a deep sense of commitment in the group to offering, as best we can, skillful spaces for people to experience the magic of mindfulness.A phrase that struck me during the retreatand it is one Ive heard many times as meditation-based approaches have spread across the helping professions is "a bit of mindfulness." People reading "a bit of mindfulness." Therapists using "a bit of mindfulness." Businesses bringing in "a bit of mindfulness" for their staff. Of course, its wonderful that practicing meditation is widely respected these days, rather than an implicit admission of borderline insanity, but theres something about this phrase, and what it implies, that leaves me uneasy."A bit of mindfulness" suggests that mindfulness can be separated off, like a plaster to be applied when situations require calm, concentration, or a checking-in with our internal barometer. (And which, by extension, can then be forgotten about, as we get on with the rest of our lives.) While it's true that studies suggest there is value in meditating for a short period of time, over just a few days, I still sense that "a bit of mindfulness" is just what it saysa very small part of something much wider, deeper and potentially transformative.In his most recent book Minding Closely, the scholar and scientist Alan Wallace offers a view of mindfulness so vast that it could take many lifetimes just to scratch its surface. Its the most comprehensive book on the subject Ive ever had the pleasure to read, although with its patient exploration of traditional Buddhist teachings, intertwined with insights from western psychology and physics, it probably isnt for everyone, at least not as a starting point. What it points to, and what could be missed in a rush to throw "mindfulness" at anything and everything, is theres a well-plumbed depth to these practices that wed be wise to attend to, and learn from.One of the reasons why mindfulness is having such an impact through the world is that it is both simple and revolutionary. It offers so much, and yet it isnt complicated (although it is challenging). However, if it is to permeate the fabric of our society, rather than just spill on its surface, we cant take the easy route of presenting meditation as a mere technique, a quick fix for speed and distraction. If we do, its benefits will probably be marginal.This is a tricky road to navigate: we can come across like the mindfulness police, or a child whose toy is being stolen and broken by the other kids. That wont do eitherit really is wonderful that so many people are learning how to open up to the present moment, with all the joys and difficulties that brings. The
task of mindfulness teachers, somehow, is to gently uphold the integrity of the practices with which we are entrusted, to open ourselves to a continual deepening of our own embodiment of them, and to cultivate the conditions in which others can enjoy that same opportunity. That way, our own "bit of mindfulness" can gradually grow into our own "life of mindfulness." Then those we come into contact with might get a glimpse or more of how this journey can unfold.A week of unfolding in the Welsh hills has expanded my "bit": by calling me back into a regular running practice, helping me cultivate the confidence to be more spacious and inquiring in my teaching, and leading me into closer community with amazing people who are making this their lifes work. For that, Im enormously grateful.
Barely a week goes by without some new clinical trial showing how programs which teach mindfulness can help people minimize suffering and enhance their well-being. Whether it be through reducing stress, managing illness, boosting the immune system or moving away from addictive habits, science is confirming what meditators have reported for thousands of yearsthat mindfulness is beneficial in a wide range of ways. At the same time, it's important not to get carried away by all the data, sucked into viewing meditation as a quick-fix solution.To fall into this goal-oriented mindset is to fundamentally misunderstand what meditation is, and how it helps. Indeed, expecting meditation to make me better, perhaps based on the results of clinical studies, may well sabotage the practice, whose benefit comes partly from letting go of the tendency to grasp for results.In the UK, psychologists have positioned mindfulness within the cognitive-behavioral tradition, and there are similaritieslike CBT, mindfulness offers a practical set of skills that can help people relate more effectively to their thoughts and feelings. But whereas CBT is primarily a change-focused approach, mindfulness-based stress reduction and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy show us how to let go of struggling for change. Their magic lies in enabling us making peace with who and where we are, right now, in this moment.This attitude draws on ideas and practices that have several thousand years of history and tradition behind them, and which have usually been advocated as part of a system of meditative training designed to facilitate a deep transformation in the way we experience ourselves, others and the world. A fundamental premise of this training is that we are already basically OKwe don't need to try to get better, we just need to learn how to uncover and be who we really are. Curiously, adopting this attitude of deep and radical acceptance often seems to produce some of the change we were seeking. So, there's a paradox: mindfulness can change us, and can lead to effective change, but while this takes effort, it doesn't come from striving. Indeed, striving can actually be a form of self-aggression, which just creates more misery.Mindfulness practice, then, is not so much a tool for self-improvement, but more a way of relating to our lives in a spirit of awareness, openness and kindness. Jon Kabat-Zinn, creator of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program, recently said that mindfulness is not a technique. It is a way of being, a way of seeing, a way of knowing. It nurtures a process of unfolding, of allowing things to settle, so that that well-being might emerge from coming into flow with how things are, even when that isn't how we'd like them to be. It's true that this kind of awareness can be the ground for more skillful decision-making and behaviorbut when we can let go of the tension created by struggling to be better or healthier, the need for our problems to have a 'cure'even if one were possibleno longer seems quite so relevant. And at that point we might start to feel a whole lot better.posted by
from grasping to offering, helping us let go of the tension that comes from pursuing profit-based goals at the expense of human well-being.The task is to convince that greater success can stem from a set of values that are not traditionally associated with a business temperament. It takes a brave employer to risk going against the stream by advocating values that are seen as soft or weak, which is why continuing to build a scientific case for a mindful workplace is so vital. We need an answer to the charge of fluffiness that speaks the language of the business world as it exists today. Evidence of better results and more creative people is a pretty good start, as is a book that sets them out so lucidly.Ed Halliwell is a UK-based mindfulness teacher and writer. He is co-author of The Mindful Manifesto (2012) and author of the forthcoming Mindfulness: How To Live Well By Paying Attention (2015). He is a member of the faculty of the School of Life in London, and a frequent public speaker and media commentator on mindfulness-related topics. He is also co-director of The Mindfulness Initiative, which is supporting the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Mindfulness to develop mindfulness-based policies for the UK. He tweets as@edhalliwell and his Facebook page is here.Email Ed Halliwell:ed@edhalliwell.com
This is one of the most common questions I'm asked by people wondering if mindfulness is for them. Theres often a subtext behind the inquiry: most mindfulness courses ask participants to practice for up to 45 minutes a day, the suggestion being that this will be a vital part of the learning process. Forty-five minutes a day seems a lot of work for most people, especially in a culture where sitting still and "doing nothing" for any time at all is unusual. If mindfulness just means paying attention, why cant I do that without having to meditate? Cant I just decide to notice things a bit more?Well, ask yourself thisCan you just decide to be good at tennis? Or speak French? Or play the piano? While some of us might have more of an aptitude for learning skills like these, they still have to be practiced. We have to put some effort in. Evidence from the clinical and neuroscientific studies of mindfulness suggests that paying attention is an art to be cultivated in just the same waywe can develop our capacity for awareness through training. Its also what meditators down the ages have reported.The more we do something, the more were likely to continue to do it, and to do it wellthis is how habits form, and skills are acquired. So it makes sense that the more we practice meditationthe art of paying attentionthe more mindful we will find ourselves.Perhaps one of the disadvantages of the gradual shift away from the use of the wordmeditation and towards the word mindfulness is that meditation conveys more of a sense of this being a practice, and not just a given attribute. "Deciding to be mindful" is something that comes from the head, a thought, whereas "practicing meditation" brings more of a sense of embodiment with it. If we want our mindfulness to be something we are, more than just a thought of something wedlike to be, it seems we need to cultivate it through meditation.Theres one caveat to thisthe science doesnt yet tell us clearly how important meditation practice is to mindfulness. Lots of studies suggest that engaging in periods of meditation shifts our brain, body and experience in seemingly beneficial ways. Whats less clear is the effect of meditation practice over a period of time on those changesis it this or something else that leads to the benefits seen?Tradition, logic, and some strong scientific indicators say the meditation practice is key, but we still cant be quite sure. Indeed, one review of the impact of practicing meditation during a mindfulness course found much less of a link between practice time and results than received wisdom might have predicted. While there is plenty of evidence suggesting a causal link, its early days in the research literature, and it would be good to see some studies which compared the effect of mindfulness courses with (and without) a home practice component. For now, the jurys out on just how important formal meditation is to cultivating mindfulness.Today, as I meditated at lunchtime in the churchyard outside our
house, I wondered at the magnificent storm clouds billowing low across the hills on the horizon, felt waves of cascading energy flow through my body as the busyness of my morningand my mindsubsided into moments of inner quiet, letting go into a grace of appreciation at having the senses to experience such a scene. I felt content, tired, a bit wet (raindrops on the grass below) and far more present than when Id sat down to practice. Whatever the effect of meditation on my general mindfulness and well-being, experiences like thatthe sense of opening into a vivid and vibrant alivenessfeel precious enough to be worth a lot by themselves. Anything else Ill take as a bonus.
Ive noticed lately that I often wake up at night with my ankles crossed. That might not seem much of a revelation, but Im working to pay particular attention to the subtle ways I unconsciously tighten, slump and close off my body from its surroundings. I have a tendency to pull away or wall off from unpleasant events, and this expresses itself physically as well as mentally. Ive found that I can start to undo this habitual pattern by practicing openness, gentleness and letting go of tension. Such as uncrossing my ankles when I wake up at night...Our society categorizes conditions like depression and anxiety primarily at a mental level. I used to buy into that, believing that if I could only persuade my thinking mind to behave differently, I would no longer be prey to them. I now look at things rather differently, to the point where I no longer use terms like "mental health problems": words and phrases that emphasise well-being as a "head-based" condition dont much correspond to my experience. Indeed, by crystallizing them into fixed diagnostic criteria, I suspect that, for me at least, they help make a self-perpetuating story out of temporary, sensory data.I do think depression is a good description of what goes on for me sometimes, although the word has become so associated with "mental illness" that I rarely use that word either. Letting go of that association, "De-pression" evokes the sense of closing down and tightening that I experience in my body when I feel vulnerable to attack. Like a prodded amoeba, I instinctively withdraw to protect myself. Unfortunately, this withdrawal is in itself unpleasant, and most of the things that activate it arent solved as a resultits an old, habitual reaction that doesnt serve me.The practice of mindfulness has revolutionized the way I handle this. I used to panic, frantically ruminating about how I could escape from the pain. I blamed myself for it, fought it, pleaded with it to go away, had it medicated, tried to shake it off or run away from it, and asked other people to remove it. Unfortunately, like a victim of a boa constrictor, I found that every twist and turn seemed to further tighten its hold. The idea that I might accept the feelings of constriction, gently letting them be without trying to strive for a way out, seemed wholly counter-intuitive. However, as I learned to do just this in meditation, I was astonished to find the grip of depression started to loosen by itself.Nowadays, when I feel my body tightening, I also practice softening, opening up, and breathing into the areas of physical tension, as well as having a sense of offering whatever loving-kindness I can muster to myself and others. Its not a miracle cure, but gradually Ive noticed that it seems to help my body feel like a less claustrophobic place to be, even in the midst of inner contraction. It also seems to shorten the time-span of the depressive episode.My thinking has changed tooits much less often that I beat myself up
with negative self-talk, but the body patterns seems to come from a deeper levelmore ancient, more deeply ingrained (this is perhaps not surprising, given that emotional reactions are driven by the limbic system, which evolved earlier than the rational, thinking parts of our brain).Attention to the body is a key mindfulness practice, and yet its something that most of us in the West continue to resist. How instructive it is that we use the word mindfulness in English, when in many Eastern traditions the equivalent terms might be better translated as heartfulness. Even with meditation practice, we dont want to feel our hearts, to be in our bodies. We reify the mind and the brain, and yet most of our experience happens below the neck.Thats why what Im doing nowadays is as much bodyfulness as mindfulness. Remembering to uncross my ankles, drop my shoulders, open my chest, uplift my spine and ground my feet have had as much, if not more impact on my life as letting go of self-critical thinking. These practices not only bring awareness back into my body, helping restore balance to my being, but they seem to be loosening the bonds of habitual depression on a very physical level.Whats your experience of the body dimension in mental health and mindfulness? Youd be very welcome to share comments below...
ratos salvos no Hard Mode223Virtuoso50,000 ratos salvos no Hard ModeO que Hard Mode?Ao salvar 1000 ratos, o Shaman recebe uma pena colorida (geralmente amarela) e passa a poder usar um modo especial chamado Hard Mode. Com o Hard Mode, o shaman perde algumas ferramentas mas pode criar um Totem, que e um sistema pre-fabricado que serve para ajudar os ratos no Mapa. O Totem so pode ser utilizado uma vez por mapa.
melhorias no transporte publico. Manifestacoes semelhantes as realizadas em Teresina tem se repetido em outras capitais do Pais, como Recife (PE), Vitoria (ES), Porto Alegre (RS), Belem (PA) e Joao Pessoa (PB). Leonardo participou, neste fim de semana, do Forum Social Tematico, realizado na capital gaucha. Na ocasiao, ele e outros representantes de entidades estudantis de diversos Estados reuniram-se para discutir medidas para fortalecer os movimentos. De acordo com o estudante, na proxima semana tambem acontecera o lancamento de um manifesto nacional por meio do qual sera exigida a reducao das tarifas do transporte publico e em repudio as acoes das Policias Militares, consideradas truculentas pelos organizadores dos movimentos. "Com esse manifesto nos queremos, tambem, exigir da presidente Dilma Rousseff uma atencao maior a questao do transporte coletivo", disse Leonardo Maia. O Forum Estadual em Defesa do Transporte Publico reivindica a reducao do valor da tarifa para R$ 1,75, a integracao imediata de todas as linhas de onibus da capital, a expansao e melhoria do sistema, alem do passe livre para estudantes e desempregados. Manifestantes fizeram passageiros entrar pela porta de tras dos onibus
no Tribunal de Justica. Nao houve avanco nas negociacoes, pois os procuradores afirmaram nao ter competencia para isto. Quanto ao desembargador, ele pretende tomar uma decisao a respeito o mais rapido possivel, concluiu. Em seguida, falou o presidente da ADAPI, Edmilson Oliveira sobre a luta de sua categoria e o descaso do governo para solucionar o problema. Depois foi a vez de Gervasio Santos, diretor da Central Sindical Popular Conlutas que defendeu a uniao das categorias e de uma greve geral no Piaui. Falaram ainda: Sinesio Soares, presidente do SINDSERM, que manifestou apoio aos fazendarios; Deputado Estadual Evaldo Gomes que se dispos a intermediar negociacao com o governo; Capitao Evandro Rodrigues, presidente da AMEPI, defendendo a uniao das categorias de servidores publicos; Jarbas Cavalcante, presidente da ABCES, enfocando que a reivindicacao dos fazendarios e justa; e outros servidores fazendarios. Ao final, ficou decidida uma manifestacao em frete ao Palacio de Karnak na proxima terca-feira (13/12), com a presenca de todas essas categorias e mais outras que estiverem dispostas. Sera o primeiro passo para uma greve geral no Estado do Piaui. Ultima atualizacao em Qua, 07 de Dezembro de 2011 19:45