Mindfulness has evolved in many cultures. Modern science shows how this ancient practice affects the body and mind.
Mindfulness is very much in trend, and it’s not just in yoga studios or meditation classes. From CEOs to sports stars, everyone knows the value of intelligence, even if they don’t know what it is or how to achieve it. While mindfulness is a hot topic today, it would be a mistake to think that it is a new creation in the search for meaning. In fact, mindfulness is an ancient principle that was probably first developed by Eastern philosophy and later adopted and expanded by Western thinkers. If you want mindfulness to be part of your lifestyle, it’s important to know where it comes from and what science says about its effects. After all, a rational approach to mindfulness requires full awareness.
Honey from the Indians
Hinduism is considered the oldest religion in the world and it is also the oldest and most documented example of human effort to remember. From the Bhagavad Gita’s discussion of yoga and Vedic meditation, the history of Hinduism reads like a history of thought.
Although the word “Hindu” is relatively new, the philosophies that underpin it are very old. The Vedic scriptures date back to around 1500-1200 BC, making them at least 3200 years old. The teachings in these writings form the basis of Hinduism and emphasize a rational way of being. These Vedas are written in Sanskrit, an Indo-European language, and emphasize emotion management, stress reduction, and mental focus as important goals. You can hold the essence of what we call mindfulness in this ambition.
The Sanskrit term smriti means to remember, but the concept is to remember yourself and in the process of relating to your relationship with the things in which your awareness resides. In Hindu thought, focusing on the pursuit of concentration, meditation, and contemplation are steps on the path to enlightenment. Attention is also the first and most important aspect of thinking.
Hindu philosophy also emphasizes dyana, which translates as meditation, but more precisely means meditation during yoga practice. Dhyana is the method by which one achieves samadhi, a meditative state of consciousness in which the mind becomes still and unites with the object of attention. More important is the ability to quiet the mind and observe your inner thoughts without getting caught up in them. This ancient practice of introspection and self-awareness is a clarion call to what we call mindfulness in modern times.
The beginning of Buddhism
Buddhism began around 500-400 BC with Siddhartha Gautama, who became known as the Buddha. Since the Buddha’s lifetime, Buddhism has split into several traditions, including Theravada and Zen. All Buddhist schools aim to show the path to enlightenment and consider sati or mindfulness as an important step.
According to the Buddha, there are four supreme truths:
• Life is dukkha (suffering)
• The cause of suffering is trsna (a Pali term meaning desire. Pali is the language of the Buddhist scriptures.)
• Cessation of suffering comes from liberation from attachment.
• The way out of bondage is to follow the Eightfold Path.
Mindfulness meditation is one of the most important elements of the Buddha’s Eightfold Path. In Buddhist philosophy, mindfulness, as awareness of the causes and sources of suffering, enables the attainment of enlightenment or awakening.
Buddhist mindfulness meditation is a way to look deeply into yourself in the spirit of self-awareness and self-understanding. This is done by freeing your identity from the contents of your mind and moving into a wider realm of consciousness that allows you to transcend what lies beneath your ego.
Therefore, mindfulness allows you to be less self-centered and aware of the “no-self” state. Buddhists believe that true understanding of the non-self is what is needed to achieve complete freedom of the mind.
The full Pali phrase for meditation is samma sati, which means “wise thinking.” Samma sati goes with rational concentration/understanding and wise effort for an important part of the eightfold path. According to Buddhist teachings, without rational understanding and rational effort/intention, mindfulness is useless. At the same time, understanding and effort require a person to develop in everyday life.
A stoic hug
When we talk about mindfulness in the modern world, we tend to credit Eastern culture with its origins, but mindfulness is also prominent in Western philosophical traditions such as Stoicism.
The Stoic school of thought was founded in Athens by Zeno of Sitium around 300 BC. The name Stoics comes from the place where the Stoics met, the Stoa Poikile, a painted porch in the center of Athens. Zeno was the first leader of the Stoics, followed by Cleantes, then Chrysippus. It is possible that Zeno of Pyrrhus was influenced by Ellis, who traveled to the East with Alexander the Great in 334 BC. Stoicism evolved over the following centuries in the western region of Greece and Rome and is based on the recognition that much of life happens outside of what you can control and emphasizes the recognition of the areas that are under your influence and live within. For this, Stoicism emphasizes four virtues: courage, tolerance, justice and wisdom.
Courage means seeing the challenges life throws at you, not as inconveniences or tragedies, but as opportunities. Being fit is about being fit, doing the right amount of the right thing in the right way. Justice only does what is right. Finally, wisdom refers to the learning, understanding, and experience needed to navigate the world.
While cultivating these values is important, Stoics recognize that you have no control over what happens to you. This is not pessimistic; it recognizes that some facts about existence are immutable and that it is your reactions that determine your life. Therefore, training these reactions so that you behave in accordance with the four qualities is essential in Stoic practice. If we look at the writings of the Roman Stoics, we see that they strongly advocate mindfulness without using the term. Marcus Aurelius wrote in his Treatises: “Each hour direct your thoughts attentively to the task at hand, with dignity, human sympathy, benevolence, and freedom, and put all other thoughts aside.”
Epictetus wrote in his Discourses on Prosoche, which translates as “attention”: “Is there any part of life that Prosoche does not touch?” He added: “… once you have wandered your mind, it is no longer in your power to recall it, to bring it back to justice, to respect yourself, to mediate.”
To the Stoics, the focus is on all other aspects of the good life. Prososhe is constant vigilance, self-awareness that never rests and is the essence of mindfulness.
The science of thinking
With a rational approach to life found in many ancient cultures, it’s no wonder we embrace it today. Of course, the most widely accepted premise of modern philosophy is the scientific method, and science has applied its method to thinking to see what effect it has. The results are profound.
Changes the structure of your brain
Mindfulness training for eight weeks causes an increase in gray matter in a part of the brain called the hippocampus, which is important for learning, memory, self-awareness, empathy and introspection. There is also a reduction in gray matter in the amygdala, which plays a role in stress and anxiety.
Eases stubborn depression
Mindfulness therapy can relieve depression when other treatments fail.
Reduces cravings for opioids
Mindfulness can help rewire the brain’s response to natural, healthy pleasure, leading to reduced opioid cravings.
Increases motivation to exercise
Combining step tracking with mindfulness training can significantly increase people’s desire to exercise.
Reduces bladder leakage
Urinary incontinence, or urinary emergency, is the leakage of the bladder that occurs in specific situations or scenarios. Common signs include the front door or garage, running water, getting into a car, or walking past a public restroom. Mental practice reduces bladder leakage in people prone to it in these situations.
Improves performance at work
Creating a culture of mindfulness in the workplace improves focus, improves how employees work, and improves their ability to manage stress.
Lowers blood pressure
Mindfulness leads to significant reductions in blood pressure, to the point that mindfulness interventions may prevent or delay the need for drug therapy.
Improves decision making
Mindfulness studies how much people focus on the past and future when making decisions and can reduce negative emotions. This improves decision-making skills and allows people to evaluate situations based on their current preferences.
Relieves menopausal symptoms
Women who score higher on the intelligence scale report having fewer menopausal symptoms.
Reduces cravings for food and drugs
Mindfulness reduces the degree to which people feel the need to act on their desires. Researchers believe this is partly because mindfulness-based strategies occupy a part of the mind that helps develop these tendencies.
After all, mindfulness is a way of life that has embraced many cultures for centuries, and modern science supports the wisdom of its use. We live in a time where external supports no longer work. Mindfulness gives you the internal structure that allows you to navigate these turbulent times.
