From Retreat Center to Clinic to Boardroom? Perils and Promises of the Modern Mindfulness Movement

Journal Title: Religions - Year 2014, Vol 5, Issue 4

Abstract

From its venerable Buddhist roots, mindfulness training (MT) has spread rapidly across the globe in the past few decades due to its strong salutary claim, i.e., the notion that meditation practice is an efficacious means for self-improvement. However, concerns have arisen that the appropriation of MT techniques from classical Buddhist tradition into modern secular practice has diluted the benefits of these practices. The “great danger” to the movement is that inadequately adapted MT techniques, combined with unreasonable inflation of expectations regarding MT’s benefits, may undermine MT’s true potential to effect positive change in the world. And yet, these concerns can be mitigated by consideration of the salutary claim as a persistent “quality check” on MT efficacy. It is argued that scientific investigation can take an important role in delineating the necessary characteristics for fulfilling mindfulness’ salutary claim, as well as identifying contraindicated techniques and risk factors for training. By accepting that we cannot control the spread of MT into commercial domains, researchers may still work to distinguish “right” from “wrong” mindfulness through empirical study. In this way, modern science may help to realize the salutary claim and even contribute to classical Buddhist conceptions of mindfulness, advancing our understanding of how best to promote well-being.

Authors and Affiliations

Norman A. S. Farb

Keywords

Related Articles

The Connection between Worship Attendance and Racial Segregation Attitudes among White and Black Americans

The present study finds that, for Whites, worship attendance is associated with heightened support for racial segregation. This has much to do with the fact that the individuals that attend worship service the least, s...

Stay Your Blade

In their article ‘Transmedial worlds: Rethinking cyberworld design’, Klastrup and Tosca show that the core elements of a Transmedial World are: Mythos, the lore of the world, the central knowledge necessary to interpre...

Pathways to Attempted Suicide as Reflected in the Narratives of People with Lived Experience

Narratives, i.e., stories told by suicidal people, describing personal experiences and meanings given to these experiences, play an important role in understanding suicidal behaviour. The aim of the current study was t...

Spiritual Distress in Bereavement: Evolution of a Research Program

Many mourners turn to their spiritual beliefs and traditions when confronted by the death of a loved one. However, prior studies have either focused primarily on the benefits of faith following loss or studied spiritua...

The Theological Foundation of Democracy According to Ratzinger

When the Cold War was ended in 1989, Francis Fukuyama wrote, three years later, his very well-known book proposing a quite original thesis. He argues that the end of fascism and of communism means the triumph of Easter...

Download PDF file
  • EP ID EP25399
  • DOI https://doi.org/10.3390/rel5041062
  • Views 348
  • Downloads 7

How To Cite

Norman A. S. Farb (2014). From Retreat Center to Clinic to Boardroom? Perils and Promises of the Modern Mindfulness Movement. Religions, 5(4), -. https://europub.co.uk/articles/-A-25399