“The awareness that arises from paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally” - Jon Kabat Zinn

Mindfulness interest me from both a scientific aspect and a personal one, and I have written a short post about it once before, which I would like to incorporate.

Contemplative Neuroscience

This is the emerging scientific discipline, which studies the possibly reciprocal relationship between the brain and the "mind”.

Neuroscience and neurology teach us about the plasticity of our brain, called Neuroplasticity.
This is our brain's ability to adapt, develop and radically change as a result of the impact of human experience, and the interaction with the outside world.
Sciene tells us that this is true not only at early stages of life, but indeed at all stages.

Who we are is a product of our brain.
This relationship was thought to be one directional, meaning the mind is what the brain dictates, but never the other way around.
New Neuroscientific studies show that this process may indeed be reciprocal, as mindful mental training such as Mindfulness Meditation seem to have the capacity to alter the very neural structure of the brain.

Mindfulness meditation may prove to be a valuable supplement, or possibly even alternative, to psycho-pharmacological medication treatment of various mental ailments.
It provides us with the profound understanding that mental discipline can be a highly useful tool for cultivation of a strong and stable emotional and mental well being.

Application

The ability of the mind to influence its future states, is something I personally find quite remarkable.
It is as if there is module in our mind, in charge with observing and scrutinizing other modules, kind of a meta-module if you will.
It seems we have this unique ability, to observe our own behavioral patterns and thought processes from above, and from an opinion about them which is independent from them.
That’s what I would call a higher function.

Although mindfulness is more about practice than anything else, I believe there is value in learning some of the science behind the practice.
I have been studying the subject of mindfulness for quite a while, and have curated some of the most interesting inspiring and useful content I have been able to find, by veteran practitioners, some of which are also prominent scientists.

You may start by familiarizing yourself with the theory behind the practice and than move on to guided meditations, or you can do it the other way around.
What ever suits you best.
In my humble opinion, there is enough content in this post in order to get you started.
Enjoy.

Full Lectures

1. Jon Kabat-Zinn - Mindfulness - An introduction
2. Jon Kabat-Zinn - The Healing Power of Mindfulness
3. Richie Davidson - The Emotional Life of Your Brain
4. Richie Davidson -Transform Your Mind, Change Your Brain
5. Sam Harris - Death and the Present Moment
6. Becoming Conscious: The Science of Mindfulness

Guided Meditations

1. Sam Harris - Mindulness (9 Min)
2. Sam Harris - Looking for the Self (25 min)
3. Jon Kabat-Zinn: Body Scan - Lying down (29 min)
4. Jon Kabat Zinn - Mindfulness guided meditation (39 min)
5. UCLA mindfulness awarness research center - Free Guided Meditations
6. Calm Mindfulness Meditation app

Short Videos

1. A Simple Way To Break A Bad Habit
2. The Backwards Brain Bicycle
3. Mindfulness 9 Attitudes
4. What Is Zen?

Audio Books

1. Sam Harris - Waking Up
2. Jon Kabat Zinn -Wherever You Go There You Are
   
   

   References:
   
   http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20363650?dopt=Citation
   http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21471390?dopt=Citation
   http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/how-to-meditate/
   Davidson, R. J., Kabat-Zinn, J., et al. (2003). Alterations in brain and immune function produced by mindfulness meditation
   

   {Photo credit: 1,2}