The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, September 24, 2004, Image 6
From bookshelves to boardroom, ‘mindfulness’ is hot spiritual trend
By SUSAN HOGAN-ALBACH
KRT CAMPUS
Psychologist Henry Grayson says his book,
“Mindful Loving,” might not have been a
bestseller if his publisher had stuck to a title he’d
suggested: “The New Physics of Love.”
Three months ago, Body & Soul magazine
added the phrase, “The Natural Guide to
Mindful Living” to its cover. Mindfulness —
living consciously in the moment — has become
“just that significant” in American culture, said
editor in chief Seth Bauer.
Mindfulness books and tapes are frequent
bestsellers. Mindfulness training is a staple at
seminars, retreats and spas. Hospitals and
psychologists are teaching mindfulness as a means
to handle everything from chronic illness and
addiction to stress and depression.
“There’s a sense that what is missing in our
lives is a real connection to what we do, what we
think, how we relate to people and how we take
care of ourselves,” said Bauer. “Mindfulness
brings all'of those things together.”
Even corporate America is on board. Some
businesses now offer mindfulness workshops to
improve concentration, employee relations and
ethics.
I
Spiritual trend watchers say mindfulness ‘has
become to the 2000s what angels were to the
1990s. Maybe bigger, though there may never be a
TV show called “Touched by a Mindful Person.”
“Most of the time, we’re just going, going,
going — operating on autopilot,” said Gary
Stuard of Dallas, a former Buddhist monk who
teaches mindfulness meditation at the Episcopal
Church of the Transfiguration.
“Mindfulness is about paying attention so you
don’t go about life absentmindedly.’'
Experts say mindfulness is cultivated. The
most common way is by sitting in quiet
meditation and observing one’s breath. Some
people count breaths as they inhale and exhale.
Others follow the rising and falling of the breath,
or some other variation.
“The point of mindfulness meditation is not
to zone out but to tune in,” Stuard said.
The challenge comes when the mind drifts.
Each time that happens, people are told to take
notice, then return to their breath without judging
their thoughts and emotions as good or bad.
“Your breath draws you into the here and now,”
said Dr. Grayson, the Mindful Loving author.
“People are realizing that they spend so much of
their lives worrying about the past or thinking
about the future that they miss out on the present.”
Whether practiced for spiritual, health or other
reasons, mindfulness is all about conscious living.
Bonnie Arkus, executive director of the
Women’s Heart Foundation in West Trenton,
N.J., said she dropped 10 pounds in a month by
combining the South Beach diet with
“mindfulness eating.”
“You’re not just watching what goes into your
mouth,” she said. “You actually taste Wie food
because you stop to enjoy it. You’re not just
inhaling it on the run, so you tend to eat less.”
Mindfulness is integral to Buddhism, an
ancient religion that has enjoyed waves of
popularity in America.
In the 1960s, the influence of the Beat writers,
such as Allen Ginsberg, became widespread.
The 1970s celebrated Robert Pirsig’s “Zen
and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.”
In the 1990s, Hollywood stepped forward
with “Kundun and Seven Years in Tibet.”
And now, whenever the Dalai Lama visits, he’s
greeted by crowds befitting a rock star.
Many say the seeds for the current
mindfulness craze were largely planted by the
1975 book, “The Miracle of Mindfulness” by
Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk
once nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize by
Martin Luther King Jr.
-1
“Mindfulness is the miracle by which we
master and restore ourselves,” wrote the monk,
who lives in France.
Some Buddhists are troubled that mindfulness
in the American mainstream is being
commercialized in ways that have nothing to do
with spirituality.
“It’s not just mental training or a self
improvement technique,” said Sharon Salzberg, a
well-known Buddhist teacher, author of spiritual
books and co-founder of the Insight Meditation
Society in Barre, Mass.
For Buddhists, mindfulness is embedded in
ethics and compassion.
Michael Sauvante shares that philosophy,
though he isn’t a Buddhist. He’s the chief
executive of Rolltronics, a Menlo Park, Calif.,
company identified as “mindful” by Spirituality
& Health. 7
In spiritual circles, mindfulness is a path to
inner awakening. In the medical community, it’s
seen as a path to better health.
More than 200 U.S. hospitals and clinics use
mindfulness training to promote mental and
physical health.
Austin family physician Paul Keinarth, on the
verge of burnout, turned to mindfulness
meditation four years ago. Racing thoughts, worries
and stress plagued him. He had
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as it unfolds now instead of living a lot of storie:
about what happened to me or to other people
My relationships to my family and to my patient:
have vastly improved.”
Mindfulness has changed the way he parents
he said.
At the Maria Kannon Zen Center in Dallas
people gather every day to meditate. Executiv<
DirectQr Helen Cortes said 200 students may pas;
through in a year, but only a few will stick with it
“Not everybody likes sitting still for 25
minutes or an hour,” she said. “But there an
other choices. People need to follow their owr
temperament to develop mindfulness.”
She said sweeping the floor, mowing the lawn
washing dishes and even cleaning toilets can serve
as mindfulness meditations.
Scholars say concepts similar to mindfulnes;
are found in other religions — the daily cycle o!
prayers said.by Christian monks, Orthodox Jew;
and MusliThese observances are ways of paying
attention to the presence of God in all things.
The Rev. Frederick Schmidt of the Perkin;
School of Theology at Southern Methodist
University said there’s a vast difference between
those who embrace mindfulness for spiritual
reasons and those who don’t.
“Meeting God is an entirely different
proposition than managing my stress,” he said.
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emotionally distant from his
family.
“The change has been
dramatic,” said Keinarth, who
now teaches mindfulness
courses. “I’m living my own life
mindfulness mediation goes hand in hand with
his Christian faith.
“In Christian language, we see it as valuing
every moment as sacrament,” he said. “For
Buddhists, mindfulness is the miracle of the
present moment.”
■ CELL
Continued from page 5
MobiTV subscriptions, broadcasts
at one to two frames a second,
coming across much like a slide
show with a seamless audio track.
Sprint recently unveiled^ its
Samsung-manufactured A700
multimedia phone that can pump
out MobiTV video at six to eight
frames per second, showing that
handset makers are gearing up for
video.
That’s happening as carriers
continue shelling out billions of
dollars to upgrade to broadband-like
connection speeds.
In the meantime, film festivals
showcase directors who can work in
the tiny format, drawing the
attention of aggregators who make
the deals with the cell phone carriers
that bring mobile movies to a device
near you.
■ SCHOONER
Continued from page 5
stumble straight into the driving snare
line of the next track, “Stunts and
Showmanship and Codes.”
The mini-album’s sparse closer,
“This Machine is Running Out,” evokes
Wilco’s “Being There” collection, with
its jangly-yet-subdued guitars and lines
such as “Don’t make me love you.”
Schooner may not make tidal waves
with their latest release, but they’ve
issued a record that’s worth a listen.
While similar in sound to bands such as
The Eels and The Strokes, Schooner is
clearly set on plotting their own
musical course. Nothing screams radio
ready, but all the tracks on “You Forget
About Your Heart” are original, solidly
crafted efforts for an up-and-coming
group.
Comments on this story? E-mail
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