Contemplative Practices in Action 4] Daily Life: The Eight-Point Program of Passage Meditation

 4] Translating Spiritual Ideals into Daily Life: The Eight-Point Program of Passage Meditation

Tim Flinders, Doug Oman, Carol Flinders, and Diane Dreher

===

An inspirational passage turns our thoughts to what is permanent, to those things that put a final end to insecurity. In meditation, the inspirational passage becomes imprinted on our consciousness. As we drive it deeper and deeper, the words come to life within us, transforming all our thoughts, feelings, words, and deeds. (p. 48)1

Passage Meditation (PM) is an eight-point contemplative program whose foundational meditation practice is designed to help practitioners deepen their spirituality and manage the pressures of contemporary life by drawing directly upon the words and wisdom of the world’s spiritual traditions. A growing number of adherents across all the major faith tra- ditions use the PM program, as do many seekers who characterize themselves as “spiritual but not religious.” Together, the program’s eight tools constitute what Oman (this volume) calls a “fully integrated contemplative practice.”

In this chapter we will describe the historical development of PM, also known as the Eight-Point Program, outline its special features, and then describe the basic instructions for the practice of each of its eight points. The chapter will emphasize two particular strengths of PM. The first is PM’s appeal to seekers who draw inspiration from the saints and sages of their own religious traditions as well as perhaps

Table 4.1. Distinctive Features of the Eight-Point Program

Feature Explanation

Universal PM can be used by members of any religious faith, or by those who identify as “spiritual, but not religious.”

Comprehensive PM provides a comprehensive program for spiritual

living, offering a classical meditative practice with supporting tools for practitioners with families and careers.

Wisdom Based PM offers direct daily contact with the world’s wisdom

traditions.

from other traditions. Preliminary evidence suggests that PM fosters learning from spiritual wisdom figures such as the Psalmist, St. Francis, and the Buddha. We outline the psychological theory of spiritual modeling,2 which identifies ways that PM may support assimilating attitudes and wisdom embedded in the words of these revered figures.

The second strength we will emphasize is PM’s potential usefulness to educators, physicians, psychologists, caregivers, and other human ser- vice professionals who are increasingly called upon to respond to the diverse spiritual needs of their clientele. We will suggest that PM pro- vides significant added value to psychological or educational interven- tions, especially when set alongside more familiar professional resources such as mindfulness methods. In this way, PM may expand the ability of health and human service professionals to address more effectively the spiritual needs of diverse clientele. This added value is in part due to several of PM’s distinctive features highlighted in Table 4.1.

We then describe several controlled empirical studies of PM that suggest a wide range of benefits, including enhanced professional work skills, increases in empathy, forgiveness, and mindfulness, improved mental health, and substantial reductions in stress (see fuller reviews elsewhere).3,4 Finally, we describe several recent applications of the program among two highly stressed populations, workplace professionals and college students.

HISTORY AND CONTEXT

PM was first systematized and taught at the University of California– Berkeley, during the 1960s by Fulbright scholar Eknath Easwaran (1910–99), to support students entering professional life. Since that

 

Table 4.2. Eight-Point Program of Passage Meditation (PM) and Contemporary Challenges

PM Point Modern Challenges It Addresses

1. Passage Meditation Distraction, spiritual alienation

2. Mantram Repetition Negative thinking, chronic, obtrusive thoughts

3. Slowing Down Chronic hurry/“Hurry Sickness”a

4. One-Pointed Attention Compulsive multitasking/“Polyphasic thinking”a

5. Training the Senses Sensory overload, overconsumption

6. Putting Others First Self-absorption, egocentricity

7. Spiritual Association Social and spiritual isolation

8. Inspirational Reading Disillusion, pessimism

Total PM program Chronic stress, lack of meaning, lack of spiritual

growth

aQuotation marks show how this challenge was characterized in research on Type A Behavior Pattern.

time, thousands of practitioners of all religious faiths, as well as nonreli- gious seekers, have used PM throughout the United States and else- where to help them deepen their spirituality and manage the stresses of contemporary life with greater clarity and calm.5 The PM program has been used in college and seminary education,6 substance abuse recovery,7 and psychotherapy.8 Translations of PM instructional mate- rials by independent publishers appear in more than 20 languages in two dozen countries in North and South America, Europe, and Asia.9 But possibly because the appeal of PM cuts across and transcends the most common categories of religious and sectarian identity, it has only intermittently appeared on lists of popular meditation practices such as Transcendental Meditation, Vipassana, and Zen. Table 4.2 summarizes the eight points and places them alongside some major modern lifestyle challenges that each addresses.

PASSAGE MEDITATION PROGRAM

POINT 1—MEDITATION ON AN INSPIRATIONAL PASSAGE

Among contemporary forms of concentrative meditation, Passage Meditation may be unique in focusing attention on the words of inspirational passages, rather than on the breath (Vipassana), sounds (Transcendental Meditation), or brief spiritual phrases (Centering

 

Prayer). This feature of the program may help explain why PM has been used by members of all the major religious faiths traditions, including various branches of Protestant Christianity, Judaism, Roman and Eastern Catholicism, Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism.5 As such, the practice might be characterized as “multisectarian” in that many observant religious practitioners readily embed PM fully within their religious practice without conflict. Figure 4.1 presents sample passages from the world’s major religious traditions.

Since practitioners of PM may select their meditation passages from theistic or nontheistic sources (or both), many nonreligious seekers

Figure 4.1.  Theistic Inspirational Passages.

 

find PM especially appealing. Recent surveys show that as many as one-third of Americans place themselves in the category of “spiritual, but not religious,” rejecting traditional organized  religion  as  the sole means of furthering their spiritual growth.10 While they profess belief in a spiritual reality, many prefer nontheistic representations. Figure 4.2 shows examples of inspirational passages from nontheistic traditions that have been used in PM.

Figure 4.2.  Nontheistic Inspirational Passages.

 

While these brief instructions below are sufficient to begin the prac- tice of PM, those interested in a  more  detailed presentation  should look at Easwaran’s Passage Meditation: Bringing the Deep Wisdom of the Heart into Daily Life, the definitive description of PM.1

1. Memorize an inspirational passage from a scripture or major spiritual figure that is positive, practical, inspiring, and universal.

2. Choose a time for meditation when you can sit for half an hour in uninterrupted quiet. (It is not recommended to meditate for more than 30 minutes without personal guidance from an experi- enced teacher.) Sit with your back and head erect, on the floor or in a straight-backed chair.

3. Close your eyes and go through the words of an inspirational pas- sage in your mind as slowly as you can and with as much concentra- tion as possible. For instance, the first line from Rumi’s “A Garden Beyond Paradise” would be repeated like this: “Everything ... you ... see ... has its ... roots .. . in ... the .. . unseen .. . world .. . ” Concentrate on each word, without following any association of ideas or allowing your mind to reflect on the meaning of  the words. When distractions come, do not resist them, but give more attention to the words of the passage.

4. If your mind strays from the passage entirely, bring it back gently to the beginning of the verse and start again.

5. In time, develop a repertoire of inspirational passages to keep them from becoming automatic or stale. They may be selected from within a single religious tradition, or from several traditions.

TWO DIMENSIONS OF MEDITATING ON AN INSPIRATIONAL PASSAGE

Meditating on an inspirational passage has two dimensions, accord- ing to its developer: training attention and the absorption of spiritual content (pp. 12–13).1 When fused these dimensions make the practice transformational. Training attention is achieved by the discipline of returning the mind back to the words of the passage each time it becomes distracted. Over time, this develops a capacity for sustained concentration that can be used outside of meditation, to remain focused during interruptions, in times of emotional stress, and in making wise lifestyle choices.

 

The second dimension, content absorption, focuses on values- laden, inspirational passages. Popular practices like Vipassana or Transcendental Meditation have a concentrative dimension, but PM more systematically couples the power of focused attention to the spiritual content of wisdom-based inspirational passages. This does not occur by thinking about or reflection on the words of the passage, which, in PM, would constitute a distraction. Rather, as concentration on the words deepens, the values embedded within these passages from the world’s great sages, mystics, and seers become absorbed so that their values and qualities may become accessible in the lives of practitioners.

POINT 2—HOLY NAME (MANTRAM) REPETITION

To help practitioners refocus themselves during the day, repetition of a mantram is highly recommended. A mantram is a hallowed word or phrase that is silently repeated or chanted aloud; versions of this practice appear in all major spiritual traditions, both East and West.1,11 In PM, mantram repetition acts as a bridge for integrating the calm and clarity gained from sitting meditation into the remainder of the day. Unlike the sitting practice, the mantram can be invoked almost any- where, any time, at home or in the workplace, to help maintain clarity and wisdom. Such a portable practice is a core component of what Oman (this volume) calls an integral contemplative practice system, and is a key coping resource for those living in a fast-paced, highly com- petitive society. The following are instructions for using the mantram:

1. Choose a mantram that appeals to you (see Figure 4.3), from a traditional source that has been widely used over time (for a fuller discussion of mantram instructions, see Bormann, this volume.)

2. Repeat your mantram silently in the mind (“Rama, Rama, Rama” ... “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus”) as opportunities arise: while walking, waiting in line, stopped at a traffic light, while falling asleep, etc.

3. Remember to repeat your mantram in times of stress, to calm the mind when pressured by time urgency, or to interrupt negative thinking when angry or afraid.

Note that in PM, the mantram is not used during sitting meditation. Consequently, PM’s use of mantram repetition should be contrasted with other recent popularizations of mantram repetition, such as in

 

Figure 4.3. Selected Mantrams.

Tradition Mantram Meaning

Buddhist Om mani padme hum “The jewel in the lotus of the heart”

Christian Jesus

My God and my all (St. Francis of Assisi is reported to have used this.)

Hindu Rama

Om Bhavani “Joy” (Gandhi’s mantram) A mantram in honor of the Divine Mother

Jewish Barukh attah Adonai Ribono shel olam “Blessed are you, O Lord” “Lord of the universe”

Muslim Allah

Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim “In the name of Allah, the merciful, the compassionate”

Herbert Benson’s Relaxation Response, and in Transcendental Medita- tion. Contrary to PM, these methods use mantrams as the focus of sitting meditation practice. In PM, the mantram is used as a bridging tool between meditation on an inspirational passage (typically done in the early morning), and the remainder of the day.

Studies suggest that the use of a mantram at free times throughout the day is effective in decreasing stress, anger and anxiety (see Bormann, this volume).

POINT 3—SLOWING DOWN

In PM, Slowing Down denotes the practice of moving with care and deliberation through the day to minimize the stress caused by hurry and time pressures. It does not necessarily mean going slowly,  but rather setting priorities and limiting activities  so  as  not to  live  with the constant time urgency of contemporary life.  Excessive  time urgency not only undermines quality of life, but has been linked to coronary illness. For example, a recent 15-year longitudinal study of young adults (n = 3,142) found that the “time/urgency and impatience syndrome” was a “strong predictor” of developing hypertension. Another recent study (n = 340) found that a heightened sense of the time/urgency and impatience syndrome was associated with a dose- response increase in the risk of nonfatal myocardial infarction.12

 

The practice of Slowing Down includes looking at and adjusting daily patterns and habits that may contribute to increased time urgency, such as driving patterns, eating habits, responses to work- place pressures, and technology use. Recommendations for altering these patterns to a healthier lifestyle include setting a more relaxed pace by getting to work earlier, setting limits, and avoiding over scheduling. As such, Slowing Down may represent a buffer against the pressures of the time/urgency and impatience syndrome.

POINT 4—ONE-POINTED ATTENTION

In PM, the practice of One-Pointed Attention involves trying to do only one thing at a time, and giving it full attention. Suggestions for practicing One-Pointed Attention include not listening to the radio while driving or studying, and not checking e-mail while talking to someone on the phone. While this practice may appear counterintui- tive in a multitasking, workplace culture, it offers a way to remain cen- tered amid the continuous assault of interruptions that characterize contemporary life.

Multitasking has become a commonplace phenomenon of contem- porary life, especially in the modern workplace. Yet serious questions are increasingly being raised about its actual benefits (e.g., Gallagher, 2009).13 Recent research suggests, for example, that trying to do more than one thing at a time may, in fact, have adverse consequences on learning and efficiency. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine brain activity, researchers in one recent study found that while multitasking participants’ learning was less flexible and less easily retrieved.14 Another study reported that “heavy media multi- taskers” who attend simultaneously to two or more media (e.g., phone, e-mail, print, etc.) performed “worse on a test of task-switching ability” and are “more susceptible to interference from irrelevant environmen- tal stimuli and irrelevant .. . memory” (emphasis added; p. 15583).15

Traditional Indian yoga stresses one-pointed concentration (ekagratha) as do certain forms of Buddhist meditation. One-Pointed

Attention and Slowing Down can be understood as the two primary dimensions of mindfulness, which work together to assist PM practi- tioners in staying focused and calm while managing competing demands and interruptions. Indeed, PM appears at least as effective for increasing mindfulness as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR),  according  to  evidence  described  later.16  Furthermore,

 

a recent randomized, controlled study of American veterans (n = 29) with symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) combined PM man- tram repetition, Slowing Down, and One-Pointed Attention in a five- week intervention and found significant reductions in PTSD symptom severity, psychological distress, and increasing quality of life.17

POINT 5—TRAINING THE SENSES

Training the Senses directs practitioners to discriminate in lifestyle choices. It is not presented as a moral injunction, but as a corrective to compulsive behaviors like smoking, excessive drinking, and overeat- ing, which are strongly implicated by research in chronic conditions such as cancer and coronary illness.

The goal of Training the Senses is to develop a balanced lifestyle, in which we make wise and healthy choices in the foods we eat and the exercise we get, while avoiding unhealthy habits like smoking and overeating. Training the Senses also includes being discriminating in our entertainment choices. Some form of sense discrimination can be found in all major religious and contemplative systems, both East and West, and is referred to as the “Middle Path” in the Buddhist tra- dition. Such moderation can help support a contemplative practice, even as it promotes better health.

POINT 6—PUTTING OTHERS FIRST

Putting Others First encourages practitioners to move their concern and attention to the needs of others—family, colleagues, community, world—and away from serving only private self-interest. Putting Others First recasts into a contemporary formulation the early Christian concept of agape, universal love, as well as Buddhist metta, compassion.

Several decades of research have demonstrated the therapeutic value of helping others, showing positive relations between volunteerism and health, including increased longevity. A recent review suggested that the benefits of volunteering may be greatest when it is comple- mented by other practices, such as PM, that offer resources for coping with important life tasks.18

 

POINT 7—SPIRITUAL ASSOCIATION

Like Christian fellowship or the Buddhist Sangha, Spiritual Associ- ation emphasizes the importance of coming together on a regular basis with other PM practitioners to offer and receive support. Social support has long been recognized as a factor in both physical and psychological health, and is associated with longevity.19

POINT 8—INSPIRATIONAL READING

Daily spiritual reading from the world’s wisdom traditions is rec- ommended as a source of inspiration and motivation for PM practi- tioners. Lectio divina, for instance, is an ancient Christian devotional practice centered on reading and reflecting on scripture.

AN INTEGRATIVE PROGRAM

Each of the eight points has analogues in other traditional contem- plative systems as well as among contemporary practices (see Table 4.3). However, the PM points are not isolated protocols, independent of each other. Rather, as codified and used in PM, they are structurally integra- tive. They jointly reinforce each other in a web of supportive strategies that draw on the calm and clarity of meditation to help practitioners deepen their wisdom, and more effectively face the challenges of daily life. For example, in meditation, practitioners are instructed to repeat the words of the inspirational passage as slowly as they can, and with as much concentration as possible. Slowing Down and One-Pointed Attention replicate these interior practices during the day, supporting efforts in meditation to slow down and focus attention. The repetition of the mantram at moments of stress helps the mind refocus and regain some of the calm and clarity of meditation.

Some of the processes by which PM points complement each other are suggested by Oman’s (this volume) concept of four synergistic ele- ments that together comprise an integrated contemplative practice system.20 However, the developer of the PM program has described a wide range of additional processes by which PM points appear to complement each other.21 Some PM points are flexible tools for self- regulation and problem-focused coping;22 others help participants

 

Table 4.3. Elements of Easwaran’s PM and Similar Practices in Traditional Religion and Health Interventions

 

Element of PM

 

Similar Practices in Religious Traditions

 

Similar Existing Health Interventions

 

 

 

1. Meditation Raja Yoga, Kavvanah, Prayer

of the Heart, higher Lectio Divina

2. Mantram Jesus Prayer; Dhikr, Japa Yoga

 

Benson’s Meditation, Transcendental Meditation

Affirmations

 

3. Slowing Down     Right Mindfulness Treating Type A (alleviate

sense of time urgency); Mindfulness—informal practices

 

4. One-Pointed Attention

 

Right Mindfulness Treating Type A (avoid polyphasic thinking), Mindfulness—informal practices

 

5. Training the Senses

6. Putting Others First

7. Spiritual Association

8. Inspirational Reading

 

Pervasive (e.g., Middle Way in Buddhism; Temperance in Christianity)

Pervasive (e.g., “Love Thy Neighbor”; humility)

Pervasive (e.g., faith communities; scriptural study groups; Sangha)

Pervasive (e.g., scriptural study; preparatory Lectio Divina)

 

Pervasive (e.g., 12-Step programs)

Treating Type  A (be compassionate)

Social support, 12-Step programs

Reading sacred writings in counseling

 

 

draw on spiritual wisdom traditions to cultivate adaptive goals.23 Users sometimes state that PM helps them frame almost any situation as an opportunity for growth—for example, one reported that PM “can take any experience and work with it. it no longer has a static

presence—it’s clay in your hands to shape into something more.”24 Participants in one research study described 15 distinct ways  that PM points worked together to promote work effectiveness.25

INTERPRETATION: LEARNING FROM SPIRITUAL MODELS

One of PM’s distinctive features, noted earlier, is its systematic sup- port for assimilation of key elements of spiritual wisdom traditions.

 

Most distinctively, meditating on a passage supports assimilating the attitudes and perspectives of revered spiritual wisdom figures such as the Buddha, Jesus, and others. Inspirational Reading (Point 8) also supports learning from such spiritual models. An intuitive appreciation of these features may account for some of PM’s appeal across cultures and faith traditions. A recent review reported that among meditation- based health interventions, PM offered the highest level of support for learning from exemplars from spiritual wisdom traditions.26

Scientifically, the process of learning from exemplars is known as spiritual modeling, an extension of Albert Bandura’s social cognitive theory (SCT), the most highly cited and widely applied theory in contemporary psychology. Bandura’s SCT helps illuminate from a scientific perspective how PM may foster spiritual growth through spiri- tual modeling. Spiritual and religious traditions have long recognized that “spirituality is caught, not taught.” But decades of SCT-guided research have extensively documented four major psychological processes that underlie all types of learning from human models of behavior: attention to the model, retention of information about the mod- el’s behavior and attitudes, reproduction of what is learned in behavior, and motivation to persist. By extension, Bandura and other psychologists have theorized that these same four processes underlie the effective transmission of spiritual behaviors and attitudes. Not surprisingly, therefore, evidence suggests that religious traditions have sought to foster these four processes throughout history (e.g., fostering retention through frequent repetition at worship services of key verses from scripture).2,10,27

These four modeling processes are also clearly evident in PM, which appears to foster them systematically. For example, memoriz- ing and meditating on an inspirational passage gives focused attention to the modeling information contained in the passage. Repeatedly meditating on the words builds retention. This, in turn, enhances the reproduction of the ideals in the passages during the day. Many passages also recount positive experiences that come to those who persist in spiritual practice, thereby supporting motivation to practice (“It is in giving that we receive”). Anecdotal evidence shows that meditation passages are sometimes recalled later in the day, in the midst of daily stressors, when they can facilitate improved coping and self-control.28 Passage Meditation’s support for spiritual modeling is corroborated

by controlled empirical research in college populations. A recent study reported that practicing PM enhances the influence and number of revered spiritual models, as well as one’s self-efficacy for learning

 

from spiritual models.6 Self-efficacy is a technical term for a person’s self-confidence for carrying out tasks in a particular skill domain, and is a central construct in Bandura’s SCT. Self-efficacy is typically among the strongest predictors of objective performance for any type of activity, and is increasingly used to evaluate programs for educa- tion, training, and behavioral modification.22 These documented gains in self-efficacy represent a pioneering application of Bandura’s theory to spirituality, and support PM’s theorized capacity to foster learning from spiritual models.

For this reason, we have argued that PM holds interest not merely as a health intervention,10 but as a model of a more general educational approach. That is, PM demonstrates a nonsectarian approach, feasible in appropriate settings in a pluralistic society, for reintegrating spiritual modeling into education and other human service professions. In what follows, we describe three applications of PM to educational settings— one for the continuing education of health professionals, and two for college undergraduates. We also describe research that documents beneficial impacts for stress reduction and gains in professional skills, forgiveness, mindfulness, and spirituality, and other outcomes. Fuller reviews of research on PM are available elsewhere.3,4

PM APPLICATION #1: WORKPLACE PROFESSIONALS

Health care workers, like many modern professional groups, often experience chronically high stress levels. Unfortunately, sustained stress experiences are a risk factor for accelerated rates of biological aging,29 as well as major chronic health conditions such as hypertension and coro- nary heart disease. Among health care professionals, stress has also been directly linked to problems ranging from depression, decreased job satisfaction, and disrupted personal relationships, to reduced concen- tration, impaired decision making, and poorer relationships with patients.30

Could training in Passage Meditation help hospital-based profes- sional caregivers to better manage the formidable stresses and challenges of their workplace? To study this question, an eight-week, 16-hour course was taught to health professionals in a large midwestern urban hospital. Study participants included nurses, physicians, chaplains, and other health care professionals who were randomly assigned to a

 

treatment group receiving PM classes (n = 27), or to a wait-list control group (n = 31).

Treatment group participants met together weekly in one large group. Part of each week’s activities took place in facilitated subgroups of six to eight persons. The classes emphasized using all eight points of PM to manage the challenges common to health care professionals with patient contact. Each weekly meeting lasted two hours, and included time for presentation, discussion, a break, and a group meditation.

Several outcomes of interest were measured using validated self- report questionnaires. All participants completed questionnaires on four occasions: prior to the beginning of the course, immediately after it concluded, 8 weeks later, and again 19 weeks after the course ended.

FINDINGS

The study found large and statistically significant reductions in stress which remained significant nearly five months after the course ended (see Figure 4.4a). Stress reductions were actually slightly larger eight weeks after the course ended than they were at postintervention, despite the lack of social support from the weekly classes. And at the 19-week follow-up assessment, nearly five months after classes ended, PM group reductions in perceived stress relative to the control group remained statistically significant. These stress reductions are quite large when compared with the effects seen in most intervention stud- ies, and the effects on stress were mediated (explained) by adherence to PM practices.30

The PM group also showed statistically significant benefits on sev- eral other outcome measures, in comparison with the control group. Mental health, assessed with a widely used scale, showed significant improvement, although changes were less dramatic than for stress.30 Smaller benefits, not statistically significant, were observed for burnout. But larger and statistically significant benefits for PM group participants were found for compassion31 (Figure 4.4b), empathy, forgiveness, and confidence in their professional caregiving skills (tech- nically called relational caregiving self-efficacy) (Figure 4.4c).32,25 All of these benefits were nearly fully retained at the final 19-week follow-up assessment.

These quantitative results were corroborated by semistructured inter- views with 24 of the participants (5 physicians, 12 nurses, and 7 others),

 

Figure 4.4. Effect of Passage Meditation Practice by Health Profes- sionals on (a) Stress, (b) Compassion, (c) Caregiving Self-Efficacy, and by College Students on (d) Forgiveness, in Comparison with Controls: Group Means Over Time.

an average of three months after the intervention. The interviews revealed that most participants could recount specific ways in which pro- gram points had helped them to be more effective in their work. For example, one caregiver reported:

I’ll tell you a couple of things that have happened to me recently from the [PM] Program. I’m more focused and I also feel like I’m making a conscious effort to look in people’s eyes so that I feel like they are hearing me and I’m hearing them. Recently someone said to me that my eyes show my compassion. So that

 

made it very real to me that I am coming across, that I do care. (p. 1129)25

Another said this about the mantram:

The mantram calms me down, slows me down and I feel that I can deal with whatever the situation is that got me upset. (p. 1129)25

PM APPLICATION #2: AN EIGHT-WEEK “STAND-ALONE” COLLEGE COURSE

Today’s college students cope with a variety of academic, social, and personal challenges that leave many of them feeling overwhelmed.16 Recently, undergraduates at a private university in California were taught PM in an eight-week course in which PM was taught along with spiritual modeling theory. Participants (n = 44) were randomly assigned to one of three groups: one group received PM training, a second group received training in MBSR, and a third control group was wait-listed. PM and MBSR groups were conducted concurrently, and each met over eight weeks for 90 minutes each week. Questionnaire self-report mea- sures were administered to all study participants immediately before and after the intervention, and eight weeks following its completion. Each week in the PM group, students were taught to use one or more of PM’s points, were familiarized with a prominent spiritual model, and participated in a 10- to 30-minute session of meditating on a passage. A detailed description of the PM course pedagogy has been published elsewhere.33

FINDINGS

For several outcomes, changes in PM and MBSR groups did not significantly differ from each other, suggesting very similar effects, and were pooled together in analyses of how they differed from controls. Compared to controls, the intervention groups showed significant reductions in stress and significant increases in the ability to forgive others (Figure 4.4d).16

PM and MBSR differences were also noted with regard to spiritual

modeling. Compared to controls, PM participants showed significant increases in self-efficacy for learning from famous/traditional spiritual models, the availability of pre-1900 spiritual models, and the influence

 

of famous/traditional spiritual models (these findings were mentioned earlier). Furthermore, the PM group gained significantly more than the MBSR group on these measures, and the MBSR group did not gain more than the controls. These findings were expected because of the higher support offered by PM for learning from spiritual models, especially traditional models.6

Interestingly, on a measure of mindfulness, the PM group showed

slightly larger gains than the MBSR group, which itself gained substan- tially in comparison to controls (Figure 4.5). According to the research- ers, findings suggest that “mindfulness ... can be trained through a variety of different practices that differ in ... level of explicit emphasis on mindfulness” (p. 858).34 These findings hold important implications, since mindfulness methods have recently inspired a variety of effective psychological interventions. Apparently benefits associated with mind- fulness need not be obtained only from Buddhist-derived mindfulness practices; these findings suggest that such benefits might equally be derivable from methods, such as PM, that draw spiritual content from other sources, including Western faith traditions.

Figure 4.5. Changes in Mindfulness Over Time for College Students Trained in Passage Meditation (PM), in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), and for Controls (Cx).

 

PM10APPLICATION #3: PM EMBEDDED WITHIN

Along with experiencing enhanced stress, U.S. college students have become increasingly anxious, depressed, and uncertain about what to do with their lives.35 In response, a private California univer- sity in 2006 developed a 10-week academic course, English 189: Voca- tion. Offering ongoing support from PM along with role models from Renaissance lives and guest speakers,6 the course fulfills both English major and core religious studies requirements, attracting a wide range of students annually. This successful course demonstrates how PM can make a valuable contribution at the heart of liberal arts education. Easwaran’s Passage Meditation is used as the primary course text,

along with Dreher’s Your Personal Renaissance, which presents a pro-

cess for vocational discernment blending passage meditation with research from Renaissance biography and positive psychology. Several other historical and literary texts are also used.1,36

On the first day of class, after introductions and a short lecture, students begin their meditative practice, as described in Chapter 1 of Passage Meditation. They spend 10 minutes silently meditating on the first four lines of the Prayer of St. Francis, followed by time for ques- tions and comments. They are then assigned to read the first chapter of Passage Meditation and memorize the St. Francis prayer or another passage from their own spiritual tradition. For the rest of the quarter, they practice daily passage meditation, starting with 10 minutes and working up to 30 minutes a day, recording their experience in para- graph assignments.

In the second class, students practice PM, discuss their practice and readings on vocation, and select one Renaissance biography for their research paper and oral report from a list that includes St. Teresa of Avila, Leonardo da Vinci, John Milton, and Sor Juana Ine´s de la Cruz. The paper is due at the end of the term, along with a personal vocation narrative.

Each class begins with 10 minutes of passage meditation. Classes include regular check-ins with a professor who follows PM, offering personal insights and time for students’ questions.37 Throughout the course, students learn and practice each of the eight points, discuss them in class, and write about their experience. They read chapters in Your Personal Renaissance about discovering their gifts, detaching from distractions, discerning their values, and charting their direction,

 

while learning about how Renaissance role models, such as John Donne, St. Teresa of Avila, and St. Ignatius Loyola, used meditation to discern their vocations.

During the second week, students read about vocation, learn about how Giotto, Cimabue, and Botticelli discovered their gifts, look for parallels in their own lives, and take a survey to discover their gifts.38 In the third week, students review Chapter 1 of Passage Meditation, and consult the description of PM at www.Easwaran.org, another sup- portive guide for their practice. They read about da Vinci and other Renaissance artists, and learn about a guest speaker’s spiritual journey. During the fourth week students read Chapter 2 of Passage Meditation,

learn about using the mantram to relieve stress (see Bormann, this volume), then select and begin using their own mantram. They also learn about detachment, reading meditations by Traherne and Marvell. In the fifth week, students take a midterm on course readings and concepts. Then they focus on Chapter 3 of Passage Meditation, “slowing down,” along with reading on discernment and the life of St. Ignatius Loyola. The sixth week focuses on Chapter 4 in Passage Meditation, “one- pointed attention,” the search for direction, John Donne’s struggle, and the spiritual journey of another guest speaker. The seventh week focuses on Chapters 5 and 6 in Passage Meditation, “training the senses,” and “putting others first,” and the life and sonnets of Michelangelo.

During weeks eight and nine, students read Chapters 7 and 8 in Passage Meditation, focusing on “spiritual association” and “inspirational reading,” learn about the lives of George and Magdalen Herbert, and give their oral reports. In the tenth week, they meet individually with their professor for conferences on course papers. Course portfolios (research paper, personal vocation narrative, and final paragraphs) are due at the end of the week.

The final grade is based on the midterm, paragraphs, oral report, class participation, research paper, and personal vocation narrative. The daily paragraphs (written for each class period) provide a conven- ient means to assess student progress in their PM practice. For the personal vocation narrative, a grading rubric with key concepts and expectations helps students relate course lessons to their own lives.

OUTCOMES

Numerical evaluations for English 189 are high, averaging 4.7 on a 5-point scale. Student comments in paragraphs and narrative

 

evaluations reveal their appreciation for PM, which provides valuable tools for dealing with stress as well as a common culture and vocabu- lary to support students’ quest for vocation.

Although initially some students found it difficult to meditate, after a few weeks most looked forward to their daily meditation, finding peace and comfort in their practice. They appreciated the 10-minute medita- tion before each class, even requesting it the day of the midterm. Some students sought further meditation opportunities, joining a student- faculty Wednesday evening meditation group. Students repeatedly referred to “hurry sickness,” realizing when they needed to slow down, and reported that the mantram helped them deal with exam stress and to get to sleep at night. Many also found spiritual models in the course through PM, the guest speakers, and Renaissance lives.

CONCLUSIONS

We have suggested that PM’s use of inspirational passages from the world’s wisdom traditions gives it a distinctive appeal to many reli- gious and nonreligious spiritual seekers. PM appears unique among nonsectarian contemplative practices in its systematic support for learning from spiritual models, especially revered saints, sages, and founders. The inspired deeds and words (Figures 4.1 and 4.2) of such revered spiritual models represent a global legacy that many modern seekers continue to find relevant. The PM program’s support for learning from such models provides potentially important “added value” not only to individual seekers, but also to health and human service professionals who are increasingly called upon to respond to the diverse spiritual needs of their clientele.

We have described several applications of the PM program, includ- ing two educational courses for college undergraduates, as well as a continuing education course for health professionals. We outlined empirical research findings that confirmed that these PM-based courses helped participants to draw upon their spiritual resources to manage the challenges of the workplace and of college life with more clarity, resolve, and compassion. Benefits were promising and some- times dramatic. Stress reductions could plausibly translate into better physical health and longer life.29 Yet much remains to be discovered about how the PM program may be applied in other educational, health, and human service  settings.  Can  PM  support  diabetics and other chronic-disease victims in adhering to lifesaving health

 

behaviors, despite the stresses and distractions of  modern  life? Can PM assist business executives to recover a spiritually grounded sense of purpose in the midst of challenging and stressful careers (see Delbecq, this volume)? Do PM-based courses offered through colleges or other organizations foster increased cross-cultural and interfaith understanding?

Because of its nonsectarian character, its comprehensive set of tools, its support for direct engagement with spiritual wisdom traditions, and its appeal to diverse populations, PM warrants careful consideration from all human service professionals, including caregivers, campus health services, and educators.

REFERENCES

1. Easwaran, E. (2008). Passage meditation: Bringing the deep wisdom of the heart into daily life (3rd ed.). Tomales, CA: Nilgiri Press. Full text also online at http://www.easwaran.org.

2. Bandura, A. (2003). On the psychosocial impact and mechanisms of spiritual modeling. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 13, 167–174.

3. Flinders, T., Oman, D., & Flinders, C. L. (2007). The  eight-point program of passage meditation: Health effects of a comprehensive program. In T. G. Plante & C. E. Thoresen (Eds.), Spirit, science and health: How the spiri- tual mind fuels physical wellness (pp. 72–93). Westport, CT: Praeger.

4. Flinders, T., Oman, D., & Flinders, C. L. (2009). Meditation as empow- erment for healing. In J. H. Ellens (Ed.), The healing power of spirituality (Vol. 1, pp. 213–240). Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger.

5. Two of the authors (Tim Flinders and Carol Flinders) have presented PM workshops over several decades to thousands of individuals observant in every religious tradition. The website www.easwaran.org lists over 100 current PM fellowship groups around the world.

6. Oman, D., Shapiro, S. L., Thoresen, C. E., Flinders, T., Driskill, J. D., & Plante, T. G.  (2007).  Learning  from  spiritual  models  and  meditation: A randomized evaluation of a college course. Pastoral Psychology, 55, 473–493.

7. AA Meditators (n.d.). Passage meditation & the eleventh step: The method of meditation developed by Eknath Easwaran [booklet, 24 pages]. http://www

.meditationandrecovery.org (accessed December 13, 2009).

8. Plante, T. G. (2009). Spiritual practices in psychotherapy: Thirteen tools for enhancing psychological health. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

9. Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Lithuanian, Portuguese, Russian, Slovenian, Spanish. Asian languages: Bahasa Indonesian,

 

Chinese (PRC), Chinese (Taiwan), Hebrew, Japanese, Korean, Malayalam (India), Marathi (India), Telugu (India).

10. Oman, D., & Thoresen, C. E. (2007). How does one learn to be spiri- tual? The neglected role of spiritual modeling in health. In T. G. Plante &

C. E. Thoresen (Eds.), Spirit, science and health: How the spiritual mind fuels physical wellness (pp. 39–54). Westport, CT: Praeger.

11. For holy name repetition through the day in  Christianity,  see Oman, D., & Driskill, J. D. (2003). Holy name repetition as a spiritual exercise and therapeutic technique. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 22, 5–19.

12. Cole, S. R., Kawachi, I., Liu, S., Gaziano, J. M., Manson, J. E., Buring, J. E., & Hennekens, C. H. (2001). Time urgency and risk of non-fatal myocardial infarction. International Journal of Epidemiology, 30(2), 363–369.

13. Gallagher, W. (2009). Rapt: Attention and the focused life. New York:

Penguin Press.

14. Foerde, K., Knowlton, B. J., Poldrack, R. A., & Smith, E. E. (2006). Modulation of competing memory systems by distraction. PNAS Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 103, 11778– 11783.

15. Ophir, E., Nass, C., & Wagner, A. D. (2009). Cognitive control in media multitaskers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 106, 15583–15587.

16. Oman, D., Shapiro, S. L., Thoresen, C. E., Plante, T. G., & Flinders,

T. (2008). Meditation lowers stress and supports forgiveness among college students: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of American College Health, 56, 569–578.

17. Bormann, J. E., Thorp, S., Wetherell, J. L., & Golshan, S. (2008). Spiritually based group intervention for combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder: Feasibility study. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 26, 109–116.

18. Oman, D. (2007). Does volunteering foster physical health and lon- gevity? In S. G. Post (Ed.), Altruism and health: Perspectives from empirical research (pp. 15–32). New York: Oxford University Press.

19. Taylor, S. E. (2007). Social support. In H. S. Friedman & R. C. Silver (Eds.), Foundations of health psychology (pp. 145–171). New York: Oxford University Press.

20. Oman (this volume) defines an “integrative contemplative practice system” as including (1) set-aside  time  for  attention  training  practice (e.g., sitting meditation), (2) cultivation of character strengths or virtues (e.g., Putting Others First), (3) centering practices for use throughout the day (e.g., the mantram), and (4) learning from spiritual models.

21. Easwaran published an extensive set of practical commentaries on Western and Eastern spiritual figures and scriptures. Many describe ways that PM points are complementary tools for coping with challenges of daily living and spiritual growth. His most comprehensive discussion is the Bhagavad Gita for Daily Living (1977–1984, 3 vols., Tomales, CA: Nilgiri Press).

 

22. Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: Freeman.

23. Sheldon, K. M., Ryan, R. M., Deci, E. L., & Kasser, T. (2004). The independent effects of goal contents and motives on well-being: It’s both what you pursue and why you pursue it. Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin, 30, 475–486.

24. Anonymous (2008). Life persists. Blue Mountain, 19(4), 7. (This journal, at http://www.nilgiri.org/page/140, regularly publishes anecdotal accounts of PM coping and results.)

25. Oman, D., Richards, T. A., Hedberg, J., & Thoresen, C. E. (2008). Passage meditation improves caregiving self-efficacy among health profes- sionals: A randomized trial and qualitative assessment. Journal of Health Psychology, 13, 1119–1135.

26. Oman, D., & Beddoe, A. E. (2005). Health interventions combining meditation with learning from spiritual exemplars: Conceptualization and review. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 29, S126.

27. Oman, D., & Thoresen, C. E. (2003). Spiritual modeling: A key to spiritual and religious growth? International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 13, 149–165.

28. For example, see an account of improved automobile driving after remembering a passage: Anonymous. (2008). “Finding peace on the road.” Blue Mountain, 19(1), 12.

29. Epel, E., Daubenmier, J., Moskowitz, J. T., Folkman, S., & Blackburn,

E. (2009). Can meditation slow rate of cellular aging? Cognitive stress, mind- fulness, and telomeres. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1172, 34–53.

30. Oman, D., Hedberg, J., & Thoresen, C. E. (2006). Passage meditation reduces perceived stress in health professionals: A  randomized,  controlled trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 74, 714–719.

31. Changes were observed in a measure of “compassionate  love,” a form of “other-focused” love or concern that is the subject of an emerging scien- tific research field—see Fehr, B. A.,  Sprecher,  S.,  &  Underwood,  L. G. (2008). The science of compassionate love: Theory, research, and applications. Malden, MA: Blackwell.

32. Oman, D., Thoresen, C. E., & Hedberg, J. (2010). Does passage meditation foster compassionate love among health professionals? A ran- domized trial. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 13, 129–154. DOI: 10.1080/13674670903261954.

33. Oman, D., Flinders, T., & Thoresen, C. E. (2008). Integrating spiri- tual modeling into education: A college course for stress management and spiritual growth. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 18, 79–107.

34. Shapiro, S. L., Oman, D., Thoresen, C. E., Plante, T. G., & Flinders,

T. (2008). Cultivating mindfulness: Effects on well-being. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 64, 840–862.

 

35. Twenge, J. M. (2000). The age of anxiety? Birth cohort change in anxi- ety and neuroticism, 1952–1993. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79, 1007–1021.

36. Additional course texts include Dreher, D. E. (2008). Your personal renaissance: 12 steps to finding your life’s true calling. New York: Da Capo; Vasari, G. (1998). The lives of the artists. J. C. Bondanella & P. Bondanella (Trans.). New York: Oxford University Press (originally published 1550); Perkins, W. (1970). A treatise of the vocations or callings of men. In I. Breward (Ed.), The work of William Perkins (pp. 441–476). Abington, Berkshire, England: Sutton Courtenay Press (originally published  1603);  Hardy,  L. (1990). The fabric of this world. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.

37. As Kabat-Zinn explains, the support of an experienced meditator is vital when learning a new contemplative practice: Kabat-Zinn, J. (2003). Mindfulness-based interventions in context: Past, present, and future. Clinical Psychology: Science & Practice, 10, 144–156.

38. The VIA-IS survey, based on Peterson, C., &  Seligman,  M. E. P. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. New York: Oxford University Press, is available online at http://www.authentichappiness

.org, and also in Seligman, M. E. P. (2002). Authentic happiness. New York: Free Press.

 

CHAPTER 5

Contemplative Practices in Action 3] Managing Stress Mindfully

 3] Managing Stress Mindfully

Contemplative Practices in Action

Hooria Jazaieri and Shauna L. Shapiro

Mindfulness, a translation of the traditional Eastern words including smrti (Sanskrit), sati (Pali), and dranpa (Tibetan), is associated in contem- porary Western psychology as the awareness one achieves through intentionally attending in an accepting and discerning way to one’s current moment-to-moment experience.1,2 Mindfulness involves an intimate knowing of what is arising as it is arising, without trying to change or control it. Thus, the process of mindfulness involves changing one’s relationship to experience as opposed to changing experience itself.

Any activity can be an opportunity to practice mindfulness—walking, washing dishes, eating, conversing—anything, as long as you are bringing full attention to the present. Essentially, life itself becomes the practice as every moment is a new opportunity to train your attention, thus creating the ability to respond to stress instead of habitually react- ing. Mindfulness is a natural human capacity, and it can be cultivated through formal practice.

Often we are told that being mindful takes too much time or effort, or at times, seems counterproductive to our culture of doing. Mindfulness does in fact require us to stop in a sense—this may feel awkward, uncomfortable, or unproductive at first. However, when practicing mindfulness, the goal is not to get anywhere or do anything. It is not about being or feeling a certain way. It is about trusting that you are already where you need to be, and you already are the way you need to

 

be. Mindfulness requires the element of letting go and allowing things to unfold in their own natural way:

[It is] an invitation to cease clinging to anything—whether it be an idea, a thing, an event, a particular time, or view, or desire. It is a conscious decision to release with full acceptance into the stream of present moments as they are unfolding. To let go means to give up coercing, resisting, or struggling, in exchange for something more powerful and wholesome which comes out of allowing things to be as they are without getting caught up in your attraction to or rejection of them, in the intrinsic stickiness of wanting, of liking and disliking. It’s akin to letting your palm open to unhand some- thing you have been holding on to.3

Although the notion of mindfulness is often associated with the rich, 2,600-year-old tradition of Buddhism, it is currently being applied as a universal technique that transcends its religious and cul- tural roots. With this recontextualization of mindfulness comes differ- ent aims; among them the contemporarily relevant aim of managing stress through easing suffering and improving health and well-being. In this chapter, we will briefly describe the historical and religious context from which mindfulness arose, describe the dimensions of the practice and how someone may begin some of the basic exercises, briefly review the empirical literature supporting mindfulness as a treatment intervention, discuss preexisting applications of this prac- tice, and present ideas for new research directions. Our hope is to introduce practices and resources to help manage stress, as well as a radically different way of seeing and being in the world that naturally gives rise to greater states of happiness and ease.

CONTEXT

Although most often associated with Buddhism, mindfulness can be found in various forms in virtually all religions and spiritual practices.4 Methods to enable individuals to focus their attention have been around for centuries, and while the approaches are different, the intention behind them is similar—to alter people’s lives.5 According to Buddhist psychology, suffering comes from our wanting things to be different from what they really are, whether that is wishing for another job, for more money, for a different appearance, or even to be happier. Neuroscientist Daniel Siegel5 suggests that stress and

 

suffering occur when the mind grasps onto what “should be” and cre- ates this tension between what really is. Though we are presenting mindfulness meditation here as a means of stress management, it is important to note that in Buddhism, the intention of mindfulness training is not for “stress management” but to achieve complete liber- ation from suffering and compassion for all beings.6

However as mindfulness has gone “mainstream”—a recent Google search of the term returned 2,630,000 results—the aims and under- standings have been recontextualized to fit a modern Western culture. The clinical application of mindfulness meditation (also referred to as “insight meditation” or “Vipassana”) in Western psychology can largely be attributed to Jon Kabat-Zinn and colleagues at the Univer- sity of Massachusetts’s mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR)7 program. Though MBSR was originally developed to help manage chronic pain, it is currently practiced worldwide and is used with a variety of populations ranging from grade school students to those with psychopathology. The skills one acquires through MBSR have been shown to reduce anxiety and depression symptoms8 as well as increase positive emotional states.9 MBSR truly is “compatible with diverse cultural and religious backgrounds.”10 Regardless of its reli- gious and cultural origins, mindfulness-based interventions have been introduced by researchers and clinicians as an empirically supported treatment (or component of) program.

Our lives are full of chronic and acute stressors—some are predictable

while others catch us off guard. Some are real while others are imag- ined. Mindfulness mediation is thought to affect the stress response in four stages—first, by freeing the senses from anything that is occupying them. Second, with practice,  it  provides the participant  with tools to observe patterns of reacting or responding. Third, with even more practice, conditioned and habitual ways of reacting and responding gradually weaken. Finally, mindfulness meditation affects the stress response by allowing one to have a more effective and “wiser” response to any experience that emerges.11

DIMENSIONS OF THE PRACTICE

Some claim that in order to gain success in any field, one must practice the specific task for 10,000 hours.12 We are not suggesting that you attempt to practice mindfulness meditation for 10,000 hours, through electroencephalogram studies of experienced (10,000–50,000 hours)

 

and novice meditators have shown that meditation provides both short- and long-term benefits to health and well-being.13 Therefore, we are simply suggesting that you practice, in whichever way happens to be your way.

If at first you can manage only five minutes a day, or even one minute, that is fine—there is no right way of practicing. Simply stopping and remembering to shift your attention, even momentarily, from your usual state of doing and into a state of being is enough (and even more imperative to practice when feeling stressed). This comes from one’s ability to experience with a sense of curiosity and kindness instead of with judgment or preference. It requires an enormous amount of patience and practice because it is a completely different experience from what we are used to—“if you happen to stumble upon somebody who is meditating, you know instantly that you have come into the orbit of something unusual and remarkable.”14

THE SITTING PRACTICE

Sitting meditation is one of the most frequently practiced approaches to formally exercising mindfulness. There are several sit- ting practices you may choose to experiment with. We will discuss three of the most common, observing the breath, body scan, and Hatha yoga.

Observing the Breath

Observing one’s breathing is considered to be one of the simplest and most effective ways to begin practicing mindfulness. Observing the breath is simply that—paying attention to the inhalation and exha- lation of air without changing what is currently going on. The breath is really the foundation to a mindfulness practice because with any of the exercises, one begins by focusing all of the attention on the breath. You can begin the practice of observing the breath by sitting in a com- fortable, upright fashion, closing your eyes, and simply breathing naturally—making no effort to control or change the breath, just focusing all of the attention on the breath. Observing the rhythm, the length of each in-breath and each out-breath, the temperature, how the body moves—the nostrils, shoulders, chest, rib cage, and belly. Continuing to observe all of the qualities of the breath, without elaborating on its implications or creating any need for action. Prac- tice for two to three minutes to begin with and then try extending it

 

for longer periods of time. Some find it helpful to set an intention before beginning this sitting exercise by silently speaking something that resonates for them in the moment. “May I be nonjudgmental,” or “May I be gentle with myself ” are examples of such intentions.

Throughout the practice,  attention  will  inevitably  wander  off the breath to thoughts, memories, fantasies, and feelings that arise. Sim- ply notice them and let them go, gently bringing the attention back to the breath. Observe judgmental thoughts (e.g., “there are so many better things that I could be doing with my time instead of this”) in a nonjudg- mental manner. Steadily repeat the process of directing your attention back to your breath each time you notice your mind is wandering—this may happen dozens of times in the span of minutes. Continue to practice using your breath as an anchor, as your breath is always there and you may come back to it at anytime, whether you are feeling anxiety, stress, or even in moments of delight. Your breath is always there to help you cope with the next moment, stressful or otherwise.

Body Scan

Another form of sitting practice is the body scan where you pro- gressively move your attention throughout the body, feeling each region. You can begin the practice by first comfortably lying down on your back with your legs extended, your arms by your sides with your palms facing up, and gently closing your eyes. If you choose, you may begin by setting an intention for this practice, speaking silently something that resonates for you in this moment; for example, “May I accept my body,” or “May I cultivate greater patience.” Begin by focusing your attention on the breath and observe nonjudgmentally as it moves in and out of your body.

Once you are in touch with the breath, you may start by bringing attention to the toes of the left foot, slowly moving up the foot and the leg. Upon reaching the pelvis, do the same with the toes of the right foot, gradually moving up the body to the torso, lower back, abdomen, upper back, chest, and shoulders. Upon reaching the shoulders, slowly and systematically go to the fingers of the left hand, moving up the arm and returning back to the shoulders and then repeating on the fin- gers of the right hand. Upon reaching the shoulders again, move to the clavicle, the neck, throat, and continuing to the face, bringing attention to the lips, nose, eyes, and ears. Conclude the body scan by moving to the back of the head and to the top of the head. Attempt to keep focus on each part of the body for at least one minute and really pay close

 

attention to the sensations in that particular area. After moving through the regions of your body, return to the breath and focus attention to whatever arises.

Hatha Yoga

Though there are many ways of practicing being in your body, Hatha yoga is a method whereby participants incorporate gentle yoga stretches and postures that are designed to enhance mindful awareness of bodily sensations and to balance and strengthen the musculoskele- tal system. Each pose and each exercise is done deliberately with the intention of paying attention to the moment-to-moment sensations that arise while keeping awareness fixated on the breath. Yoga is practiced in the same spirit and attitude that is applied to the other meditation practices, including gentleness, curiosity, nonattachment, beginner’s mind, patience, nonjudging, nonstriving, and acceptance. While a by-product of mindful yoga is that it may help you become stronger, more flexible, and improve balance, it also helps with relaxing yourself and reducing stress.

For your yoga practice you may choose to use a mat or a pad and place it on the floor. Perhaps you may choose to use a manual or DVD to guide you through this practice. It is important not to compare yourself with others if doing this in a group setting or even not to com- pare yourself to your past performances. Instead, be aware of what is happening to your body, in that very moment. While practicing, it is essential to bring your attention to subtle thoughts or commentary run- ning through your mind, as these unconscious notions influence our state of being and may cause great distress. This awareness and ability to continually redirect attention back to your practice will increase your sense of self and encourage your mindful yoga exercise.

INFORMAL PRACTICES

There are numerous ways of bringing mindfulness practice into your daily life outside of the formal meditation period. Remembering to simply be being, rather than be doing is a useful mantra. Just as a vio- linist practices his or her violin, we too must fine-tune this new skill of mindfulness so that with time, this practice of paying attention to the present moment-to-moment experience becomes effortless.

As we mentioned previously, any activity, as long as you are awake, can be an opportunity to practice mindfulness. We can be mindful

 

during routine activities such as taking a shower, kissing our signifi- cant other good-bye, writing an e-mail, or petting our dog. Deliber- ately bringing the minutia of the experience into awareness—these individual moments are what make up our lives, and too often, we are not fully awake for them: feeling the sensation of water streaming through your hair in the shower as you rinse out the shampoo; truly being in the moment as you kiss your significant other good-bye as you part ways for the day; being aware of any thoughts, feelings, or physical tensions as you type an e-mail to someone; experiencing the way your dog’s hair feels between your fingers as you run your hands through her coat. As Kabat-Zinn7 writes, it is “really doing what you’re doing.” Intentionally choose to live your life more fully and vividly, instead of on automatic pilot, which makes our daily routines seem exhausting and monotonous. In this section we will discuss two ways of really doing what you are already doing in everyday life more mindfully—eating and walking.

Mindful Eating

One method of practicing mindfulness in an informal fashion is through eating mindfully. First, simply observe how you eat, without changing anything about it. Do you eat with someone? Do you eat standing up or sitting down? Perhaps while doing something else? Where do you eat—on a couch, in bed, at a table, in front of the com- puter? How much do you eat? How long does it take you to eat? How do you feel before and after you eat? How do you determine what to eat?

Eating is an activity that plays a central role in our lives—physically, emotionally, and socially. Eating provides us the nourishment and sustenance to live, and yet we often do not pay close attention to the activity of eating, or to how we decide what we are going to eat and how much. Mindful eating involves setting an intention before you eat, becoming aware of the process of choosing what to eat, listening to your body to determine what it needs, and then eating slowly, con- sciously with your full attention on the moment-to-moment experience of eating.

As a mindful eating exercise, try sitting down to a meal and pausing before you begin eating. Set an intention for this meal, for example, “May this food nourish me”; “May I be present for this meal”; “May I appreciate all that was involved in providing this meal.” Then, not- ing the food on your plate, taking it in with all of your senses—notice

 

the color, size, shape, and aroma. Note any sensations in your body or any anticipation of eating—perhaps you feel a bit of saliva building up in your mouth. Slowly take a small bite but do not begin chewing yet—continue to pay attention to anything that comes to your mind about the taste, the temperature, the texture, and any thoughts or sen- sations you are experiencing. Begin to chew slowly—noticing what it feels like to chew, the movement of your jaw, any changes in the tex- ture or flavor of the food. When your mind inevitably wanders, con- tinue to redirect your attention back to your food. Notice the feeling of the subtle transition from chewing to swallowing. Take another bite and repeat the exercise. Maybe this meal is triggering memories for you, perhaps memories of a person, a fond vacation, or the last time you had this meal. Simply note where your attention has wan- dered off to and gently bring it back to where you are and what you are intentionally doing. Perhaps impatience arises; simply notice it nonjudgmentally, and continue to chew and swallow slowly and mind- fully. After you finish your meal, observe how you feel immediately afterward, and an hour or two later. Notice your energy level, your mood, how your belly feels.

We are not suggesting that all of your meals are consumed in this

meticulous of a manner; however, we are presenting another way of practicing mindfulness in your everyday life and a way of changing your relationship to food. As an alternative to practicing mindful eating with an entire meal, you may choose to practice with a raisin or strawberry, or even the first bite of a meal—something small where you are able to direct your attention to the practice of eating even if for just a few minutes.

Walking Meditation

Most of us spend at least some of our day walking, whether it is from the car to the store, from the office to a meeting, or from our house to the park. Typically, we are just trying to get from one point to the next without paying much attention to how we are getting there. Walking is another everyday activity where you may bring the formal practice of mindfulness into this informal realm. Walking can become meditative only when we are intentionally bringing awareness to each step we take.

We invite you when you are walking to just walk. Walk purely for the sake of walking instead of combining it with your usual habit of planning, thinking, talking, and worrying. Perhaps begin by selecting

 

a place where you can practice walking back and forth at a leisurely rate. First, become aware of yourself and your surroundings, then begin to walk. Make an effort to be fully and completely aware of each foot as it makes contact with the earth; what part of your foot comes down first? How does weight shift in your body? How long is each stride? At what point do you pick up your other foot? It may be helpful to note what you are experiencing in each movement, whether you are “lifting,” “stepping,” or “placing” your foot. When you reach the end of your path, briefly pause and turn around. Do this at whatever speed feels right for you and keeps your attention focused. Thoughts or judgments may arise; acknowledge their presence and gently direct your attention back to each methodical step. You may choose to prac- tice this for 15 or 20 minutes.

Try to bring this same spirit of awareness of your walking when you park your car and go into stores to shop or run errands, when you are walking from one building to another at work, or when taking a stroll as a way to relax and decompress after a long day. We are often rushing through all of these things to the next activity, so we fail to really expe- rience them. Through practicing walking mindfully, you are teaching yourself to walk through life more wakefully.

CULTIVATION OF ATTITUDES

In Kabat-Zinn’s book Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain and Illness,7 he describes seven attitudinal foundations of mindfulness: nonjudging, the mindfulness practice that requires us to intentionally suspend judgment and evalu- ation and just simply be aware of whatever arises; patience, whereby we allow things to unfold in their own time, as there is no reason to rush one moment to get to the next; beginner’s mind, a willingness to see everything in life as if it were being experienced for the first time; trust, the quality of trusting in the knowledge that there is innate wisdom in all of us and therefore looking within ourselves for guidance rather than outside for clues on how we should be; nonstriving, which is being fixed on achieving nothing, having no goals, going nowhere, getting nothing, detaching oneself from any particular outcome; acceptance, coming to terms with reality by being receptive and open to whatever is actually here in the present moment, regardless of whether we agree or approve of it; and finally, letting go, which was described at the beginning of the chapter as a way of just letting things be and

 

accepting them for what they are, holding onto nothing. All seven of these attitudes are interconnected; practicing one almost always inevi- tably leads to practicing another.

In addition, Shapiro and Schwartz15,16 have included the qualities of nonattachment, letting go of grasping or clinging to a particular out- come and allowing things to unfold; curiosity, a genuine interest in one’s experience, being willing to explore and investigate; gentleness, a tender quality that is soft though not to be confused with undisci- plined or passive; nonreactivity, the ability to respond where we come from a place of clarity and consciousness instead of automatically reacting in a conditioned or habitual way; and finally, loving kindness, demonstrating love, benevolence, and friendliness.

These attitudes can be thought of as the manner in which we go about our mindfulness practice. It is with these attitudes that we approach observing the breath, the body scan, Hatha yoga, eating, walking, or whatever activity we choose to be mindful while doing. Keeping these interrelated attitudes at the forefront of the practice allows us to create a space where empathy and compassion for our- selves and others may be cultivated.

SPIRITUAL MODELS

Many people tend to seek and want to feel connected to something greater than themselves, without necessarily being tied to a formal religion. Since “most human behavior is learned observationally through modeling,”17 it seems logical that we look to spiritual models. Due to the context where mindfulness arose, the Buddha is a common example of a spiritual model who exemplified seeking a clam or medi- tative state.

Spiritual modeling has been defined as the act of learning spiritually relevant behaviors or skills through observing other people—spirituality is “caught, not taught.”18 Through observational spiritual learning, four processes are used: attention, retention, reproduction in behavior, and motivation.19 MBSR supports all four spiritual modeling processes and allows us to link spiritual beliefs to practices.20 Oman and Beddoe21 examined MBSR and suggested that it offers support for spiritual mod- eling in several ways. The group format through which MBSR is taught facilitates collaboration between fellow participants and allows them to draw upon each other as models. Furthermore, text from “spiritually oriented poets such as Jalaluddin Rumi, Walt Whitman, or others, are

 

commonly used in MBSR session to illustrated and support meditative states of mind.”20

Whether everyday models, such as a mother, a close friend, or col- league, or revered models, such as the Buddha, Jesus, Mother Teresa, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, or Nelson Mandela, spiritual modeling is all around us if we pay atten- tion. For many, these spiritual models motivate us through our daily lives or our practices as we seek meditative or calm states of mind.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

It is important to note that although you may be practicing mind- fulness in a formal setting, you are encouraged to also bring mindful- ness to seemingly ordinary activities like walking, eating, or standing. It is useful to apply these same general principles outside of the formal meditation practice as much as possible, keeping you grounded in the here and now instead of focusing on ongoing streams of thoughts that are often confused with reality, worries that tend to only increase your stress levels, or rumination that drains us of energy that can be better used elsewhere.

You may find that different practices fit you better than others; that is fine. It is important to find your way of practicing by experimenting— varying the length of time, the location, the time of day which you practice, the quality of your attention, and seeing how it effects your practice. For most of us, the practice of mindfulness is quite challenging and requires practice, discipline, and intentional effort. It is important to remember to set aside time for yourself to practice formal meditation, whether it is 20 or 40 minutes, once or twice a day, whatever you find to be most effective at alleviating your stress.

REVIEW OF THE THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL LITERATURE

Although researchers have attempted to empirically examine mind- fulness through some of the constructs associated with it including the cultivation of compassion, awareness, insight, wisdom, and empathy, this rigorous investigation of mindfulness is in many ways antithetical to the rich tradition from which it stems. Nevertheless, numerous scientific research studies have examined the beneficial effects (both psychological and physiological) of mindfulness in clinical and

 

nonclinical samples ranging from chronic-pain patients, individuals with Axis I disorders (e.g., binge eating disorder, panic, generalized anxiety, depression), Axis II disorders (e.g., borderline personality disorder), mixed clinical populations (Axis I and Axis II disorders com- bined), other medical disorders (e.g., cancer, fibromyalgia, psoriasis, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, HIV/AIDS), and nonclinical populations (e.g., elementary, undergraduate, graduate, and medical students; community volunteers; experienced mediators). Research has shown that mindfulness meditation promotes cognitive change, self-management, relaxation, and acceptance in participants.22,23

Physiologically, mindfulness mediation has shown to exhibit signifi- cant impacts on the autonomic nervous system by slowing heart rate (Cuthbert et al., as cited by Kristeller11) and decreasing blood pressure (Benson, as cited by Kristeller11). More recently, brain-imaging tech- nology such as electroencephalogram studies have shown the positive effects of which even short mindfulness meditation-training programs are capable, such as changing the brain and immune functioning of the participant.24 If stress decreases one’s immune functioning, and mind- fulness has been shown to increase one’s immune functioning, then it is only natural to suggest that it is even more imperative that we prac- tice mindfulness when we are experiencing moments of stress, acute or otherwise.

Several studies have found an increase in spirituality due to participa- tion in MBSR. Carson, Carson, Gil, and Baucom25 found that couples who participated in mindfulness-based relationship enhancement experienced statistically significant increases in spirituality as compared to those who did not received the treatment. When examining under- graduates who received MBSR, Astin26 also found increase in spiritual experiences. Carmody, Reed, Merriam, and Kristeller27 recently found that participation in MBSR intervention significantly increased spirituality, which was associated with medical and psychological improvements.

APPLICATIONS/INTERVENTIONS

There are several empirically validated interventions that are based on mindfulness and also include mindfulness as a component of the treatment program. The most well known is MBSR,7 which is typically designed as an eight-week course with groups of up to 35 participants who meet on a weekly basis for two and a half to three hours and a

 

six-hour weekend retreat after the sixth class. Participants are taught both formal and informal mindfulness techniques, ranging from sitting mediation, walking mediation, body scan, yoga, and informal daily prac- tices. In addition to class, participants practice for at least 45 minutes a day, six days per week from home and are given audiotapes to assist with their practice.

MBSR has been offered to undergraduate and graduate students alike at both public and private universities. At Santa Clara University, a graduate course in the counseling psychology program entitled “Stress and Stress Management” provides training in mindfulness meditation (through an eight-week MBSR course). Likewise, in Montana State University’s counseling psychology program a course called “Mind/ Body Medicine and the Art of Self-Care” provides students with stress management training through MBSR.28 Recently, MBSR has been applied in the professional workplace, as an increasing number of com- panies offer the course to employees because they recognize that stress poses negative consequences on an employee’s professional effective- ness in addition to his or her personal well-being. Davidson et al.24 examined the effects of MBSR on employees at a biotechnology com- pany compared to a wait-list group and found that antibody production measured four months after the MBSR program was significantly higher in the treatment group.

In addition, there are other therapies that draw largely on Kabat-

Zinn’s MBSR program with specific populations in mind, such as mindfulness-based cognitive therapy,8 a manualized eight-week group approach to the treatment of depression. Recently, we have seen numerous other therapies emerging in the mindfulness-based field: mindfulness-based eating awareness training,29 designed for individuals with binge eating disorder and most recently, obesity; mindfulness- based art therapy,30 which was developed for use in medical populations and also has been applied to women with breast cancer: mindfulness- based relapse prevention,31,32 which has been applied to alcohol and drug abuse as well used as a treatment for smoking cessation; and MBRE25 (mentioned earlier), designed to enhance the relationships of couples.

There are also cognitive-behavioral interventions that use mindful- ness as a component of the treatment program. Dialectical behavior therapy33,34 is a manualized, multifaceted group and individual thera- peutic approach originally developed for the treatment of borderline personality disorder and is now currently being used with a variety of clinical and nonclinical populations. One of the modules in DBT is

 

mindfulness, where patients are instructed on how to pay attention to the present moment in a nonjudgmental manner. Acceptance and commitment therapy35 is a treatment whose core principles include acceptance and being in contact with the  present  moment  while also taking into consideration one’s goals and values. It is typically delivered in an individual format but can also be delivered in a group format. Acceptance and commitment therapy has been shown to be successful when applied to individuals with a broad range of psycho- logical problems.

NEW RESEARCH DIRECTIONS

Many have attempted to define the term mindfulness for the purposes of Western psychology. Brown and Ryan9 define mindfulness as “the presence or absence of attention to and awareness of what is occurring in the present” (p. 824). Wallace and Bodhi have stated that mindfulness is simply “bare attention” (as cited by Shapiro and Carlson).23 Bishop and colleagues,36 presented mindfulness as having two components, the first involving the ability to self-regulate attention and maintain focus on present experience, and the second, the adaptation of an open, curious, and accepting orientation to one’s present-moment experien- ces. Shapiro and colleagues2,23 have proposed that mindfulness is both an outcome (mindful awareness) and a process (mindful practice) that involves three key elements: intention (e.g., why you are practicing), attention (e.g., observing moment-to-moment experiences both inter- nal and external), and attitude (e.g., how you attend—the qualities that are brought)—collectively referred to as IAA (Intention, Attention, Attitude).

Current research, as demonstrated previously, suggests that mind- fulness practice is an effective means of reducing stress and enhancing well-being across a wide range of populations. Future research, how- ever, is needed to determine the mechanisms of action for how mind- fulness works. In addition, examining how to best teach mindfulness to diverse populations is crucial, and determining any adverse effects of mindfulness on certain clinical and nonclinical populations would be beneficial to the field.

Another area for future research is to expand the measures used to assess the effects of mindfulness intervention. The majority of the out- come measures in mindfulness studies have been self-report, while some have expanded research to more objectively observable and quantifiable

 

measures such as electroencephalogram, functional magnetic resonance imaging, and cortisol levels—leading the research in mindfulness to strive toward more objective outcome measures. Though the neuroscientific study of mindfulness meditation has shown exciting preliminary results, it is still in its infancy. Current findings must be supplemented with longitudinal randomized clinical trials to examine the long-term effects mindfulness has on the participant.

CONCLUSION

Four decades of empirical research suggest that mindfulness practice has numerous positive effects such as enhancing physical health, increasing spiritual and psychological well-being, and lowering stress. The intention of this chapter was to introduce mindfulness both as a way of being and as a practice to help with the management of stress. Through the cultivation of mindfulness, we are better able to effectively respond with greater awareness instead of automatically reacting to stress. As our mindfulness builds and becomes more integrated into our moment-to-moment experience, we have greater degrees of free- dom of how we choose to respond, how we choose to live and be in the world. Building a new relationship with our experiences is necessary to finding peace, as Germer37 illustrates:

While striving may allow us to acquire physical comforts, living in the present enables us to live more fully. Everyone feels stress to one degree or another. The conditions of our lives never seem quite right, because our inner experience of them is unsatisfactory. We find ourselves either running headlong toward the future for relief or dwelling in the past, or both. A changed relationship to our experience is needed to find lasting peace. (p. 114)

We believe mindfulness offers one avenue to cultivate this “changed relationship to experience”—and that through this, we will be better able to manage stress and ultimately lead more joyful and fulfilling lives.

REFERENCES

1. Kabat-Zinn, J. (2003).  Mindfulness-based  interventions  in  context: Past, present, and future. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10(2), 144–156.

 

2. Shapiro, S. L., Carlson, L. E., Astin, J. A., & Freedman, B. (2006). Mechanisms of mindfulness. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62, 373–386.

3. Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994). Wherever you go there you are. New York: Hyperion.

4. Walsh, A. B., & Shapiro, S. L. (2006). The meeting of meditative disci- plines and Western psychology. American Psychologist, 61(3), 1–13.

5. Siegel, D. J. (2007). The mindful brain: Reflection and attunement in the cultivation of well-being. New York: Norton.

6. Begley, S. (2007). Train your mind change your brain: How a new science reveals our extraordinary potential to transform ourselves. New York: Ballantine Books.

7. Kabat-Zinn, J. (1990). Full catastrophe living: Using the wisdom of your body and mind to face stress, pain and illness. New York: Delacorte.

8. Segal, Z. V., Williams, J. M. G., & Teasdale, J. D. (2002). Mindfulness- based cognitive therapy for depression: A new approach for preventing relapse. New York: Guilford Press.

9. Brown, K. W., & Ryan, R. M. (2003). The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 822–848.

10. Oman, D., Shapiro, S. L., Thoresen, C. E., Plante, T. G., & Flinders,

T. (2008). Meditation lowers stress and supports forgiveness among college students: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of American College Health, 56, 569–578.

11. Kristeller, J. (2007). Mindfulness meditation. In P. Lehrer, W. Sime, &

R. Woolfolk (Eds.), Principles and practice of stress management (3rd ed., pp. 393–427). New York: Guilford Press.

12. Gladwell, M. (2008). Outliers. New York: Little, Brown.

13. Lutz, A., Greischar, L. L., Rawlings, N. B., Ricard, M., & Davidson,

R. J. (2004). Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma syn- chrony during mental practice. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 101, 16369–16373.

14. Kabat-Zinn, J. (2005). Coming to our senses: Healing ourselves and the world through mindfulness. New York: Piatkus.

15. Shapiro, S. L., & Schwartz, G. E. (2000a). Intentional systemic mind- fulness: An integrative model for self-regulation and health. Advances in Mind-Body Medicine, 16, 128–134.

16. Shapiro, S. L., & Schwartz, G. E. (2000b). The role of intention in self-regulation: Toward intentional systemic mindfulness. In M. Boekaerts,

P. R. Pintrich, & M. Zeidner (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation (pp. 253–273). New York: Academic Press.

17. Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

 

18. Oman, D., & Thoresen, C. E. (2003). Spiritual modeling: A key to spiritual and religious growth? International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 13(3), 149–165.

19. Bandura, A. (2003). On the psychosocial impact and mechanisms of spiritual modeling. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 13(3), 167–173.

20. Oman, D., Shapiro, S. L., Thoresen, C. E., Flinders, T., Driskill, J., & Plante, T. G. (2007). Learning from spiritual models and meditation: A ran- domized evaluation of a college course. Pastoral Psychology, 55(4), 473–493.

21. Oman, D., & Beddoe, A. E. (2005). Health interventions combining meditation with learning from spiritual exemplars: Conceptualization and review. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 29, S126.

22. Baer,  R.  A.  (2003).  Mindfulness  training  as  a  clinical  intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical Psychology: Science & Practice, 10, 125–143.

23. Shapiro, S. L., Carlson, L. E., Astin, J. A., & Freedman, B. (2006). Mechanisms of mindfulness. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62, 373–386.

24. Davidson, R. J., Kabat-Zinn, J., Schumacher, J., Rosenkranz, M., Muller, D., Santorelli, S. F., Urbanowski, F., Harrington, A., Bonus, K., & Sheridan, J. F. (2003). Alterations in brain and immune function produced by mindfulness meditation. Psychosomatic Medicine, 65, 564–570.

25. Carson, J. W., Carson, K. M., Gil, K. M., & Baucom, D. H. (2006). Mindfulness-based relationship  enhancement  in  couples.  In  R. A.  Baer (Ed.), Mindfulness-based treatment approaches: Clinician’s guide to evidence base and applications (pp. 309–331). London: Academic Press.

26. Astin, J. A. (1997). Stress reduction through mindfulness meditation.

Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 66, 97–106.

27. Carmody, J., Reed, G., Merriam, P., & Kristeller, J. (2008). Mindful- ness, spirituality and health-related symptoms, Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 64(4), 393–403.

28. Christopher, J. C., Christopher, S. E., Dunnagan, T., & Schure, M. (2006). Teaching self-care through mindfulness practices: The application of yoga, mediation, and quigong to counselor training. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 46, 494–509.

29. Kristeller, J. L., Baer, R. A., & Quillian-Wolever, R. (2006). Mindfulness-based approaches to eating disorders. In R. A. Baer (Ed.), Mindfulness-based treatment approaches: Clinician’s guide to evidence base and applications (pp. 75–91). London: Academic Press.

30. Monti, D. A., Peterson, C., Kunkel, E. J., Hauck, W. W., Pequignot, E., Rhodes, L., et al. (2005). A randomized, controlled trial of mindfulness- based art therapy (MBAT) for women with cancer. Psycho-Oncology, 15, 363–373.

 

31. Marlatt, G. A., & Gordon, J. R. (Eds.). (1985). Relapse prevention: Maintenance strategies in the treatment of addictive behaviors. New York: Guilford Press.

32. Marlatt, G. A., & Witkiewitz, K. (2005). Relapse prevention for alcohol and drug problems. In G. A. Marlatt & D. M. Donovan (Eds.), Relapse preven- tion (pp. 1–44). New York: Guilford Press.

33. Linehan, M. M. (1993a). Cognitive-behavioral treatment of borderline personality disorder. New York: Guilford Press.

34. Linehan, M. M. (1993b). Skills training manual for treating borderline personality disorder. New York: Guilford Press.

35. Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K., & Wilson, K. G. (1999). Acceptance and commitment therapy. New York: Guilford Press.

36. Bishop, S. R., Lau, M., Shapiro, S., Carlson, L. E., Anderson, N., Carmody, J., Segal, Z., Abbey S., Speca, M.,  Velting,  D.,  &  Devins,  G. (2004). Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 11, 230–241.

37. Germer, C. K. (2005). Teaching mindfulness in therapy. In C. K. Germer, R. D. Siegel, & P. R. Fulton (Eds.), Mindfulness and psychotherapy (pp. 113–129). New York: Guilford Press.

 

CHAPTER 4

Contemplative Practices in Action 0 Content

 0] Contents

Foreword by Huston Smith vii

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xi

Chapter 1 Introduction: Contemplative Practices in Action 1 Thomas G. Plante, Adi Raz, and Doug Oman

PART ONE: INTEGRATED CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE SYSTEMS 5

Chapter 2 Similarity in Diversity? Four Shared Functions of Integrative Contemplative Practice Systems 7  Doug Oman

Chapter 3 Managing Stress Mindfully 17 Hooria Jazaieri and Shauna L. Shapiro

Chapter 4 Translating Spiritual Ideals into Daily Life: The Eight-Point Program of Passage Meditation 35 Tim Flinders, Doug Oman, Carol Flinders, and Diane Dreher

Chapter 5 Centering Prayer: A Method of Christian Meditation for Our Time 60 Jane K. Ferguson

Chapter 6 Mantram Repetition: A “Portable Contemplative Practice” for Modern Times 78 Jill E. Bormann

PART TWO: CONTEMPLATIVE TRADITIONS 101

Chapter 7 “The Eternal Is with Me, I Shall Not Fear”: Jewish Contemplative Practices and Well-Being 103 Zari Weiss and David Levy

Chapter 8 A Comprehensive Contemplative Approach from the Islamic Tradition 122 Aisha Hamdan

Chapter 9 The Path of Yoga 143 T. Anne Richards

Chapter 10 Zen and the Transformation of Emotional and Physical Stress into Well-Being 159 Sarita Tamayo-Moraga and Darlene Cohen Roshi

PART THREE: CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICES IN ACTION: APPLICATION 181

Chapter 11 The Impact of Meditation Practices in the Daily Life of Silicon Valley Leaders 183 Andre L. Delbecq

Chapter 12 “Shaking the Blues Away”: Energizing Spiritual Practices for the Treatment of Chronic Pain 205 Amy B. Wachholtz and Michelle J. Pearce

Chapter 13 A Pilgrimage from Suffering to Solidarity: Walking the Path of Contemplative Practices 225 Gerdenio Manuel, SJ, and Martha E. Stortz

Chapter 14 Contemplative Practices in Action: Now What? 243 Thomas G. Plante and Adi Raz

Index 247

About the Editor and Contributors 257

 

Foreword

If I ask myself why it is I who has been asked to write the Foreword to this important book, I suspect that it is because it is in line with my own book, The World’s Religions, which is, like this one, ecumenically inclusive. In its 14 chapters, Contemplative Practices in Action introduces a broad array of contemplative practices drawn from Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. No faith or religion is accorded privileged status above others.

However, towering above the virtue (which I consider it to be) of ecumenism, is this book’s persuasive conviction that the world’s reli- gions house inexhaustible resources for transforming and augmenting the human spirit, a conviction with which I concur.

There is another and somewhat more personal connection, however, which has to do with the fact that the Eight-Point Program of Passage Meditation developed by the late Eknath Easwaran figures importantly in several chapters of Contemplative Practices in Action. Easwaran was a professor of English from Kerala, in South India, who came to this country on a Fulbright fellowship in 1959  and became  a widely read and deeply respected teacher of meditation who lived out his days in an ashram in Northern  California.  I  had  the  privilege  of  meeting him more than once and held him in high regard.

On several occasions, friends drove me to Easwaran’s ashram to participate in the evening gatherings of the community that sprang up around him. After supper, residents would join their teacher to lis- ten to his short homilies, ask questions about their spiritual practice, or simply sit quietly in the community’s soothing, collective peace. Those evenings made me think of Mahatma Gandhi’s ashram, where, after their simple suppers, villagers would gather around their leader for brief prayer meetings. Gandhi always made sure those services included prayers and scriptural readings from all the great religious traditions, and so did Easwaran.

That is half of the story, and the book in hand tells the other half. Contemplative evenings with a great spiritual teacher are not ends in themselves. It would not be amiss to think of them as times when com- municants recharge their batteries for the next day’s work. The title of this book, Contemplative Practices in Action, splices the two halves together. Like Gandhi, like the Buddha, like all great spiritual teach- ers, Easwaran had no use for beliefs unless they generated actions. Doing, not saying, is what counts.

Welcome to this book, which ought not to leave any serious reader unchanged.

Huston Smith Berkeley, California

January 2010

 ===

Goodreads Reviews:

Apr 08, 2012Jill rated it really liked it

Picked this up in the recommended book section of the library. An excellent exploratory book for anyone as new to comparative religion as I am. And this book is helpful because it gives you action points, ways of practicing mindfulness, for example, instead of just barking religious dogma at you. I imagine this would be a useful book to have around if you're looking to change your life in a positive way. Suggestion: I found it best to skip around to chapters that grabbed my attention rather than reading it beginning to end.

"According to Buddhist psychology, suffering comes from our wanting things to be different from what they really are, whether that is wishing for another job, for more money, for a different appearance, or even to be happier...Though we are presenting mindfulness meditation here as a means of stress management, it is important to note that in Buddhism, the intention of mindfulness training is not for "stress management" but to achieve complete liberation from suffering and compassion for all beings."

On Observing the Breath: "Some find it helpful to set an intention before beginning this sitting exercise by silently speaking something that resonates for them in the moment. "May I be nonjudgmental," or "May I be gentle with myself" are examples of such intentions."

Mindful Eating: "First, simply observe how you eat, without changing anything about it. Do you eat with someone? Do you eat standing up or sitting down? Perhaps while doing something else? where do you eat--on a couch, in bed, at a table, in front of the computer? How much do you eat? How long does it take you to eat? How do you feel before and after you eat? How do you determine what to eat?"

Mindful Eating: "As a mindful eating exercise, try sitting down to a meal and pausing before you begin eating. Set an intention for this meal, for example, "May this food nourish me"; "My I be present for this meal"; "May I appreciate all that was involved in providing this meal". And it goes on to explain how to observe your eating, how you feel during and after, paying close attention to your body.

"Recent surveys show that as many as one-third of Americans place themselves in the category of "spiritual, but not religious," rejecting traditional organized religion as the sole means of furthering their spiritual growth."

Source: Rumi

Passage:

"Everything you see has its roots.

In the unseen world.

The forms may change,

Yet the essence remains the same.

Every wondrous sight will vanish,

Every sweet word will fade.

But do not be disheartened,

The source they come from is eternal."

(less)

flag1 like · Like  · comment · see review

Gloria

Apr 22, 2011Gloria rated it really liked it

Shelves: for-the-spirit

I can see this book being used as a textbook for a class on spiritual practices. It is rather dry like a textbook, but is also quite thorough in presenting viewpoints and practices among all the major faiths. Not particularly inspiring, but certainly educational. Lots of resources included.

flag1 like · Like  · comment · see review

Mila Gamaiunova

Aug 11, 2018Mila Gamaiunova rated it it was amazing

The book makes an introduction of different types of contemplative practices rooted in various traditions.

Contemplative Practices in Action 2] Similarity in Diversity? Four Shared Functions of Integrative Contemplative Practice Systems

 2] Similarity in Diversity? Four Shared Functions of Integrative Contemplative Practice Systems

Doug Oman

The reader of this volume, impressed by the rich descriptions of many diverse systems of spiritual practice, may start to wonder, “What are the shared themes? What patterns emerge amidst this inspiring profu- sion of perspectives?” In this chapter, I sketch one possible answer— one way of characterizing shared themes and functions that appear in many different systems of practice. Along the way, I propose using the term integrated contemplative practice to describe systems of practice that meet a certain functional threshold.

Four common elements or themes can be found, I suggest, in most of the practice systems described in the next eight chapters. These commonalities exist even though some chapters describe com- prehensive and clearly defined systems, whereas others present instruc- tively selected highlights from venerable traditions. More specifically, the next four chapters in Part One examine well-defined systems of interrelated practices that are challenging, but can be undertaken by individuals in their entirety. Three systems partly or wholly tran- scend individual faith traditions (e.g., Mindfulness, Passage Medita- tion, Mantram), whereas the fourth (Christian-derived Centering Prayer) arose within a particular faith tradition. In contrast, all four chapters in Part Two explore venerable schools (yoga, Zen) or major traditions ( Judaism, Islam)1 that constitute storehouses of wisdom

 

8 Contemplative Practices in Action: Spirituality, Meditation, and Health

accumulated over many centuries. Each of these schools or tradi- tions, viewed in its entirety, has accumulated a richer repertoire of techniques than any one individual can fully implement.

One shared function of many spiritual practice systems was described in the 1980s by Daniel Goleman. He surveyed more than a dozen methods of meditation, both East and West, and reported that “the need for the meditator to retrain [his or her] attention ... is the single invariant  ingredient  in  the  recipe  ... of  every  meditation  system” (p. 107).2 Indeed, it seems quite likely that almost all of the practices dis- cussed in this book, when undertaken regularly over time, will affect— and may sometimes transform—how people habitually deploy their attention. But can we identify any specific and concrete forms of resem- blance between traditions?

Several concrete resemblances can indeed be identified. Recently, my colleagues and I at the Spirituality and Health Institute (SHI) observed several elements in common between two paradigmatic sys- tems of practice.3,4 More specifically, we found four distinct functions that were each accomplished, in slightly different ways, by these two integrated contemplative practice systems: Passage Meditation (PM) (Flinders et al., this volume) and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) (Jazaieri and Shapiro, this volume).

Both PM and MBSR, we noted, require setting aside time—substantial

time—approximately half an hour daily—for undertaking a powerful attention-training activity. For this purpose, PM and MBSR each use a form of sitting meditation. Similarly, PM and MBSR each recommend specific mental centering/stabilizing practices to be used throughout the day to stabilize and balance the mind in conditions of stress or boredom (PM uses mantram repetition, and MBSR uses informal mindfulness practices). These analogous elements do not perform functions that are fully identical matches—rather, to borrow a phrase from positive psychology, these analogous elements, and the precise functions they perform, may be said to share a “coherent resemblance” (p. 35).5

Table 2.1 shows that with few exceptions, variants of these four elements are prevalent not only in PM and MBSR, but in each set of contemplative practices covered in the next eight chapters. These four shared elements, or features, are as follows:

1. Set-aside time—time that is set aside regularly, usually daily, for a disciplined activity or exercise that has a comparatively

 

Similarity in Diversity? 9

powerful effect on training attention.2 Variants of sitting medi- tation are commonly used. Some systems in this book also use prescribed postures (e.g., yoga, Islam). Such attention training can support optimal performance in all spheres of life, since “attention is the first and often most effective line of defense in nearly every sphere of self-control” (p. 1172).6 Most attention training fosters concentration, and “powerful concentration amplifies the effectiveness of any kind of activity” (p. 168).2 The attention-training functions of meditation are supported by recent neuroimaging evidence.7

2. Virtues and character strengths—qualities of character and behavior, such as compassion, forgiveness, or fearlessness. In many sys- tems, such qualities are to be cultivated throughout the day by making appropriate choices in thoughts, words, and actions. Typically, the recommended qualities involve subsets of six cross-culturally prevalent classes of virtues recently identified by positive psychologists—wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence.5

3. Practices for centering/stabilizing that are usable throughout the day— such as during occasions of stress, anxiety, or unstructured time. Examples include returning the mind to the breath (MBSR), or returning the mind to repeating a mantram or holy name.8,9 Here, the contemporary word “center” (small c) is used to designate recovery of a sense of inner strength and balance. (This contrasts with the term “Centering Prayer,” which designates a specific sys- tem of Christian-derived practices,10 described elsewhere in this volume by Ferguson.)

4. Spiritual models—attending to individuals whose behavior reflects desired spiritual qualities—provide a unique resource for spiri- tual growth. Spiritual and religious educators have long viewed spirituality as primarily “caught, not taught” (p. 149),11 since so much of human learning is social. Spiritual and religious tradi- tions, and many of the practice systems described in this book, transmit words of revered or instructive spiritual models, such as Jesus, the Buddha, Muhammad, or various sages and saints.12 Attending to spiritual models’ words and actions can motivate sustained practice, and guide or inspire implementation of other spiritual practices (e.g., #1–#3).

 

Table 2.1. Presence and Naming of Features by Contemplative Practice Type

1 2 3 4

 

Practice System

 

Set-Aside (/Dedicated) Attention Training

 

Virtuous/Mindful Attitudes

 

Centering Practice Usable Throughout Day

 

Spiritual Models/ Exemplarsa

 

 

Integrated Contemplative Practice Systems (Part One)

 

Mindfulness (/Vipassana)b

 

Sitting meditation (on breath)

 

Mindfulness attitudes Informal practices Poetry

 

 

Passage Meditationb Sitting meditation

(on a passage)

 

Put others first;

+ additional

 

Mantram repetition Passages; reading

 

 

Centering Prayer Sitting meditation

(with sacred word)

 

Implicit;c silence, solitude, service

 

Prayers: active; welcoming

 

Implicitc

 

Mantramd Focus; slow Mantram repetition

Contemplative Traditions (Part Two)

 

Judaism Sabbath;e prayer; meditation

 

Implicit;c peace, calm, equanimity

 

Repeat verse (liturgy/ scripture)

 

Implicit;c teachers/ Rebbesf

 

 

Islam Five daily prayers Many (justice, gentleness, etc.)

 

Dhikr (remembrance); supplication

 

The Prophet/aha¯dı¯th

˙

 

 

Yoga Asanas +meditation Yamas (truth, nonviolence, etc.)

 

Lineage of teacher

 

 

Zen Sitting meditation (Zazen) Brahma Viharas (compassion, etc.)

Others Combinations or Systems—Yours, Your Client’s, or Your Student’s

1. 

 

Mindfulness; letting go

 

Teaching stories; teacher

 

2. 

3. 

Note: For a fuller explanation of each practice system, see corresponding chapter in this volume; lists of practices contained in each cell may be incomplete. aThe final column describes learning from traditional or prominent models, but most systems also encourage spiritual fellowship to foster learning from positive models in the local community.

bMindfulness and Passage Meditation are the two paradigms used to develop the four categories.

c“Implicit” practice categories are typically enacted when an individual engages in traditional observance, especially communal worship. For example, Jewish and Christian services in synagogues and churches often include scripture readings about virtuous conduct and spiritual models such as Moses or Jesus. dMantram/holy name repetition as presented by Bormann lacks the full set of four elements that comprise an integral contemplative practice system, but it is extracted from such a system (Passage Meditation).

eThe Sabbath cycle is weekly (not daily).

fSee Silberman25 on Rebbes as spiritual models.

 

Figure 2.1 shows how these four elements of practice can work together in concert to foster spiritual growth and related outcomes. In every system, these elements are intended for integration into one’s daily and weekly routines of life,13 through which they may gradually transform “character, conduct and consciousness” (p. 37).14 As tools for retraining attention, they reinforce each other. They address multiple needs and opportunities that arise in the ordinary rhythms and textures of daily living. Like a well-designed course of instruction or a healthy physical exercise routine, they provide for periods of heightened intensity and immersion (#1, set-aside time), application of skills in diverse contexts (#2 character strengths and #3 centering/ stabilizing), and overall guidance and inspiration (#4 spiritual models). The model in Figure 2.1 suggests that these four elements function synergistically, by reinforcing each other. Like the nutritional contri- butions of complementary food groups,15 these four types of practice together may generate greater benefits than obtainable separately from individual practices. Of course, the model in Figure 2.1 is far from complete in representing all of the psychological and spiritual processes that operate in real time. Other factors include an

Figure 2.1. Elements Function Dynamically in Concert.

 

individual’s need for a valid and coherent worldview,16 and the influ- ence of spiritual fellowship.11,17 For this reason, forms of “spiritual shopping” (p. 126)18 that are blind, that incoherently mix and match incompatible elements from discordant practice traditions, will rarely be optimal. Spiritual benefits, one might hypothesize, are maximized when the elements interface and cohere harmoniously with each other, like pieces of a well-constructed musical instrument, or threads in a well-crafted tapestry. How to best evaluate the coherence of a set of prac- tices is, of course, a perennially controversial and important issue— and one that cannot be resolved here.

Practical applications flow from recognizing the synergistic interre- lation of elements in these four categories. For example, an individual could use the four categories as a checklist to review the complete- ness of his or her own practice, from the standpoint of the model in Figure 2.1. More broadly, the four elements might function as a checklist for a psychotherapist to help a client in reviewing his or her practice, or for an educator to lead students in reviewing or aug- menting their own practices. To distinguish it from something less complete, my SHI colleagues and I propose that a system of practices that encompasses elements from all four categories should be desig- nated an integral contemplative practice system.

In the practice systems examined in this book, centering activities (#3) are perhaps most commonly missing, or underemphasized in real-world implementations. A useful resource to redress this neglect is offered by Bormann’s chapter (this volume). She highlights mantram/holy name repetition, a cross-culturally common practice that produces centering. When sought, variations of mantram repetition can be found in many faith traditions and practice systems, including several described in this volume.

For individuals who are interested or engaged in some form of spiri- tual practice—about 80 percent of U.S. adults, according to a recent national survey (p. 79)19—the following questions may prove practically beneficial:

1. Do I currently draw spiritual support, strength, and reinforcement through engaging in practices in each of the four categories listed earlier? That is, do I enjoy the spiritual support of an integral contemplative practice?

2. If not, can I expand my practice in ways that are personally appropriate and consistent with my tradition and beliefs?

 

3. How can I extend my practice in a way that is most harmonious and complementary to my existing practices?

Such questions may also be relevant to the growing roster of for-profit and nonprofit organizations seeking to systematically integrate spir- ituality into the workplace20,21 (see also Delbecq, this volume, whose executive seminars have addressed all four elements).

Even beyond its relevance to spiritual practice, of course, many ben- efits can flow from identifying commonalities across faith traditions. Recognizing similarities may facilitate intercultural understanding, foster improved communication between human service professionals and diverse clients, and contribute to better education and health care. This chapter has described similarities in daily spiritual practices. Similarities also exist at other levels, ranging from the institutional22 to the philosophical.23 Comparatively few earlier writers, such as Walsh24 and Easwaran,14 have examined similarities in practices. Yet daily practice is at the core of applying spirituality to address real- world problems. Our analyses suggest that diverse faith traditions have recommended similarly integrated systems of contemplative practice. I encourage readers to consider how these four categories may apply to their own practices, and that of their clients, students, fellow congregants, and organizations, as well as to the practice sys- tems described in the next eight chapters in this book.

REFERENCES

1. Hamdan (this volume) describes practices from Islamic Sunni tradi- tion; also within Islam is Shia tradition, as well as Islam’s mystical side, Sufism, a phenomenon “so broad [and with] appearance so protean that nobody can venture to describe it fully” (p. 3), according to Schimmel, A. (1975). Mystical dimensions of Islam. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.

2. Goleman, D. (1988). The meditative mind: The varieties of meditative experience. New York: Tarcher.

3. Oman, D., Shapiro, S. L., Thoresen, C. E., Plante, T. G., & Flinders, T. (2008). Meditation lowers stress and supports forgiveness among college students: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of American College Health, 56, 569–578.

4. Oman, D., Shapiro, S. L., Thoresen, C. E., Flinders, T., Driskill, J. D., & Plante, T. G. (2007). Learning from spiritual models and meditation: A ran- domized evaluation of a college course. Pastoral Psychology, 55, 473–493.

 

5. Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. Washington, DC, and New York: American Psychological Association and Oxford University Press. “To say that particular virtues ... converge ... is not to argue that all their features line up perfectly, but rather that they have a coherent resemblance to one another, sharing more features than not” (p. 35).

6. Baumeister, R. F., & Exline, J. J. (1999). Virtue, personality, and social relations: Self-control as the moral muscle. Journal of Personality, 67, 1165–1194.

7. Lutz, A., Slagter, H. A., Rawlings, N. B., Francis, A. D., Greischar, L. L., & Davidson, R. J. (2009). Mental training enhances attentional stability: Neural and behavioral evidence. Journal of Neuroscience, 29, 13418–13427.

8. Oman, D., & Driskill, J. D. (2003). Holy name repetition as a spiritual exercise and therapeutic technique. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 22, 5–19.

9. Baesler, E. J. (2001). The prayer of the holy name in Eastern and Western spiritual traditions: A theoretical, cross-cultural, and intercultural prayer dialogue. Journal of Ecumenical Studies, 38, 196–216.

10. The term “Centering Prayer” was adopted in the 1970s by three Trappist monks to describe a system of practices they had codified; and one of its earliest published uses was in Pennington, M. B. (1980). Centering prayer. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.

11. Oman, D., & Thoresen, C. E. (2003). Spiritual modeling: A key to spiritual and religious growth? International Journal for the Psychology of Reli- gion, 13, 149–165.

12. Oman, D., & Thoresen, C. E. (2007). How does one learn to be spiri- tual? The neglected role of spiritual modeling in health. In T. G. Plante &

C. E. Thoresen (Eds.), Spirit, science and health: How the spiritual mind fuels physical wellness (pp. 39–54). Westport, CT: Praeger.

13. Fiese, B. H., Tomcho, T. J., Douglas, M., Josephs, K., Poltrock, S., & Baker, T. (2002). A review of 50 years of research on naturally occurring fam- ily routines and rituals: Cause for celebration? Journal of Family Psychology, 16, 381–390.

14. Easwaran, E. (1978/2008). Passage meditation: Bringing the deep wisdom of the heart into daily life. Tomales, CA: Nilgiri Press (full text: http://www

.easwaran.org).

15. Robertson, L., Flinders, C., & Ruppenthal, B. (1986). The new laurel’s kitchen: A handbook for vegetarian cookery & nutrition. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press.

16. Antonovsky, A. (1987). Unraveling the mystery of health: How people manage stress and stay well. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

17. Oman, D., Thoresen, C. E., Park, C. L., Shaver, P. R., Hood, R. W., & Plante, T. G. (2009). How does one become spiritual? The Spiritual Modeling Inventory of Life Environments (SMILE). Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 12, 427–456.

 

18. Wuthnow, R. (2005). America and the challenges of religious diversity. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

19. Gallup, G., & Lindsay, D. M. (1999). Surveying the religious landscape: Trends in U.S. beliefs. Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse.

20. Giacalone, R. A., & Jurkiewicz, C. L. (2003). Handbook of workplace spirituality and organizational performance. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.

21. Duerr, M. (2004). The contemplative organization. Journal of Organi- zational Change Management, 17, 43–61.

22. Smart, N. (1996). Dimensions of the sacred: An anatomy of the world’s beliefs. Berkeley: University of California Press.

23. Smith, H. (1976/1992). Forgotten truth: The common vision of the world’s religions. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco.

24. Walsh, R. N. (1999). Essential spirituality: The 7 central practices to awaken heart and mind. New York: Wiley.

25. Silberman, I. (2003). Spiritual role modeling: The teaching of meaning systems. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 13, 175–195.

 

CHAPTER 3