@Matt12 wrote:
While there is a lot of fanfare about the benefits of mindfulness, burrowing into the sudies reveals a mixed bag, positive findings with some conceptual and methodological flaws, scientifically sound ones with unexcitings outcomes, but it begs the question is "just being" always the answer ?
@Matt12 I would be super surpised if anyone thought that "just being" is always the answer. Just being doesn't get my shopping done or pay my mortgage. Just being didn't get my degree completed, nor did it buy my house or sue the church where I was abused. However, "just being" does help me to stay alive when all else fails...and that in turn has enabled me to achieve all that I have thus far. I spend a lot of time just being (e.g. lying on the floor or in my bed focused on my breathing, or sitting in the garden focusing on the sounds of the birds). I need to do that in order to be able to do all the other things I need to do in life. That's just the way my brain is wired. Also, when I am doing other stuff, if I am struggling with big feelings, I have to work super hard at focusing on the task rather than getting distracted by my feelings. So...for example, I may have a conversation to myself that goes something like this: "I feel super sad. Yes I know you feel sad and that's ok. You can feel sad and still do X." Then I bring my attention back to the task. I may have to do that many times while getting the task done - and I tend to be more successful with manual tasks rather than thinking tasks because my big feelings tend to shut down the thinking part of my brain once they get really big.
I'm wondering if perhaps you are equating mindfulness with meditation? Meditation is only one form of mindfulness. We can do ANYTHING mindfully. Being mindful basically means being fully focused on the present. That may mean focusing on breathing or focusing on the sounds around you...but it could also mean focusing on all the sensations associated with washing the dishes or mowing the lawn.
