Let us therefore embark on the journey of developing one of the basic preconditions of mental health, which is the ability to reside in the present moment: mindfulness.
MUNI Mindful Minds
Introduction to the Program
In his famous "Book of Happiness," Matthieu Ricard writes that we don't hesitate to study for twenty years, subsequently develop professionally for many years, engage in sports for health, dedicate a significant portion of our time to increasing our own comfort, wealth, and social status. We exert considerable effort to achieve all these goals.
However, how much time do we actually devote to cultivating our inner world? Yet, it is precisely how we think about the world and ourselves in it that determines the quality of our lives. How much time do we spend understanding the profound nature of joy and sorrow, desire and hatred, and the suffering that inevitably befalls us in life?
If we consider how much time in our lives we dedicate to developing healthy habits of our minds, which underlie life satisfaction, we may be surprised to discover that we actually don't do anything like that systematically. We may also be surprised to realize that no one actually taught us such things in life and that we may not even know what healthy habits of the mind and the main pillars of well-being and life satisfaction are.
Introduction to mindfulness
Let's take a look at what the concept of mindfulness actually entails.
Mindfulness is a state of mind in which we rest our attention in the present moment. Literally translated, it can be understood as awareness of the present moment or recollection of the present moment. It involves gathering the mind from contemplating the past and the future, bringing it back to some level of focus or concentration. It is often described as an antidote to "forgetfulness", which is the habitual tendency of our minds to get lost in worries, memories, and expectations that divert attention from what is happening right now in the present moment.
Therefore, mindfulness is also a process in which we can observe, moment by moment, how our life unfolds. Similar to how a film is composed of interconnected frames, our experience unfolds moment by moment.
Finally, mindfulness is a skill that can be learned, much like playing the piano or tennis. Mindfulness training typically begins by focusing attention on a specific point or area in our body, such as our breath. We can compare mindfulness to the beam of a flashlight or the beam of a torch. Just as you can direct the beam of light onto different things, expand its scope, and move it in various directions, we can also manage our attention. We can choose where and to what we pay attention.
Attention and awareness are essential components of mindfulness. However, this attention is infused with certain qualities such as openness, non-judgment, curiosity, exploration, courage, kindness, patience, and friendliness. Mindfulness can be likened to a diamond with many facets through which mindfulness can be cultivated.
Intention
One of the most challenging things in adult life is to start doing something differently and especially when the results of the change do not happen immediately, leaving us without instant feedback on whether our efforts are worthwhile. Recall, for example, how many times in life you've decided to lose weight, learn a foreign language, or improve your physical fitness. The MUNI Mindful Minds program will require your time and effort. Harnessing the full potential of the program will mean that you will need to spend some time searching in your life, sacrificing something, or utilizing your time more effectively. This usually comes more easily when we have a clear and well-named intention.
Take, for instance, another look at the introductory video to the program, read the textual material in the interactive outline, and try to pause during today to reflect on your intention. What purpose should the program serve in your life? In what ways could it help you, move you forward, and support you? Envision how you want to feel in your life and what you want to achieve.
Research in the field of behavior change repeatedly shows that visualizing a positive state in the future is very powerful. However, most of us do not fully utilize the potential of visualization. Moreover, most of us tend to imagine something going wrong, something not working out, how we won't manage something, and how something will not be effective.
If you're not already doing so, try to do it differently today as part of the program:
- You can, for example, imagine yourself as someone who is happy to be enrolled in a university course that can teach you to harness the powerful potential of mindfulness practice. In your imagination, see yourself as someone who finds time for regular practice, sets an example for others, takes care of your health, and brings more calmness and patience into your life and the lives of others through the development of mindfulness practice. Someone who sits calmly in their chair and doesn't let themselves be carried away by the endless thoughts constantly arising in their head.
It's up to you who you see. However, what is certain and verified by research is that when we see the goal and intention as an image in our minds and define it positively, our effort instantly turns into joy, challenge, and the likelihood of moving closer to our vision increases.
To gradually develop mindfulness in life, just following the instructions in the program is not enough. While regularity, determination, and will are essential, they are only one necessary part. The second part is our attitude towards the entire program and also our intention and determination regarding what we want to achieve and how we want to live in our lives.
You may have already noticed that for a change in life, it's not enough to just download an app to your phone, buy a gym pass, new running shoes, or another English textbook. What brings you to exercise or launch the app is not having it but something much deeper – the desire for change. The desire to live in harmony with our values, beliefs, and visions. We want to be healthy, physically fit, have harmonious relationships with loved ones, sleep well, and live a meaningful and fulfilling life.
Here, we encounter a great paradox of mindfulness development, which, however, can be applied to the development of anything in life. The paradox lies in the fact that we exert effort in the practice itself. We practice mindfulness, run, learn vocabulary, monitor our weight, and so on. But we don't strive to get somewhere. Every day, for example, we run, do our best, have good running shoes, fine-tune our strategy, seek information about running. However, when we run, we simply enjoy the present moment. How our feet touch the surface of the road with each step. How we breathe. How we tense our muscles. How the flowers along the path smell. We don't strive to get anywhere. We simply run as well as we can. It's evident that if we do it regularly, our physical fitness will improve. The number of kilometers we run will increase, and we will be less out of breath. We accept all these results somewhat unconsciously. We don't cling to them. We don't insist on them. Yes, they bring us joy, motivate us, but our attitude towards them is somewhat gently reserved. We know that such feelings will not always be there. Sometimes we'll be tired, sometimes our body won't perform as planned. Sometimes it will be hot. Sometimes we just won't feel like it. When our exercise becomes dependent on the result, and we constantly check if we are where we wanted to be, there is a great risk that it will become a source of dissatisfaction rather than joy in fulfilling our journey to health and physical fitness.
You may also notice that when you run, you sleep better, feel less tired, breathe better, hold your body differently. Again, when such feelings arise, welcome them with gently reserved joy. You can be grateful that they are there. You can take joy in them. You can feel proud of how well you are doing, and at the same time, you wisely know that such feelings are not constant. You can't own and plan them. You can't plan when you will feel them. It's just a transient gift, and you don't cling to them. You don't try to catch and own them. The same goes for mindfulness training. Simply day by day, you develop a practice that you learn step by step in the program, without clinging to the result and goals.
Perhaps you think it doesn't make sense. When we invest our time and energy, we expect results. The answer is yes and no:
- Yes, research clearly and repeatedly shows that regular mindfulness practice leads to a reduction in our stress, depression, anxiety, chronic pain, insomnia, and, conversely, to an increase in our life satisfaction and a sense of meaningfulness and freedom in life. It develops our gratitude, wisdom, and deepens our relationships with people. These are the reasons why practicing mindfulness makes sense.
- The "no" part of the answer is where we have to give up striving for results. So, daily practice mindfulness, and perhaps the initial motivation was your insomnia due to thoughts and concerns that often overwhelm you before bedtime. However, practicing mindfulness with the thought that you want to fall asleep and distressing over the fact that it didn't work again today will only lead to stress about the practice itself, and you will lose trust in it.
What you need to know before you start
From our experience, we know that participants in mindfulness practice, like in any other form of psychotherapy, may experience unpleasant feelings. We live in a world where we are overwhelmed with stimuli, work obligations, family responsibilities, inundated with social media, mobile phones, and emails. In the hustle of everyday life, we have little time to stop and become aware of what we are experiencing, what we need, and where we are heading. It's no wonder that when we start systematically pausing in life and focusing our attention on our inner selves through practicing mindfulness, all pleasant and unpleasant things and experiences that are overlaid by our hectic life may emerge.
The method of mindfulness, or focusing on the present moment, as encountered in Western psychotherapy, is generally considered to be safe and can be developed by almost anyone. However, it may happen that we are not prepared for its development, and without the guidance of a professional, such as psychologists or doctors, it may not be suitable for us. If you are struggling and it significantly affects your life, consulting with a doctor or psychologist should always be the first choice. Please note that the MUNI Mindful Minds program is not a therapeutic method and in no way replaces the professional care of healthcare providers.
By stopping and calming our minds through mindfulness training, we may come across painful experiences from our past or present life, which can be unsettling and hinder us in the mindfulness practice itself. If you feel that focusing on the present moment is not benefiting you and is causing you more concern than joy, consider discontinuing the training or seek advice from a mental health professional, such as a psychologist.
If you have a difficult life or have experienced unpleasant things in your past, it is sometimes desirable to start with individual psychotherapy under the guidance of a clinical psychologist or psychotherapist and incorporate mindfulness training in some later phase. Conversely, mindfulness training can sometimes lead us to psychotherapy through awareness of our needs and feelings that we may not understand or feel comfortable with. Psychotherapy reveals the individual laws of our suffering, while meditation uncovers the universal, human ones. Understanding how our individual story influences the present is something that is usually explored in psychotherapy, whereas understanding how the universal laws of our mind's functioning affect our suffering is something that we can explore by ourselves through mindfulness practice. Both methods complement each other, and it is up to us, or the advice of a professional, to find the most suitable path to health in our lives.
During mindfulness practice, especially during meditation exercises, unexpected unpleasant feelings, thoughts, and emotions may arise. We will gradually learn to work with them. However, please bear in mind that if you feel overwhelmed by such an experience, it is wiser to stop the practice at that moment. You may also feel that you are becoming more sensitive and open to what is happening around you. Just as mindfulness allows us to fully experience the good in our lives, we also become more aware of what we don't like or disagree with. Remember that even recognizing and naming an experience such as anger, pain, sadness, or loneliness is also a mindfulness exercise. In other words, mindfulness practice expands the spectrum of our perception, the awareness of what it means to be human. Taking care of yourself as if you were caring for your best friend is essential. If you feel overwhelmed during the course, feel welcome to take a break and start again when you feel ready for it.
9 Attitudes of Mindfulness for everyday life
Get acquainted with each attitude gradually throughout the first week and revisit them as needed. Understanding these attitudes represents an important first step on your journey through the program.
The attitude with which we approach the entire program and the development of mindfulness in life is crucial. Mindfulness practice enables you to cultivate specific attitudes towards your experiences and life, and utilizing these attitudes, in turn, supports and deepens the mindfulness practice itself. The training of mindfulness and its application in life can thus create a cycle where one aspect reinforces the other and vice versa. Gradually, not only your experience but also your outward behavior may transform. Please acquaint yourself with the fundamental attitudes that mindfulness practice fosters in the following recordings. Revisit each recording throughout the program and observe how we progressively apply them in our lives, discovering their potential.
Optional lecture: Well-being is a skill (33:37)
About happiness and neuroplasticity, by prof. Richard Davidson: https://youtu.be/EPGJU7W0N0I
Please do not distribute or reproduce this work without the permission of the authors.
This program was created with the kind permission of Professor Mark Williams and the Oxford Mindfulness Center, who allowed us to use their materials as sources. It is a unique integration of the original program by the mentioned authors and our clinical and theoretical knowledge and skills.
Bernard, P., Cullen, C., & Kuyken, W. (2020). Mindfulness for Life: A Handbook for the Course. Oxford: Oxford Mindfulness Center.
Williams, J.M.G., & Penman, D. (2011). Mindfulness: Finding Peace in a Frantic World. London: Piatkus.
Světlák, M., Linhartová, P., Knejzlíková, T., Knejzlík, J., Kóša, B., Horníčková, V., ... Šumec, R. (2021). Being mindful at university: A pilot evaluation of the feasibility of an online mindfulness-based mental health support program for students. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.581086.