History of Mindfulness and Psychology

Abstract

Mindfulness practice and protocols—often referred to as mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs)—have become increasingly popular in every sector of society, including healthcare, education, business, and government. Due to this exponential growth, thoughtful reflection is needed to understand the implications of, and interactions between, the historical context of mindfulness (insights and traditions that have been cultivated over the past 25 centuries) and its recent history (the adaptation and applications within healthcare, therapeutic and modern culture, primarily since the 1980s). Research has shown that MBIs have significant health benefits including decreased stress, insomnia, anxiety, and panic, along with enhancing personal well-being, perceptual sensitivity, processing speed, empathy, concentration, reaction time, motor skills, and cognitive performance including short- and long-term memory recall and academic performance. As with any adaptation, skillful decisions have to be made about what is included and excluded. Concerns and critiques have been raised by clinicians, researchers, and Buddhist scholars about the potential impact that the decontextualization of mindfulness from its original roots may have on the efficacy, content, focus, and delivery of MBIs. By honoring and reflecting on the insights, intentions, and work from both historical and contemporary perspectives of mindfulness, the field can support the continued development of effective, applicable, and accessible interventions and programs.

Trends and Developments in Mindfulness Research over 55 Years: A Bibliometric Analysis of Publications Indexed in Web of Science

“…Mindfulness, which originates from Buddhist contemplative practices dating back more than 25 centuries, has recently enjoyed a surge of popularity in the Western hemisphere, pervading a variety of disciplines (Shapiro & Weisbaum, 2020 ). Adaptation of Buddhist mindfulness techniques into a secular therapeutic intervention in the 1980s in the United States, namely the mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) programme, probably sparked the interest of researchers from myriad disciplines to scientifically and systematically study these meditative practices (Kabat-Zinn, 1982 ; Shapiro & Weisbaum, 2020 ). Since then, a large body of research evidence has accrued in support of the beneficial effects of mindfulness on diverse mental and physical health attributes (Creswell, 2017 ; Khoury et al, 2013 ).…”

Effects of an immersive psychosocial training program on depression and well-being: A randomized clinical trial

“…Personal development practices such as meditation, mindfulness, and gratitude have been around for years but recently increased in popularity ( Shapiro and Weisbaum, 2020 ). In addition, millions of people each year attend immersive personal development seminars that aim to improve mental health through a structured curriculum in the context of a highly supportive community environment.…”

Mechanism and Application of Mindfulness in Psychotherapy to Treat Depression

“…The origin of mindfulness derives from spiritual institutions of eastern religion, including Buddhists' and Hindu's perspectives as mainstream current teachings while there are also other religions included such as Zen. (Shapiro et al, 2020) The central idea of Buddhism and Hinduism shares similar idea, for example, dharma, since they arose in the same region, however, Buddhism focuses more on the path to enlightenment. In the 1700s, when British scholars translate the book, Bhagavad Gita, from India to English, it started to be counted as the first formal introduction of mindfulness from Eastern culture to Western'.…”