Mindfulness and Psychotherapy

Just finished an exciting weekend at a conference put on by UCLA extension called:
Mindfulness and Psychotherapy: Cultivating Well-Being in the Present Moment.

This weekend was designed as continuing education for Mental Health professionals.  This subject has always been on of my passions so I tagged along with a psychologist friend of mine.

The weekend kicked off with a Dharma talk by Buddhist Monk, Thich Nhat Hanh.  We was amazingly inspiring.  The entire 1800 members of the audience were mesmerized by his discussion of the values of meditation, the meaning of no fear no death, Buddhism and political activism and a reading from Winnie the Pooh.

Afterwards the 1800 people took part in a walking meditation followed by a lunch on the grass eaten mindfully in 30 chews per mouthful.

The afternoon brought one of my favorite meditation teachers, Jack Kornfield.  Who revealed the Gifts of Buddhist Psychology.  He discussed how he used Buddhist principals to inform his own clinical practice as well as describing the attributes of Buddhist Psychology as an effective therapy.

Sunday’s session highlight was a presentation by Neuro psychologists, Dr. Daniel Siegel and Sara Lazer. http://drdansiegel.com/ Both provided compelling scientific evidence concerning the benefits of Mindfulness Meditation.  The presented data from various experiments that bolstered the claim that meditation improved the what is technically called brain integration.  Effectively, the practice alters the brain in the pre-frontal cortex enhancing energy and informational flow.  An integrated brain is more flexible, adaptive and stable.

I could go into more detail but I just wanted to give the broad strokes.

This makes for compelling evidence that not only is meditation valuable, in a way it is necessary if one is pursuing improvements in health and well being.

s.