A psychological tool worth learning

Jan 07, 2018 Book Review…, Features / Columnists

Book: Mindfulness for Life
Authors: Craig Hassed and Stephen McKenzie
Critic: Dr Glenville Ashby

Mindfulness is a therapeutic system that promotes self-awareness amid existential challenges. It is intended to improve clarity of mind, increase productivity and improve well-being.
It is hardly a new approach to self-realization. It is inclusive of multiple disciplines, such as psychos-synthesis, psychobiology, science, Transcendental Meditation and traditional meditative practices; the result being a uniquely refreshing modality.
Mindfulness is neither Western nor Eastern in origin. Authors Craig Hassed and Stephen McKenzie concede that the “vital ingredients of mindfulness are found in all the world’s great wisdom traditions and cultures; [that] the simple act of breathing or paying attention or being able to objectively stand back from your thoughts and experience these experiences is universal.”
Mindfulness for Life is a broad-based exposition of the many internal and external struggles we face.
In a world weighed down by diseases, anxiety, stress and other forms of psychological disorders, Hassed and McKenzie offer practical solutions. They advance that most of our problems are due to our mode of living. They write, “Over the long term, most of the things that kill us in developed or wealthy countries – such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, alcohol abuse and cancer – are the diseases related to lifestyle and excess and the avoidance of the effort required to moderate our habits.”
They later counsel that “[t]he first big challenge in making healthy lifestyle change is to be aware of what’s motivating us and what is sabotaging us…we are not good at paying attention.”
In the vein of Buddhist practitioners, the authors advocate detachment for it is attachment to people and material objects that causes suffering.
Mindfulness dissuades us from avoiding our problems. We must understand the dynamics of our experiences. For example, in discussing Mindfulness and sleep, the authors state that ‘[w]e should be just gently aware of the thoughts in our mind, and not react to them. We should just be aware of the actual sensations in our body as we lie in bed. This will connect us to the reality of the present, and short circuit the unreality of our mindless day and nightmares. Above all, we should realize that we don’t only get rest from sleep; we can also get it by resting our minds while we are awake.”
Mindfulness disavows the past and the future because “they are always outside the reality of actual experience.” Admittedly, though, while past experiences project unto our consciousness they are observable and experienced in the present or the now. Thus, the present or the now becomes the only reality.
In an incontrovertible admonition, Hassed and McKenzie pen, “When our attention is on the here and now, our thoughts of the past and future aren’t in the picture and therefore can’t cause the emotions upset that they often do. Absent-mindedness is the opposite of presence of mind.”
Mindfulness distinguishes between imagination and reality. Giving credence and energy to imagination is self-destructive. The authors speak of entertaining a phantom; it is reality that we can address and resolve if need be. This is the essence of Mindfulness.
This psychological approach is rooted in mediation. Mention is made of TM or Transcendental Meditation. Learning to listen is also cited as an officious path to Mindfulness. Here, attunement to the environment can sharpen our senses while helping us live in the moment.
“Most of the time we are listening to mental chatter,” the authors argue, “so that the value of listening mindfully is that our attention isn’t being used to feed the usual commentary.” It is this commentary “that is full of habitual and unconscious rumination, worries and negative self-talk.”
Hassed and McKenzie have produced a revelatory, multidisciplinary work that demands further study. The information presented is theoretically sound but one might argue that its successful application may not be fully possible especially in societies where instant gratification has become the norm. Indeed, there could be resistance to a system that requires patience and steadfastness.
Mindfulness for Life: How to use Mindfulness Meditation to improve your life by Craig Hassed and Stephen McKenzie
Publisher: Constable and Robinson Ltd, UK
ISBN: 978-1-78033-839-2
Available on Amazon
Rating: Recommended

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