Meditation as Medication Mastering the Art of Mindfulness (Long Version) By: Daryush Parvinbenam M.Ed., M.A., LPCCS, LICDC Appleseed Community Mental Health Center R.S.V.P Conference Sept 29, 2010

1. This human being is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival.
Still, treat each guest honourably He may be clearing you out for some new delight.
A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an
unexpected visitor.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice. Meet them at the door laughing, and invite
them in.
Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep
your house empty of its furniture.
Be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.
The Guest House
Rumi (13th century Persian poet and mystic)

2. Meditation as Medication
Mastering the art of
Mindfulness
Daryush Parvinbenam M. Ed,
M.A., LPCCS, LICDC
Appleseed Community Mental
Health Center
R.S.V.P Conference
Sept 29, 2010

4. The Guest House by Rumi
This human being is a guest house. Every morning a
new arrival.
Still, treat each guest honourably He may be clearing
you out for some new delight.
A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary
awareness comes as an unexpected visitor.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice. Meet them at
the door laughing, and invite them in.
Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they’re a crowd
of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of its
furniture.
Be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been
sent as a guide from beyond.

5. Title of this presentation
(Disclaimer)
This presentation does not suggest mindfulness
meditation practices should immediately replace current
medication.
A wholistic model of treatment as oppose to current
medical model.
Medication issues should be negotiated with your
physician prior to any change.
At least initially, in many cases combination of
medication and meditation may be the best possible
option for many folks.

6. Personal introduction to
mindfulness
Personal interest since adolescence.
Application of mindfulness practices to trauma treatment,
attachment disorder, and different forms of affect
regulation problems
Impact of mindfulness practices on brain.
Neurobiological studies with Buddhist monks.
Therapeutic application of the mindfulness practices to
psychotherapy.
May be secret of survival for many ancient cultures.

7. Definition

8. Definition of Mindfulness
In simple terms, meditation is a mind-
cleansing or emptying process
At a deeper level, meditation is focused
concentration and increased awareness
of one’s being and experience.

9. Definition of Mindfulness
Paying attention in a particular
way: on purpose, in the
present moment, and non-
judgementally to a
specific experience.

10. Let’s practice

12. Definition of Mindfulness
“Mindfulness is a flexible state of mind in
which we are actively engaged in the
present, noticing new things and sensitive to
context.” (Langer, 1998)
“Mindfulness means paying attention in a
particular way; On purpose,
in the present moment, and
non-judgmentally.”
John Kabat-Zinn, 2006

13. Definition of Mindfulness
A family of self self-regulation practices that aim
to bring mental processes under voluntary
control through focusing awareness and
attention (Walshet al., 2006).
A discrete and well well-defined experience of a
state of “thoughtless awareness ” herein the
activity of the mind is minimized without reducing
the level of alertness (Manocha Manocha,
2000).

14. Defining mindfulness
Attention regulation
Emotional regulation
Meta-cognitive awareness
Cognitive technique
Present moment awareness
Non-judgmental attitude
Spiritual practice
State mindfulness
Trait mindfulness

15. History and origin

16. Meditation and Mindfulness Origins
1500 BC: Hindu Meditation
Basic Yoga practice
involves focusing the mind on single object
and not allowing it to wander.
•

17. Meditation and Mindfulness Origins
1500-1000 BC: Pre-Zorastrian and
Zorastrian practices of ancient persia.

18. Meditation and Mindfulness Origins
600 BC: Taoist Mindfulness
Involves breath training exercises to aid in
meditation
Moving meditation (Tai-Chi, Chi-gung, etc)
All involve concentration

19. Meditation and Mindfulness Origins
535 BC: Buddhist Mindfulness
Development of awareness through concentration.
Different traditions of meditation with different ways of
attaining awareness.
Zen meditation, Tantric meditation, Vipassana meditation
– all try to strip away attachment to our preconceived
notions of self and others to enhance awareness of
reality as it is.
Vipassana meditation most closely linked to mindfulness
practice.

20. Meditation and Mindfulness Origins
10th Century CE: Jewish Mindfulness
– Implicit in prayer
– Kabbalah

21. Meditation and Mindfulness Origins
300-500 CE: Christian Mindfulness
Contemplative prayer
Centering prayer

22. Meditation and Mindfulness Origins
9th Century CE: Muslim Mindfulness

23. Mindfulness in Modern Times

24. Mindfulness in Modern Times
Becoming more main stream, and acceptable as a
way of personal development, and growth.
Application to Business, health care, medicine,
mental health, pain management, and personal
wellbeing.
The “Third Wave” in the evolution of behavior and
cognitive therapy.

25. Benefits

26. Common healing factors of the
mindfulness practices
These practices create connections on all
levels of human experience:
– Neurobiological integration (Biological)
– Intrapersonal (Self)
– Interpersonal (Others) within a socially
meaningful context
– Transcendent (Universe, God, higher power,
Divine Essence, etc)

27. Positive effects of long-term
meditation
Monk under fMRI.
– Significant difference in left prefrontal cortex
activation compared to right prefrontal cortex.
– Difference as high as 3 standard deviations
above the “norm”. There is a strong relation
between activity of increased activity of left
prefrontal cortex and positive affects such as
joy and compassion.

31. What does the scan suggests?
The scan suggests the body and the mind can not be
separated so easily. When you do something with your
mind, the function of your body/brain changes.
Functional brain scanning has demonstrated that mental
events do not just affect what you think and how you
feel. They affect the functioning of your body, in
particular, the functioning of brain. In other words doing
something different with mind, affects more than
thoughts. It literally changes the function and
metabolism of brain.
So it doesn’t seem so surprising that events that affect
our inner world have any impact on our physical body.

32. Neuroplasticity:
Transformation of the Brain
Known that difference in animal experience
leads to differences in gene expression and
so to different brain structure. So too with
humans.
Sara Lazar et al. MRI showed increase in
cortical thickness in subjects due to
meditation. (Mass General/Harvard study,
NeuroReport, vol.16, pp.1893-1897, 2005)

33. Lazar Cortical Thickness Study
Measured thickness of
the cerebral cortex in 20
Insight meditation
practitioners with average
of 9 years practice of
40min/day
Mean thickness
unchanged, but regions
show difference
Slower thinning w. age
Scatter plot of mean cortical thickness of
each participant in the subregion above
threshold within each circled region of (c)
insula and (d) BA 9/10, plotted versus
age. Meditation participants: blue circles;
control participants: red squares.

34. Neurotransmitters and meditation
Meditation has been linked with increase
production of:
– Serotonin that is related to modulation of
affect and behavior.
– Melatonin that is related to regulation of sleep,
and may have anti-carcinogen and immune
system enhancing effect.

35. Mindfulness and arousal
modulation
Mindfulness body oriented practices
tend to expand window of arousal
tolerance. This is done by;
1- internal sensations, and allowing
oneself to experience one’s internal
process. That is, establishing
intrapersonal relationship. This
relationship may become a
neurobiological substitute for deficits in
earlier attachments.

36. Mindfulness and arousal
modulation
2- Gaining awareness of transitory nature of all
sensory experience.
These key issues are main focus of many ancient
spiritual practices such as:
Zen Buddhism
Vipassana (school of Buddhism)
Many schools of yoga
Sufism (dances and chants)
Tai Chi/Chi Kung, etc
etc

37. Mindfulness practices promote
neural integration among
different regions of the brain.

40. ADHD and Mindfulness: UCLA
Results indicate that mindfulness meditation training may
be a beneficial complementary treatment approach for
adolescents and adults with ADHD. Positive findings
include:
1) the absence of any reported adverse events;
2) highly favorable ratings of the treatment by participants;
3) reductions in self-reported ADHD symptoms reported by over
three quarters of participants, even though the majority were
already being treated with medication;
4) significant improvement on several of the neuropsychological
measures; and,
5) reductions in depressive and anxiety symptoms for the adults.
Zylowka, et al. (2008).

41. Meditation for the Masses (Kabat-Zinn)
Decrease in anxiety
Mood change
Pre-frontal cortex activation
Immune response

42. Mindfulness-based therapies
Coping with Stress
Anxiety
Psychological Trauma
Depression (particularly relapse
prevention)
Eating disorders
Panic disorder
Chronic pain
Personality disorder
OCD
Borderline Personality Disorder
Substance abuse
Anger management
Disorders of impulse control
Neural plasticity
Immune modulation
Anti-inflammatory
Enhancing immune function
Behavior / lifestyle change
Improvements in sleep
Rumination
General wellbeing
Ivanovski B, Malhi G.

43. Mindfulness creates space
around our pain, allowing us to
work with it without being
overwhelmed.

44. Myths about Meditation
I can only meditate in the right conditions.
Have to do it for a long period of time to have benefit.
Will touch the supernatural which will make my life all-
happy.
I must conquer myself for this process to work.
The guy next to me prevents my meditation.
Benefits only come after years of practice.
Meditation is a process that one practices for a couple of
months until mastered.
Meditation is about a special state separate from this
world.

45. Method and technique

46. Basics of meditation
Meditation is a practice of concentrated
focus upon a sound, object, visualization,
the breath, movement, or attention itself in
order to increase awareness of the
present moment, to reduce stress,
promote relaxation, and personal health
and emotional/spiritual growth.

47. Observation
In Observation –
We simply practice noticing what’s going on
within and around us, starting with our
breathing,
Then gradually expanding our practice to
consciously noticing our emotions, our
thoughts, our beliefs, our choices, our
behaviors, the consequences of our choices
and behaviors.

48. Observation
How all of it together feels in our own
lives each moment. As we sit, or stand
or walk, we simply notice: “sitting”
“standing”, “walking”.
As we just enjoy breathing mindfully,
we just notice: “breathing”.

49. Some Attitudes of Mindfulness
Non-striving
Patience
Beginners mind
Trust
Letting go
Acceptance
Openness
Curiosity
Kabat-Zinn (1990)

50. Attitudes of Mindfulness
Non-striving
Getting to you goals will happen naturally
and more successfully if you allow this
process to unfold.
Patience
To be patient is completely open to each
moment. Accepting is in its fullness, as
things can only unfold in their own time.

51. Attitudes of Mindfulness
Beginner’s mind
Take a stance of not-knowing, to see if your perceptions
are affected by your own beliefs and values.
Trust
Trust your own insight and wisdom, knowing that what
are perceived as mistakes may happen, but this is okay.
Trusting yourself will allow you to have more trust in
others and see their goodness.

52. Attitudes of Mindfulness
Letting go
Sometimes our minds seem determined in
holding onto certain beliefs, thoughts.
However, instead of judging these we can
simply let them be and stop from trying to
repress, deny, or focus on them.

53. Attitudes of Mindfulness
Acceptance
Staying in the present. Spending time
regretting the past and focusing on the
future “what ifs?” will only lead to more
tension and little energy.

54. Attitudes of Mindfulness
Non-judging
Judgment can dominate our minds,
causing tension and chaos in our beings.
Effectively handling stress will require our
awareness of our automatic judgments, so
to see through our own prejudices and
fears.
Assume the stance of an impartial witness.

55. Mindful Learning (Ellen Langer)
Mindful Mindless
Actively engaged in
present
Automatons
Aware of context and
multiple perspectives
Stuck in a rigid
perspective
Drawing new distinctions Rely on distinctions
made in the past.
Guided by rules and
routines
Governed by rules and
routines.

56. What are you seeing?
What else is possible?
Right now in this life, what is the
figure and what is the ground?

57. Breath
Whenever your mind becomes scattered,
use your breath as the means to take hold
of your mind again.......Breath is a tool.
Breath itself is mindfulness.

58. Mindfulness and breath
Using the breath we learn to ground ourselves in the
present moment.
Accepting what is happening in us and around us,
whatever it is, we learn to open to experience, without
judgement.
Teaches us ways to connect with our emotional
experience without becoming overwhelmed.
Learning to watch our thought patterns come and go, we
see about how our mind works.

59. Mindfulness and breath
• Breathing is universal.
• Breathing provides a ready focus for the
mind.
• The breath is the doorway to the “here and
now”.

60. Refrences and suggested
Bibliography
Ivanovski B, Malhi G. The psychological and neurophysiological
concomitants of mindfulness forms of meditation. Acta Neuropsychiatrica
2007;19:76-91.
Kabat-Zinn, J. (1990). Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your
Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness. Delta.
Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994) Wherever you go, there you are: Mindfulness
meditation in everyday life. New
York: Hyperion.
Kabat-Zinn, J. (2005). Coming to our senses: Healing ourselves and the
world through mindfulness.
Langer, E. J. (1993). A mindful education. Educational Psychologist, 28(1),
43-50.
Langer, E. J. (1997). The power of mindful learning Addison-
Wesley/Addison Wesley Longman.
Langer, E. J. (2000). Mindful learning. Current Directions in Psychological
Science, 9(6), 220-223
Zylowka, et al. (2008). Mindfulness meditation training in adults and
adolescents with ADHD. Journal of Attention Disorders, 11, 737-746.