© Prisca Bauer, MD, Ph.D. Below is a short account of the 5-day workshop on contemplative phenomenology (May 13-17, 2019), organised by Mind & Life Europe's Initiative for Contemplative Phenomenology (ICP). Day 1: Getting to Know Each Other and the Epoché What happens when forty-two people from different walks of life (including a documentary maker) spend a week together in an idyllic French farmhouse? It sounds like a reality TV show, but luckily it is not. What we all have in common is an interest in meditation and/or philosophy and we have put our lives on hold for a week ...
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Category: Mindfulness
Many “effects” of Mindfulness research could in fact be a placebo effect
We have asked Mind & Life Europe asscociate and assistent Professor cognitive modelling at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, Marieke van Vugt about the the mindfulness hype, what it is, where it comes from and where it is going. At the end of 2017, you wrote an article about the mindfulness hype. Can you explain what the mindfulness hype is and where it comes from? The mindfulness hype refers to the deluge of articles and other media contributions that claim that mindfulness is the solution to everything—from improving your concentration to becoming a more successful CEO. However, if ...
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Blog by Sander Tideman: First summit on mindfulness in politics
This month I had the privilege of attending a meeting on Mindfulness in Politics, organised by the Mindfulness All-Party Parliamentary Group (MAPPG), at the House of Parliament in London. With keynote speaker Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, founder of the Mindfulness-based Stress Relief (MBSR) in 1979, the meeting assembled some 50 Europeans working on mindfulness at policy levels in their respective countries. These included France, Sweden, Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, Slovenia and – of course – the United Kingdom. The Mindful Nation MAPPG was founded four years ago by Welsh MP Chris Ruane, who started by gathering a few of his colleagues from ...
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‘Mindfulness could improve trauma recovery with refugees’
In the run up to the 2017 Varela Awards we highlight the work of our 2016 awardees. Anna Reebs was one of the 6 young scientists that received a Varela Award. With her research into the mental healthcare and trauma recovery of refugees, she hopes to contribute to an emerging clinical psychological science of refugee mental health. ‘There is a huge global mental health crisis and I believe that research on trauma-related psychopathology in the refugee populations is much needed. Mindfulness may be a promising approach to improve mental health and trauma recovery amongst refugees’ Why did you decide to ...
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