Clinical Handbook of Mindfulness by Jon Kabat-Zinn, Fabrizio Didonna Read Free Book Online Page A

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    2004. In: MBSR Professional Training Manual , Santorelli SF and Kabat-Zinn, J
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    Introduction: Where New
    and Old Paths to Dealing
    with Suffering Meet
    Fabrizio Didonna
    All humanity’s miseries derive from not being able to sit quietly in a
    room alone.
    – Blaise Pascal, Seventeenth-century French philosopher
    Over the last 2 decades there has been growing interest in the possible
    effectiveness of Eastern psychology in a clinical setting and in particular,
    those techniques based on practices of Buddhist origin. Numerous stud-
    ies have attempted to investigate the possible clinical implications of these
    approaches and their application in the treatment of psychological disorders.
    In a spontaneous manner and through the independent work and studies of
    many researchers and therapists, this has given rise to a trans-epistemological
    approach, leading to experimentation and the application in clinical settings
    of principles and methods deeply rooted in Eastern psychology.
    Interest in these approaches stems from an awareness that despite the
    importance of scientific methodology, which aims at ensuring rigorous pro-
    cedure and seeks to further evidence-based knowledge, there appears to be
    a considerable need to combine these practices with the innate components
    of human nature that are decisive in influencing an individual’s interpretation
    of events and his/her emotional attitudes and behavior. These components
    can be found in the acceptance of experience (Hahn, 1998; Hayes, Strosahl,
    & Wilson, 1999), a compassionate attitude toward one’s own and other peo-
    ple’s suffering (Gilbert, 2005), the capacity to observe oneself without judg-
    ing (Kabat-Zinn, 1990), and the idea that the mind can observe itself and
    understand its own nature (Dalai Lama, Benson, Thurman, Goleman, & Gard-
    ner, 1991). They are also found in the capacity to direct attention toward the
    emotional sphere and the relationship of interdependence and reciprocal
    influence existing between the mind and the body (Goleman, 1991) and in
    more general terms in a harmonizing and normalizing attitude toward intrap-
    ersonal and interpersonal variables.
    All of these components can be summed up in the concept of
    mindfulness .
    As is well explained in the first part of this book, mindfulness is the “heart,”
    or the core teaching, of Buddhist psychology (Kabat-Zinn, 2003), and it is
    inherently a state of consciousness that involves consciously attending to
    1
    Introduction: Where New
    and Old Paths to Dealing
    with Suffering Meet
    Fabrizio Didonna
    All humanity’s miseries derive from not being able to sit quietly in a
    room alone.
    – Blaise Pascal, Seventeenth-century French philosopher
    Over the last 2 decades there has been growing interest in the possible
    effectiveness of Eastern psychology in a clinical setting and in particular,
    those techniques based on practices of Buddhist origin. Numerous stud-
    ies have attempted to investigate the possible clinical implications of these
    approaches and their application in the treatment of psychological disorders.
    In a spontaneous manner and through