The Dark Side of Mindfulness

When most people consider mindfulness, it is generally considered to be a positive thing, associated with law-abiding citizens pursuing self-improvement.?

Try as I might I cannot conjure up an image of coming out of my house in the morning to find the Dalai Lama trying to hotwire my car or with a can of spray-paint in hand throwing up a tag in Tibetan script on my front fence.?

However, anyone (hopefully all of you) who has seen the original Star Wars trilogy will know that Darth Vader was an avid meditator, and was also one of the nastiest individuals in the universe.?

Several scenes in The Empire Strikes Back depict him emerging from his meditation pod on the Death Star and immediately ripping into his minions, on one occasion Force-choking a guy presumably to death for his perceived incompetence.?

Fascinatingly, (although disappointingly not in reference to any particular Sith Lord) akin to the dark side of the Force the concept of a dark side of mindfulness is addressed in the literature on the topic.?

One of the key features of mindfulness is non-judgement of one’s self, and theoretically if this practice were engaged in by those who partake in criminal activities there would be no self-appraisal or negative reflection to potentially dissuade them from further criminal activity. It has been proposed by some authors that a degree of evaluative scrutiny of our own thoughts, feelings and actions in the context of criminal thinking is in fact an adaptive response and should not be minimised [i].

Criminogenic cognitions are defined as thought patterns that reduce the dissonance between morals and behaviour, rationalise doing the wrong thing, and minimise negative consequences [ii].?

Criminogenic Cognitions Scale

The aptly named Criminogenic Cognitions Scale (CCS) [iii] outlines five constructs to measure cognitive distortions specific to criminal offenders as follows:

· ?Notions of entitlement – The belief of being more deserving and respected than other people

· ?Failure to accept responsibility – A general lack of responsibility for one’s actions, blaming external factors for one’s behaviour.?

· ?Short-Term orientation – An overall spontaneous approach to living life with no regard for the future

· ?Insensitivity to the impact of crime – using rationalisations to minimise the effects of their crimes

· ?Negative attitude toward authority – An overall distrust of authority figures and rules / laws.?

To cite another character from pop culture, let's consider Bodhi from Point Break (the original, played by the late, great Patrick Swayze). He is a textbook example of what the proposed dark side of mindfulness looks like and rationalises away all five constructs outlined in the CCS throughout the film.?

Starting with short-term orientation he definitely lives for the moment with little to no regard for the future. He is highly insensitive to the impact of his crimes, highlighted in the first bank robbery scene in the movie where after his crew (the Ex-Presidents) use overwhelming violence to take control of the bank and force everyone inside onto the ground at gunpoint, Bodhi offers them the feeble reassurance that their money is insured so it’s not worth dying for. While this may have provided some solace from a financial perspective to the unfortunate individuals in the bank during that scene, Bodhi is completely insensitive to the likely decades of Post-Traumatic Stress that they will suffer and the endless counselling sessions they will no doubt require as a result of the trauma of the situation.?

He clearly feels entitlement to rob banks for money to fuel his hedonistic lifestyle, and his negative attitude toward authority is clear, particularly in the scene where he has blackmailed Utah into accompanying the Ex-Presidents on a bank robbery by holding his girlfriend hostage. Utah points out in no uncertain terms that robbing banks is grossly inconsistent with his job description as an FBI Special Agent, to which Bodhi replies: “Yeah, I know man. Ain’t it wild? That’s what makes it so interesting. You can do what you want and make up your own rules. Why be a servant to the law, when you can be its master?”?

The most profound example of Bodhi’s non-judgemental rationalisation of his criminal behaviour for me however comes in the final scene, which depicts the long-awaited showdown between the two main characters after an elapsed period of years in which Utah has been in international pursuit of Bodhi. In the setting of the 50-year storm that Bodhi has waited his entire life to surf and set at Bells Beach Australia (incidentally not filmed at Bells Beach, which allegedly caused an uproar and walkout at the local cinema in the area at the time of the movie’s premier) Utah confronts Bodhi. ?

Utah: “You gotta go down, you crossed the line and people trusted you and they died”

Bodhi: “Yeah it went bad, it went real bad, life sure has a sick sense of humour doesn’t it?”

Zero remorse.?

Bodhi, while acknowledging that prior events did not transpire the way he would have hoped, displays absolutely no accountability for his actions or his significant role in the death of all of his former friends. He simply dismissively blames life’s sick sense of humour for the events while continuing to intently survey the surf conditions for signs of a good set of waves coming through to get out there and enjoy his ultimate ride.?

Mindfulness in criminal rehabilitation

Mindfulness interventions have been gaining interest in rehabilitation programs for criminal groups in the custodial environment, with the primary objective on improving control of impulsive behaviours. With consideration to the above discussion, it can be appreciated that mindfulness interventions in the criminal population might be a double-edged sword of sorts, with a potential positive outcome of improving impulsivity that leads to offending behaviour, however at the same time the potential negative outcome of further developing non-judgemental rationalisation of the same criminal behaviour [iv].?

It has been proposed that whether mindfulness practice will have a positive or negative impact on the practitioner within a pathological group is dependant on whether they have a tendency toward internalising or externalising thought patterns and behaviours.?

Internalising disorders include anxiety, depression, social withdrawal, and suicidal behaviours, and are characterised by negative self-talk and low self-esteem. In these settings mindfulness can be of significant benefit in reducing negative self-judgement and improving symptoms of the underlying condition, including reduced anxiety and depression [v] and decreased suicidal ideation [vi].?

On the other hand, externalising disorders are characterised by thoughts and behaviours aimed at the environment and people around the individual, and include conditions such as antisocial personality disorder, conduct disorder, kleptomania (impulsive stealing of unneeded items), and the fantastically named intermittent explosive disorder (IED – not to be mistaken with Improvised Explosive Device, although equally as volatile!).?

Individuals struggling with externalising behaviours are less likely to engage in self-scrutiny of their behaviour, and hence the non-judgement of mindfulness practice may serve to rationalise their antisocial thoughts and behaviours towards others, including verbal outbursts and physical violence. ?

All psychopathology aside, when it comes to focusing on the non-judgemental aspect of mindfulness it is probably best for all of us to employ it predominantly to internalising thoughts and behaviours when we are being hard on ourselves and maintain a healthy degree of scrutiny of our thoughts and behaviours that are aimed at others or the external environment. In our mindfulness practice we should be aiming to become more of a Johnny Utah than a Bodhi, and certainly not a Darth Vader!

This newsletter is an adaptation of a chapter from a book I'm currently writing, with the working title "The Mindful D**khead". If you're interested in the topic, keep an eye out for that one in the future!

As always, comments and questions are welcome. If you feel this newsletter might resonate with others in your community, please share it widely.?

Until next time, stay safe, and don’t forget to have some fun!

Cheers,

Dr Dan Pronk

References

[i] Tangney, JP, Dobbins, AE, Stuewig, JB, Schrader, W, ‘Is there a dark side to mindfulness? Relation of mindfulness to criminogenic cognitions’, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, vol. 43, no. 10, 2017, pp. 1415-1426.?

[ii] Ibid.?

[iii] ibid?

[iv] Ibid

[v] Hofmann, SG, Gomez, AF, ‘Mindfulness-based interventions for anxiety and depression, Psychiatric Clinics of North America, vol. 40, no. 4, 2017, pp. 739-749.?

[vi] Schmelefske, E, Per, M, Khoury, B, Heath, N, ‘The effects of mindfulness-based interventions on suicide outcomes: A meta-analysis, Archives of Suicide Research, Oct, 2020, pp.1-18

P.S.?

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