Meaning-making, Key #4: Mindfulness

[excerpted from, 9 Keys to Meaning-Making: Transpersonal Psychology ?2023 ]

Our 4th key, is mindfulness.

Mindfulness embraces both noetic and somatic intelligences, the former of which includes meditation, an important element of the mindfulness practice. The trait, state, and practice of mindfulness, because it is each of these, can provide clear access to presence of meaning.

A core practice of Buddhism, mindfulness was first introduced to the scientific community through transpersonal psychology research as earlier mentioned. The transpersonal field maintains a strong interest in a wide range of spiritual and religious traditions as they relate to the human experience, and if they can contribute to psychology and lead to mystical experience, all the better; Buddhism and mindfulness have all that and more. In fact, there is a Buddhist psychology tradition, strongly focused on mindfulness practice.

We’ve now heard so much about mindfulness, widely applied in education, sports, business, and more. It’s also closely associated with gratitude, and with compassion. Yet, what is it, and in particular for our purpose, how does it relate to the construction of personal meaning?

Mindfulness refers to the ability to be fully present and engaged, without distraction. In short, it’s a practice of focusing and noticing, while not attaching. It engages deliberate attention, in a focus on the details of life and of self, noticing as much as possible. Nonattachment is primarily in regard to our emotions and also disturbing thoughts; we notice them as they arise, and with practice, we let them drift on by again as a cloud, without any need to hold onto them.

In our noticing, life becomes infinitely richer; we take nothing for granted, explore various states of consciousness and a detailed knowledge of our physical bodies, begin to appreciate as much as possible including life itself, feel ever-increasing compassion toward self and others, savor each moment as precious and meaningful, and experience time stretching into infinity as we become time-affluent. In our nonattachment, we find ourselves far more mentally and emotionally stable and comfortable, in a perpetual state of balance and harmony.

Couple all that with a myriad of health benefits both physiological and psychological, stress reduction and resilience, general wellbeing, and life satisfaction (Creswell et al., 2019; Dutta et al., 2022; Galante et al., 2021; Liu et al., 2021). And who doesn’t want all that?

It’s precisely the careful attention paid to one’s life, and valuing of those moments and details, that provide a richness of meaning. In noticing our lives, we can more easily identify sources of meaning, connectedness, compassion, our own bodies, nature, and so much more – and life itself becomes the ultimate source of meaning.

The Mindfulness-to-Meaning model (Garland et al., 2015; Hanley et al., 2021) suggests that mindfulness enhances our cognitive flexibility for coping with negative and savoring positive experiences, thereby strengthening our capability for meaning construction and life engagement. In the past several years this model has been applied to a wide array of research, such as post-traumatic growth (Williams et al., 2021), addiction and chronic pain treatment (Garland & Fredrickson, 2019), and more.

Mindfulness has been identified as a mediator between loneliness and presence of meaning (Borawski et al., 2021). It is also a means to the ‘quiet ego’ or ego attenuation (Liu et al., 2021; Shi & He, 2020), our upcoming 6th key. Ultimately, mindfulness can lead to self-transcendence or ego dissolution (Hanley et al., 2020), which we will look at in our final key to meaning.

A study by Klussman et al. (2020) found that presence of meaning, more than the search for meaning, is increased by mindfulness; this may well be because the practice of mindfulness enables us to find meaning in the everyday experience, and we become immersed in a life of meaning. These researchers further demonstrated that self-connection is a predictor of mindfulness-facilitated meaningfulness, and suggested that mindfulness could therefore serve as a strengthener of self-connection. Self-connection has been described by Klussman et al. (2022) as having 3 components: an awareness of oneself, an acceptance of oneself based on this awareness, and an alignment of one’s behavior with this awareness. In a related study, Hanley et al. (2021) found the search for meaning is facilitated by mindfulness via positive reappraisal, or finding meaning in negative events as an attempt at coping and resilience; they further demonstrated that mindfulness resulted in a myriad of adaptive processes, with long-lasting effects.

Chu and Mak (2020), in a review of 22 studies, demonstrated a clear effect of mindfulness on presence of meaning, mediated specifically by mindfulness techniques of decentering, authentic self-awareness, and attention to positive experience. Decentering, a term used in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, is defined as a shift in awareness away from one’s mental activity and to an objective and non-judgmental stance (Kessel et al., 2016) – the nonattachment as described.

The evidence is clear, the research ongoing. By all means, let’s embrace mindfulness!

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Exercises:

Begin your day with mindful waking. As you awaken, take a moment to notice the rested condition of your body and mind, to review any dreams you may recall, and to acknowledge the sunrise of a new day. As you arise and go about your morning routine, try to do so mindfully: notice the details of your shower, how it feels to splash cold water on your face, the simple joy in stretching your body, every delicious aspect of your breakfast. Consider the meaning in these acts of nurturing your physical health and wellbeing, in your compassion toward your body.

Mindful eating is an activity in itself. It’s a widespread trend to dine while engaging in electronic entertainment, social media, the news – but mindful dining means putting all devices away, TV off, even conversation to a minimum, and paying attention to your food and the act of eating. Notice not only flavors but textures, colors, and other qualities of the food, and the nourishment of your body. Consider the meaning of nourishment as you do, and all the sources of nourishment in your life.

Mindful walking, especially in a busy area, is another such exercise. Match your pace to your breathing at whatever is comfortable to you – typically, 3-4 steps to one inhalation or exhalation (slow and deliberate breathing!). As you maintain this steady, breath-led pace, consider the meaning of equilibrium – how you can maintain your inner sense of balance and harmony no matter how busy the outer world. Be the eye of the storm.

Immerse yourself in nature weekly, taking a long walk or, if this isn’t possible for you, sitting in a natural environment for a substantial period of time. Notice as much detail of the natural world around you as possible; sense yourself as part of nature, resonate with it, and consider the environment as a powerful source of meaning.

Engage in mindfulness meditation. Sit comfortably, eyes closed, distractions minimized; pay attention to your slow and even breathing. As thoughts or feelings arise, greet them and then send them on their way, refocusing on your breathing. Afterward, reflect.

Another mindfulness meditation is the body scan. In a similar meditative state, shift your focus from your breathing to either your toes or crown – your choice! – and keep your focus there for a moment, just noticing, then moving slowly, one body part at a time, over the course of your body until complete. Later, reflect on this experience.

The Loving Kindness Meditation, drawn from Buddhism, focuses on compassion. Begin in the same manner as above; when in a calm and balanced state, begin by focusing on self-compassion, moving slowly through 4 additional stages: compassion for someone close to you, then someone about whom you are neutral, then on to someone you find difficult, and finally, compassion for all sentient beings – and perhaps outward to the cosmos itself.

Keep a mindfulness journal, in which you reflect on your experiences and insights, connecting them to the presence of meaning in your life.

9 Keys to Meaning-Making: Transpersonal Psychology, by Anne Hilty, ?2023

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References:

Borawski D, Siudak A, Pawelec A, Rozpara B, and Zawada M (2021). The interplay between loneliness, mindfulness, and presence of meaning: Does search for meaning matter? Personality and Individual Differences 172:110580. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.110580

Chu STW and Mak WWS (2020). How Mindfulness Enhances Meaning in Life: A Meta-Analysis of Correlational Studies and Randomized Controlled Trials. Mindfulness 11, 177-193. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-019-01258-9

Creswell JD, Lindsay EK, Villalba DK, and Chin B (2019). Mindfulness training and physical health: mechanisms and outcomes.?Psychosomatic Medicine?81:3, 224. https://doi.org/10.1097%2FPSY.0000000000000675

Dutta A, Kalita D, and Vaiphei SD (2022). Effects of Mindfulness on Psychological Well-being: A Scoping Review. International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research 4:4. https://doi.org/10/gqr49d

Galante J, Friedrich C, Dawson AF et al. (2021). Mindfulness-based programmes for mental health promotion in adults in nonclinical settings: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.?PLoS Medicine?18:1, e1003481. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003481

Garland EL, Farb NA, Goldin PR, and Fredrickson BL (2015). Mindfulness broadens awareness and builds eudaimonic meaning: A process model of mindful positive emotion regulation. Psychological Inquiry 26:4, 293-314. https://doi.org/10.1080/1047840X.2015.1064294

Garland EL and Fredrickson BL (2019). Positive psychological states in the arc from mindfulness to self-transcendence: Extensions of the Mindfulness-to-Meaning Theory and applications to addiction and chronic pain treatment. Current Opinion in Psychology 28, 184-191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2019.01.004

Hanley AW, de Vibe M, Solhaug I, Farb,N, Goldin PR, Gross JJ, and Garland EL (2021). Modeling the mindfulness-to-meaning theory's mindful reappraisal hypothesis: Replication with longitudinal data from a randomized controlled study. Stress and Health 37:4, 778-789. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.3035

Hanley AW, Dorjee D, and Garland EL (2020). Mindfulness training encourages self-transcendent states via decentering. Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice. https://doi.org/10.1037/cns0000262

Kessel R, Gecht J, Forkmann T, Drueke B, Gauggel S, and Mainz V (2016). Exploring the relationship of decentering to health-related concepts and cognitive and metacognitive processes in a student sample. BMC Psychology 4:11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-016-0115-6

Klussman K, Curtin N, Langer J, and Nichols AL (2022). The Importance of Awareness, Acceptance, and Alignment with the Self: A Framework for Understanding Self-Connection. European Journal of Psychology 18:1, 120-131. https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.3707

Klussman K, Nichols AL, and Langer J (2020). The Role of Self-Connection in the Relationship between Mindfulness and Meaning: A Longitudinal Examination. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being 12, 636-659. https://doi.org/10.1111/aphw.12200

Liu G, Isbell LM, and Leidner B (2021). Quiet Ego and Subjective Well-Being: The Role of Emotional Intelligence and Mindfulness. Journal of Happiness Studies 22, 2599=2619. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-020-00331-8

Shi Z and He L (2020). Mindfulness: Attenuating Self-Referential Processing and Strengthening Other-Referential Processing. Mindfulness 11, 599-605. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-019-01271-y

Williams H, Skalisky J, Erickson TM, and Thoburn J (2021). Posttraumatic Growth in the Context of Grief: Testing the Mindfulness-to-Meaning Theory. Journal of Loss and Trauma 26:7, 611-623. https://doi.org/10.1080/15325024.2020.1855048