A DICHOTOMY BETWEEN MINDFULNESS AND FLOW

Dr Nash PopovicUniversity of East London, UK

n.popovic@uel.ac.uk

MINDFULNESS

What is mindfulness?

A receptive attention to, and awareness of, present events and experience. (Brown & Ryan, 2003)

Bishop et al (2004) 2 components:a) Self-regulation of attention so that it is maintained on

immediate experience;b) Orientation towards one’s experience characterised by

curiosity, openness and acceptance.

Capacity to be aware of internal and external events as phenomena rather than conceptual objects

Similar to Phenomenological Reduction (Husserl)

Characteristics of Mindfulness

• clear awareness of inner and outer world

• non-conceptual, non-discriminatory awareness (no

prioritising)

• direct perception (thoughts become objects to be

noticed just like sights and sounds)

• dis-identification (observer and participant)

• present-oriented consciousness

The mystery of awareness

• Awareness is different from any other conscious or

unconscious mental process.

• A meta-consciousness, being conscious of

consciousness itself (Eysenck, 2009)

• Non-conceptual

• Outside time

• Mindfulness – a disentanglement of awareness and

mental processes.

What is good about mindfulness (Brown & Ryan, 2003)

Dispositional Mindfulness correlated with:

Remain significant when other factors controlled.

POSITIVELY:• Clarity of experience (.45 to .50)• Self-actualisation (.43)• Self-esteem (.39 to .50) • Vitality (.35 to .46)• Positive affect (.30 to .39)• Life Satisfaction (.26 to .37)• Mood repair (.25 to .37)• Optimism (.27 to .34)• Attention to feelings (.13 to .19)

NEGATIVELY:• Neuroticism (-.56)• Depression (-.41 to -.42)• Anxiety (-.40)• Negative affect (-.39 to -.43)• Rumination (-.29 to -.39)

What mindfulness may not be good for

• Concentration (implies restriction of attention to a single object and withdrawal of other inputs)

• Being selective with information

• Goal pursuit

• Making judgements and assessments

References• Baer, R. (2003). Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and

Empirical Review. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10, 125-143.• Baer, R., Smith, G. & Allen, K. (2004). Assessment of Mindfulness by self-report: The

Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills. Assessment, 11, 191- 206.• **Baer, R., Smith, G., Hopkins, J., Krietemeyer, J. & Toney, L. (2006). Using self-

report assessment methods to explore facets of mindfulness. Assessment, 13 (1), 27-45.

• Bishop, S. (2002). What do we really know about Mindfulness-based stress reduction? Psychosomatic Medicine, 64, 71-84.

• Bishop, S., Lau, M., Shapiro, S., Carlson, L. et al (2004). Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 11, 230-241.

• Brown, K. & Ryan, R. (2003). The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in Psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 822-848.

• ***Brown, K., Ryan, R. & Creswell, J. (2007). Mindfulness: Theoretical foundations and evidnce for its salutary effects. Psychological Inquiry, 18 (4), 211 – 237 (see also some of the commentaries and the authors’ response).

• Buchheld, N., Grossman, P. & Walach, H. (2001). Measuring mindfulness in Insight Meditation (Vipassana) and meditation-based psychotherapy. Journal for Meditation and Meditation Research, 1, 11 – 34 (see newer paper by Walach et al (2006) – Measuring Mindfulness – the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory in Personality and Individual Differences, 40, 1543 – 1555).

• Davidson, R., Kabat-Zinn, J., Schumacher, J. et al (2003). Alterations in brain and immune function produced by mindfulness meditation. Psychosomatic Medicine, 65, 564-570.

• Grossman, P., Niemann, L., Schmidt, S. & Walach, H. (2004). Mindfulness-based stress reduction and health benefits: A meta-analysis. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 57, 35-43.

• Kabat-Zinn, J., Wheeler, E., Light, T., Skillings, A. et al (1998). Influence of a mindfulness meditation-based stress reduction intervention on rates of skin clearing in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis undergoing phototherapy (UVB) and Photochemotherapy (PUVA). Psychosomatic Medicine, 60, 625-632.

• Kristeller, J. L. & Hallett, C. B. An exploratory study of a meditation-based intervention for binge eating disorder. Journal of Health Psychology, 4, 357-363.

• Shapiro, S., Astin, J., Bishop, S. & Cordova, M. (2005). Mindfulness-based stress reduction for health care professionals: Results from a randomised trial. International Journal of Stress Management, 12, 164-176.

• Shapiro, S., Carlson, L., Astin, J. & Freedman, B. (2006). Mechanisms of mindfulness. Journal of Clinical Psychology,

• Shapiro, S., Schwatrz, G. & Bonner, G. (1998). Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction on medical and pre-medical students. Journal of Behavioural Medicine, 21, 581-599.

• Speca, M., Carlson, L., Goodey, E. & Angen, M. (2000). A randomized, wait-list controlled trial: The effect of a mindfulness meditation-based stress reduction program on mood and symptoms of stress in cancer outpatients. Psychosomatic Medicine, 62, 613-622.

• Tacon, A., Caldera, Y. & Ronaghan, C. (2004). Mindfulness-based stress reduction in women with breast cancer. Families, Systems & Health, 22, 193-203.

• Tacon, A., McComb, J., Caldera, Y & Randolph, P. (2003). Mindfulness meditation, anxiety reduction and heart disease. Family and Community Health, 26, 25-33.

THE CONCEPT OF FLOW

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjXqdAYUG48

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

One of the founders of Positive Psychology – the science of optimal human functioning

Experience of flow

• “My mind isn’t wandering. I am totally involved in what I am doing and I am not thinking of anything else. My body feels good... the world seems to be cut off from me... I am less aware of myself and my problems”.

• “My concentration is like breathing... I never think of it.. I am quite oblivious to my surroundings after I really get doing in this activity. I think that the phone could ring, and the doorbell could ring or the house burn down or something like that. When I start, I really do shut out the world. Once I stop I can let it back again”.

• “I am so involved in what I am doing... I don’t see myself as separate from what I am doing”.

Characteristics of flow

• Complete concentration

• An effortless control over your actions

• Action and one who act merge

• No sense of self (or self-consciousness)

• No sense of time

• Being absorbed (rather than absorbing)

• You’re no longer a participant observer, only a

participant.

Conditions of the flow experience

• There are clear goals every step of the way

• There is immediate feedback on the progress. For example, in a competition you know exactly how well you are doing, i.e. whether you are winning or losing.

• There is a balance between challenges and skills

The original Flow Model

Challenges to this view

• Can we get into flow when we are washing dishes (a low

challenge)?

• Can we get into flow when we daydream, watch a movie,

or read (low skills)?

• Another researcher of flow Antonella Delle Fave thinks

yes!

What's good about flow?

• It feels good

• It enhances achievement

• It improves your capacities and skills

• It enhances one’s self-esteem and contributes to well-

being

Is flow always good?

• How about gambling and other activity addictions?

• Flow is amoral

• It can make you forget the larger perspective (e.g. a

meeting)

• It can make you feel overconfident

What do mindfulness and flow have in common?

• They both relate to activity

• They both relate to our awareness

• They belong to the same species

• They both have potential to contribute to well-being

• They both have limitations on their own

Why dichotomy?

MINDFULNESS:• Broad awareness• Awareness of self and time• Low skill and challenge • Observed participant

FLOW:• Focused awareness• Not being aware of self and time• High skill and challenge• Participatory observer

They seem to be on the opposite side of the spectrum:

MINDFULNESS FLOW

The question: can we be in flow and mindful at the same time?

IF NO

MINDFULNESS

FLOW

IF YES

Contact:

Nash Popovic

n.popovic@uel.ac.uk