The Psychological Benefits from Reconceptualizing Music-Making as Mindfulness Practice

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 84-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Steinfeld ◽  
Judson Brewer
Keyword(s):  
Infinite Number ◽  
Mindfulness Meditation ◽  
Mindfulness Practice ◽  
Psychological Benefits ◽  
Music Psychology ◽  
Musical Practice ◽  
Music Making ◽  
Scholarly Attention ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Flow States

While the music psychology and education literatures have devoted considerable attention to how musical instrumentalists practice their instruments, less formal scholarly attention has been given in consideration of what it means to maintain a musical “practice” over time and across context. In this paper, the practice of mindfulness meditation is used as heuristic, arguing for a view of mindfulness meditation as a formalized de-specialization of the infinite number of other activities with which people can achieve mindfulness. Sitting meditation, requiring of one to observe the contents of their mind unmediated, can serve as a useful model for the musician in understanding the phenomenology of the music-making process and the “flow” states that can result from an embodied musical practice. Finally, reconceptualizing music-making as a mindfulness practice is considered with psychological and pedagogical implications relevant for developing musicians.

scholarly journals Effects of Physical Activity and Mindfulness on Resilience and Depression During the First Wave of COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberta Antonini Philippe ◽  
Laurie Schwab ◽  
Michele Biasutti
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Mindfulness Meditation ◽  
Traumatic Event ◽  
Depression Score ◽  
Demographic Variables ◽  
Mindfulness Practice ◽  
Physically Active ◽  
Resilience Scale ◽  
Swiss Population ◽  
Over Time

The first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic generated a significant number of stressors that the Swiss population had to deal with. In order to cope with and adapt to such adversity, it is essential to have protective factors that allow for resilience. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of mindfulness and physical activity on depression and resilience during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. A quantitative method was adopted asking participants who were engaged in physical activity or mindfulness to fill a battery of measures of depression and resilience and some demographic questions. The results showed that mindfulness practice strengthened the initial level of resilience of practitioners, suggesting that mindfulness meditation is a tool for coping with adversity during a potentially traumatic event. Conversely, physical activity practitioners maintained a stable resilience score over time, suggesting that exposure to adversity did not disrupt their state of biopsychospiritual homeostasis. Moreover, being physically active decreased the depression score over time. Regarding demographic variables, gender differences were observed in the average scores in the resilience scale and in the Depression Inventory.

scholarly journals Mindfulness Research Update: 2008

2009 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey M. Greeson
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Stress Reduction ◽  
Mindfulness Meditation ◽  
Stress Hormones ◽  
Theoretical Work ◽  
The Body ◽  
Mindfulness Practice ◽  
Optimal Health ◽  
The Brain

Objective: To briefly review the effects of mindfulness on the mind, the brain, the body, and behavior. Methods: Selective review of MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar databases (2003—2008) using the terms ``mindfulness,'' ``meditation,'' ``mental health,'' ``physical health,'' ``quality of life,'' and ``stress reduction.'' A total of 52 exemplars of empirical and theoretical work were selected for review. Results: Both basic and clinical research indicate that cultivating a more mindful way of being is associated with less emotional distress, more positive states of mind, and better quality of life. In addition, mindfulness practice can influence the brain, the autonomic nervous system, stress hormones, the immune system, and health behaviors, including eating, sleeping, and substance use, in salutary ways. Conclusion: The application of cutting-edge technology toward understanding mindfulness— an ``inner technology''—is elucidating new ways in which attention, awareness, acceptance, and compassion may promote optimal health—in mind, body, relationships, and spirit.

scholarly journals No Sustained Attention Differences in a Longitudinal Randomized Trial Comparing Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction versus Active Control

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donal G. MacCoon ◽  
Katherine A. MacLean ◽  
Richard J Davidson ◽  
Clifford Saron ◽  
Antoine Lutz
Keyword(s):  
Active Control ◽  
Sustained Attention ◽  
Stress Reduction ◽  
Visual Discrimination ◽  
Longitudinal Design ◽  
Mindfulness Practice ◽  
Clinical Population ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction ◽  
Over Time

Background: Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is a secular form of meditation training. The vast majority of the extant literature investigating the health effects of mindfulness interventions relies on wait-list control comparisons. Previous studies have found that meditation training over several months is associated with improvements in cognitive control and attention.Methodology/Principal Findings: We used a visual continuous performance task (CPT) to test the effects of eight weeks of mindfulness training on sustained attention by comparing MBSR to the Health Enhancement Program (HEP), a structurally equivalent, active control condition in a randomized, longitudinal design (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01301105) focusing on a non-clinical population typical of MBSR participants. Researchers were blind to group assignment. 63 community participants were randomized to either MBSR (n = 31) or HEP (n = 32). CPT analyses were conducted on 29 MBSR participants and 25 HEP participants. We predicted that MBSR would improve visual discrimination ability and sustained attention over time on the CPT compared to HEP, with more home practice associated with greater improvements. Our hypotheses were not confirmed but we did find some evidence for improved visual discrimination similar to effects in partial replication of other research. Our study had sufficient power to demonstrate that intervention groups do not differ in their improvement over time in sustained attention performance. One of our primary predictions concerning the effects of intervention on attentional fatigue was significant but not interpretable.Conclusions: Attentional sensitivity is not affected by mindfulness practice as taught in MBSR, but it is unclear whether mindfulness might positively affect another aspect of attention, vigilance. These results also highlight the relevant procedural modifications required by future research to correctly investigate the role of sustained attention in similar samples.

The Oxford Handbook of Time in Music

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Studies ◽  
Music Theory ◽  
Musical Work ◽  
Musical Practice ◽  
Musical Time ◽  
Music Making ◽  
Nature Of Time ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Profound Insight

As the art that calls most attention to temporality, music provides us with profound insight into the nature of time, and time equally offers us one of the richest lenses through which to interrogate musical practice and thought. In this volume, musical time, arrayed across a spectrum of genres and performance/compositional contexts is explored from a multiplicity of perspectives. The contributions to the volume all register the centrality of time to our understanding of music and music-making and offer perspectives on time in music, particularly though not exclusively attending to contemporary forms of musical work. In sharing insights drawn from philosophy, music theory, ethnomusicology, psychology of performance and cultural studies, the book articulates a range of understandings on the metrics, politics and socialities woven into musical time.

Mechanisms of change of traditional mindfulness practice in Thai adolescent students: a cross-sectional mediation study

2018 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Somboon Jarukasemthawee ◽  
Kullaya Pisitsungkagarn ◽  
Thanapol Leangsuksant ◽  
Natalia Lara González
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Regulation ◽  
Mindfulness Meditation ◽  
Mindfulness Practice ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Research Attention ◽  
Adolescent Students ◽  
Difficulties In Emotion Regulation ◽  
Eastern Cultures ◽  
Positive Correlations ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Given the substantial evidence for the efficacy of secular mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) for reducing psychological distress and increasing wellbeing, research attention has more recently turned to investigating the mechanisms by which this is achieved and has revealed that MBI works not only directly on reducing distress, but also indirectly through a reduction in mediating problems such as rumination and emotional regulation difficulty. However, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no studies have yet been undertaken to evaluate the effect on such mediating conditions, of traditional Buddhist mindfulness meditation, as practiced in Eastern cultures and increasingly in the West, from which MBIs have been derived but remain distinctly different. The current study was therefore designed to examine the effect of traditional mindfulness on mediating conditions in participants who were born into and were experienced in this approach. Specifically, the study examines the relationship between traditional mindfulness and distress, and between traditional mindfulness and the mediating conditions of rumination and emotional regulation difficulty, in Thai adolescent students experienced in Buddhist meditation practices. The results resonate well with the findings from MBI studies, showing significant negative correlations between rumination and distress and emotional regulation difficulty and distress, and significant positive correlations between mindfulness and the mediators. The implications of the benefits of traditional mindfulness for reducing non-clinical distress, rumination and difficulties in emotion regulation are discussed.

scholarly journals Disproportional Ownership Devices: Reviewing the Last 25 Years of Research

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Saggese ◽  
Fabrizia Sarto
Keyword(s):  
Financial Markets ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Civil Law ◽  
The Other ◽  
Main Research ◽  
The One ◽  
Lock In ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Scholarly Attention ◽  
Over Time

<p>The paper aims to systematize the literature on disproportional ownership devices by reviewing and classifying 148 articles published in international academic journals over the last 25 years. The findings show that the scholarly attention on disproportional ownership devices has grown over time. Most papers adopt the agency framework and examine the mechanisms for leveraging voting power and to lock-in control, especially in civil law countries. Corporate governance journals prevail as leading outlets, despite the lack of publications specialized on the topic. Finally, the literature systematization highlights a research taxonomy based on outcomes and drivers of disproportional ownership devices. The article has both theoretical and practical implications. First, it develops a literature framework that systematically outlines the main research streams on the topic and identifies under-explored issues so as to guide future scholarly efforts. Second, it highlights the implications of disproportional ownership devices for company outcomes and reporting. Thereby, on the one hand, it supports managers in selecting the appropriate combination of these mechanisms so as to attract and retain investors. On the other hand, it emphasizes the importance of proper policy making interventions to improve transparency, openness and competitiveness of financial markets.</p>

scholarly journals Polyphony and Poikilia: Theology and Aesthetics in the Exegesis of Tradition in Georgian Chant

Religions ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 402
Author(s):  
(Freedman)
Keyword(s):  
Historical Development ◽  
Folk Song ◽  
Geometrical Approach ◽  
Musical Structure ◽  
To Receive ◽  
The Trinity ◽  
Scholarly Attention ◽  
Over Time

Georgian polyphonic chant and folk song is beginning to receive scholarly attention outside its homeland, and is a useful case study in several respects. This study focuses on the theological nature of its musical material, examining relevant examples in light of the patristic understanding of hierarchy and prototype and of iconography and liturgy. After brief historical and theological discussions, chant variants and paraliturgical songs from various periods and regions are analysed in depth, using a primarily geometrical approach, describing the iconography and significance of style, musical structure, contrapuntal relationships, melodic figuration, and ornamentation. Aesthetics and compositional processes are discussed, and the theological approach in turn sheds light on questions of historical development. It is demonstrated that Georgian polyphony is a rich repository of theology of the Trinity and the Incarnation, and the article concludes with broad theological reflections on the place of sound as it relates to text, prayer, and tradition over time.

Constitutionalism

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Zackin
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Constitutional Politics ◽  
Enormous Amount ◽  
Political Traditions ◽  
Legal Document ◽  
The One ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Scholarly Attention ◽  
Over Time

The study of constitutionalism often begins with the question of what a constitution is. Sometimes the term refers to a single legal document with that name, but the term “constitution” may also refer to something unwritten, such as important political traditions or established customs. As a result, scholars sometimes distinguish between the “Big-C” constitution, that is, the constitutional document, and the “small-c” constitution, the set of unwritten practices and understandings that structure political life. Constitutionalism is typically associated with documents and practices that restrict the arbitrary exercise of power. Most constitutions contain guarantees of rights and outline the structures of government. Constitutions are often enforced in court, but nonjudicial actors, like legislatures or popular movements, may also enforce constitutional provisions. The relationship between democracy and constitutionalism is not at all straightforward, and it has received an enormous amount of scholarly attention. Constitutionalism seems to both undergird and restrain democracy. On the one hand, constitutions establish the institutions that allow for self-government. On the other, they are often said to restrict majoritarian decision-making. Related to this question of the relationship between constitutionalism and democracy are questions about how constitutions change and how they ought to change. Can written constitutions change without changes to the text, and can judges bring about these changes? Do extratextual changes threaten or promote democracy? Finally, not only do individual constitutions change, but the practice of writing constitutions and governing with them has also changed over time. In general, constitutions have grown more specific and flexible over time, arguably, allowing for a different kind of constitutional politics.

India and international norms of climate governance: a constructivist analysis of normative congruence building

2011 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 997-1019 ◽  
Author(s):  
HAYLEY STEVENSON
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Diffusion Process ◽  
International Norms ◽  
Climate Governance ◽  
Norm Diffusion ◽  
Important Player ◽  
International Climate ◽  
Climate Change Politics ◽  
Scholarly Attention ◽  
Over Time

AbstractThis article explores the process by which norms of international climate governance have diffused and evolved over time. The author develops a constructivist explanation for observed normative shifts in international climate governance. This explanation highlights the importance of building and maintaining congruence between domestic conditions and international norms. Due to the inherently fluid nature of both domestic conditions and international norms, it is argued that normative congruence building should be understood as an integral and iterative aspect of the norm diffusion process. This argument is substantiated through an analysis of the norm diffusion process in the context of India: a state commonly identified as an important player in international climate change politics, but one that has received surprisingly little scholarly attention in this area.

Mental Illness through the Lens of Mindfulness

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Lynn Dobkin ◽  
Kaveh Monshat
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Mindfulness Meditation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Self ◽  
Mindfulness Practice ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive ◽  
Compulsive Disorder ◽  
Middle Way ◽  
Western Psychology ◽  
Essential Components

The intention of this chapter is to re-envision mental illness within a paradigm that unites the biopsychosocial paradigm with a modern Buddhist spirituality, particularly associated with mindfulness. Emotion regulation, a balanced relationship with one’s self-concept, and social connection are usually regarded as essential components of well-being within both systems of thought. Western psychology and mindfulness practice have, at times, been seen to have fundamentally opposing aims: one to strengthen the self and the other to arrive at “no-self” or “emptiness.” This chapter purports that the two approaches may overlap and can be complementary both in their contribution to understanding the self and the regulation of emotions. Clinical narratives of depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and psychosis are included to exemplify the application of a whole-person outlook to understand mental illness. While an orientation to well-being through a mindfulness perspective may be generally helpful, mindfulness meditation is not a panacea: for some patients, it may be contraindicated, applied in a modified format, or used alongside medication and/or psychotherapy. This chapter presents a “middle way” between the views of suffering that informs mindfulness practice and that which is drawn from psychology and psychiatry.

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