Resources-+Articles

**You Gotta Have Heart**, Christoper Germer, 2006
Excerpt from the article: "What we're trying to do with mindfulness is evoke a complete state of mind, much as a hologram can project an image into the center of a room, or a poem can illuminate a perception in the heart of the listener. Within the cognitive-behavioral tradition, the word //acceptance//, or //radical acceptance// (to use Marsha Linehan's expression), is used typically to convey the nature of mindfulness. I've found, however, from personal and clinical experience, that other words are necessary to evoke the heart quality of mindfulness. They include //tenderness, care, self-compassion, lovingkindness,// and //simply love."// (http://www.mindfulselfcompassion.org/articles/YouGottaHaveHeart.html)

**What is Mindfulness?**, Christopher Germer, 2004
Exceprt from the first chapter of Germer's book: "Mindfulness and Psychotheraphy". Take from the first page: "Psychotherapists are in the business of alleviating emotional suffering. Suffering arrives in innumerable guises: stress, anxiety, depression, behavior problems, interpersonal conflict, confusion, despair. It is the common denominator of all clinical diagnoses and is endemic to the human condition. Some of our suffering is existential, such as sickness, old age and dying. Some suffering has a more personal flavor. The cause of our individual difficulties may include past conditioning, present circumstances, genetic predisposition, or any number of interacting factors. Mindfulness, a deceptively simple way of relating to experience, has long been used to lessen the sting of life’s difficulties, especially those that are seemingly selfimposed. In this volume we will illustrate the potential of mindfulness for enhancing psychotherapy." (http://www.mindfulselfcompassion.org/articles/insight_germermindfulness.pdf)

**MINDFULNESS: What is it? Where does it come from?, Siegel, Germer, Olendzki, 2008**
Exceprt from the "Clinical Handbook of Mindfulness". Taken from the first pages: "As this book will show, mindfulness is a deceptively simple way of relating to all experience that can reduce suffering and set the stage for positive personal transformation. It is a core psychological process that can alter how we respond to the unavoidable difficulties in life— not only to everyday existential challenges, but also to severe psychological problems such as suicidal ideation (Linehan, 1993), chronic depression (Segal, Williams & Teasdale, 2002), and psychotic delusions (Bach and Hayes, 2002)." ([] )

**WITHIN CONNECTIONS: Empathy, Mirror Neurons, and Art Education//,//** Jeffers, 2009
The writer explores the relationship between empathy, mirror neurons, and art education. First, she presents results of neuroscientific research identifying the neurological basis of empathy. Then, she presents anecdotal evidence from preservice art education courses for links between mirror neurons, empathic social interaction, and anesthetic response. Finally, she outlines implications for classroom practice.

**CULTIVATING POSITIVE EMOTIONS TO OPTIMIZE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING**, Fredrickson, 2000
This article develops the hypothesis that intervention strategies that cultivate positive emotions are particularly suite for preventing and treating problems rooted in negative emotion, such as anxiety, depression, aggression, and stress-related health problems.

**THE BENEFITS OF BEING PRESENT: Mindfulness and Its Role in Psychological Well-Being**, Brown & Ryan, 2003
This research provides a theoretical and empirical examination of the role of mindfulness in psychological well-being An experience-sampling study shows that both dispositional and state mindfulness predict self-regulated behavior and positive emotional states. In addition, a clinical intervention study with cancer patients demonstrates that increases in mindfulness over time relate to declines in mood disturbance and stress.

**LEADERSHIP THAT GETS RESULTS**, Daniel Goleman //(Harvard Business Review, March-April 2000)//
Idea in Brief: Research has shown that the most successful leaders have strengths in the following emotional intelligence compentencies: **self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills.** There are six basic styles of leadership; each makes use of the key components of emotional intelligence in different combinations. The best leaders don't know just one style of leadership- they're skilled at several and have the flexibility to switch between styles as the circumstances dictate.

**MEDITATION EXPERIENCE IS ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED CORTICAL THICKNESS,** Lazar et al. 2005
Article on the study of Insight meditation (which involves focused attention to internal experiences) and its effects on the brain's cortical thickness. It was hypothesized that meditation practice might be associated with changes in the brain's physical structure. MRI's were used to assess cortical thickness in participants with extensive Insight meditation experience and a control group. Their findings showed that brain regions associated with attention, interoception and sensory processing were thicker in the meditation participants than in those from the control group. The date provides the first structural evidence for experience-dependent cortical plasticity associated with meditation practice.

**REGULATION OF THE NEURAL CIRCUITRY OF EMOTION BY COMPASSION MEDITATION: Effects of the Meditative Experience,** Lutz et al. 2008
Practitioners in a number of traditions have developed meditative practices which are thought to counteract self-centered tendencies while generation compassion for others. One such tradition is loving-kindness-compassion meditation. This study examines the brain circuitry engaged by the generation of a state of "compassion and loving-kindness meditation state" in long-term Buddhist meditators and novice meditators. The findings show that brain regions underlying emotions and feelings are modulated in response to emotional sounds as a function of the state of compassion, the valence of the emotionals sounds, and the degree of expertise (of meditation). The study therefore suggets that cultivating the intent to be compassionate and kind can enhance empathetic responses to social stimuli.

**SELF-COMPASSION TO UNPLEASANT SELF-RELEVANT EVENTS: The Implications of Treating Oneself Kindly** (Leary et al. 2007)
An article on 5 studies on the cognitive and emotional processes by which self-compassionate people deal with unpleasant life events. Self-compassion (SC) is defined as being open to and moved by one's own suffering, experiencing feelings of caring and kindness towards oneself, taking an understanding, nonjudgmental attitude towards one's inadequacies and failures, and recognizing that one's experience is part of the common human experience. The studies found that SC attenuates people's reactions to negative events in ways that are distinct from and, in some cases, more beneficial than self-esteem.

**MINDFUL PRACTICE IN ACTION (I): Technical Competence, Evidence-Based Medicine, and Relationship-Centered Care** (Epstein, 2003)
First part of a 2-part serioes of articles on mindfulness in the medical profession. Mindfulness is defined as a purposeful, non-anxious, reflective presence that can be applied to an aspect of medical practice. It is a state of mind that permits insight, presence, and relfection. Articles uses clinical stories and observations to invoke examples of mindfulness in the medical field and its importance in medical training. Levels of mindfulness extend from mindless imitation to embodied presence, and are described in the text.

**MINDFUL PRACTICE IN ACTION (II):: Cultivating Habits of Mind** (Epstein, 2003)
Second part of a 2-part series of articles on mindfulness in the medical profession. Epstein proposes an 8-fold method for promoting mindful practice in medicine: (a) Priming - setting the expectation of self-observation, (b) Availability - creating physical and mental space for exchange, (c) Reflective questions to open up possibilities and invite curiosity, (d) Active engagement - direct observation and exchange, (e) Modeling while "thinking out loud" to make mental processes more transparent, (f) Practicing attentiveness, curiosity, and presence, (g) Praxis- consolidation of learning by experience, and (h) Assessment and confirmation. Examples are included from medicine, music, and meditation.

**TEACHING EMPATHY: A Framework Rooted in Social Cognitive Neuroscience and Social Justice,** Gerdes et al. (//Journal of Social Work Education, Winter 2011//)
Authors propose that a "targeted and structured explication of empathy is a useful, if not essential, foundation for social work theory and practice". In the article, they outline a social work framework for empathy using recent findings in the field of social cognitive neuroscience in addition to the social work context as its roots. Their aim is to help students understand the basic process of neural pathway developments involved in created empathic responses and to develop and maintain cognitive empathic abilities. Additionally, they hope to teach students to use their knowledge, values, and skills, informed by empathy, to take empathic action consciously.

**A STUDY WITH A FOLLOW-UP OF THE EFFECTS OF MUSIC EDUCATION ON HOLISTIC DEVELOPMENT OF EMPATHY,** Kalliopuska & Ruokonen, 1993
The Finnish authors report on the impact of a 12-hour empathy education program that was given to 32 children, 6 years old over a period of 12 months. Several tests were used to rate the students pre- and post-participation in the program. The tests showed a significant increase in empathy and prosociability for the test group and no significant increase among the controls.

**AN EXPLORATION IN MINDFULNESS: Classroom of Detectives**, Reid & Miller (//Teachers College Record, December 2009//)
An exploratory study on a mindfulness program used in a fifth-grade classroom.. The primary aim of the study was to investigate the feasibility of a mindfulness training workbook written for young children. The goal of the book was to help children understand and access their own mindfulness within the classroom setting without instruction by teachers and without using meditation techniques. The findings show that the mindfulness program was feasible and overall improvements in attention were evident. They also found that children who needed the most help at the onset of the pgoram showed the greatest improvement by the end.

**MINDFULNESS TRAINING IN CHILDHOOD,** Lyons & Zelazo, 2011
The authors address training mindfulness in children. It is explained that mindfulness is a skill and its goal is staying with the present moment by focusing on breathing, and can be developed in people of all ages.