Mindfulness

Mindfulness is the practice of maintaining a nonjudgmental state of awareness of one’s thoughts, emotions and immediate experience on a moment-to-moment basis. Mindfulness has been shown to be an illuminating and effective aid in quieting anxiety.

As part of my specialization in transpersonal/spiritual psychology I studied mindfulness with Lobsang Rapgay. Dr.Rapgay had been a Tibetan Buddhist monk and translator for the Dalai Lama before doing a doctorate in clinical psychology at UCLA, where he now runs a mindfulness research program.

Dr. Rapgay taught us a hybrid of mindfulness with cognitive therapy, which I have found really helpful with many clients.

I consider some form of mindfulness to be a vital part of good mental health–rather like vitamins are to the body—and recommend and teach it to most of my patients.