Keeping mindfulness in mind

An article about mindfulness by James Brooks was published in Research Professional on 22nd July 2015.  A number of Universities run mindfulness sessions for students but there is generally less support for academics and research staff.

‘Willem Kuyken is the director of the University of Oxford’s Mindfulness Centre. Kuyken is a clinical psychologist and, like many mindfulness researchers, he also practises the technique. But his peers outside the field tend to view mindfulness rather sceptically. “That scepticism is very healthy,” he says. “My colleagues want to see the evidence, they want to see the assumptions unpacked, they want clear definitions. That’s good.” However, he acknowledges that such scepticism makes them less likely to try it for themselves. Are they missing out on something that could help them in their jobs? Kuyken doesn’t preach. He does say, however, that mindfulness has strongly informed his approach to research: “When puzzling over data, for example, mindfulness practice can bring a different, non-analytical mode of mind to that usually employed. In that mode, I find that creative solutions can appear.”

Have you tried using mindfulness techniques?  Do they work for you? Would you like more courses to be offered in the University?

mindfulness

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