A Consideration of Practising Mindfulness

¶ … Creating Connections With Others

Relationships are at the core of the human experience. The ability to develop healthy supportive relationships has been demonstrated as beneficial, helping to create good psychological well-being as well as aiding in the development of a practical support network, as well as creating resilience to negative life events. There is general agreement that the concepts currently associated with the practice of mindfulness, such as openness, empathy, compassion, loving-kindness, sympathetic joy, and equanimity, promotes psychological health (Stahl & Goldstein, 2010). However, undertaking the actions which lead to healthy relationships can be a challenge, especially in a society where there is a high level of individualism, rather than connection with others.

In the modern world, the political approaches towards a neoliberal list paradigms have resulted in social relationships based on personal benefit, encouraging minimal interference by the state, or third parties, on the lives of others. This can invariably result in a selfish approach towards life, placing one's own needs before others. While this approach does not negate the need to consider others, with emotions such as empathy and compassion, it does prioritise oneself over others. Therefore, the development of emotions that facilitate the creation of connections can be challenging. However, it should be remembered that when one individual practices these approaches towards life, encompassing mindfulness, may also be undertaken by others, so they may receive benefits from the practice of others as well as benefit from their own internal psychological outlook.

Openness is often perceived as creating the vulnerability. When one individual is open with another, there is honesty, which when reduced stress levels associated with concealment (Stahl & Goldstein, 2010). There is a natural suspicion associated with openness, it is practice can also help to engender greater levels of trust. This facilitates a greater connection with others, the trust will allow sharing, and also opens an individual to greater levels of empathy.

Empathy may be argued as one of the most valuable human emotions, facilitating the ability of an individual to you a situation from an external perspective. It can create understanding, but it should be remembered empathy does not require an individual to agree with another's perspective, but understand it, and then consider those feelings which are likely to be impacted by the presence of compassion. Empathy benefits from openness, but can require practice. It is not always natural to consider another perspective, and may require intense thought and consideration to identify influences and factors which are important to them. Empathy can be practised simply by reading the news, or talking to others, and instead of making judgements regarding the facts, making a purposeful effort to view the facts from another perspective. For example, when reading about trials, considering the perspective of the individual who committed the crime, possibly considering how and why they committed the crime. Likewise, even where individuals adopt and practice their life against values others may find distasteful, such as Nazism, examining the situation in order to understand how and why they may have come to their decision. This does not require agreement, but understanding can facilitate a greater ability to resolve issues when they arise, which can then lead to a greater competence in dealing with those issues.