Mindfulness Based Harm Reduction Resources

[F'Loki]

18 Science-Based Reasons to Try Loving-Kindness Meditation



By Emma Seppälä, Ph.D

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  Many of us have heard of meditation’s benefits. We may have even tried meditation once or twice. And many of us will have found it hard and concluded that “meditation is not for me.” But wait! Did you know there are many forms of meditation? There are mantra meditations, visualization meditations, open-focus meditations, breath-based meditations and so many more. You just have to find the shoe that fits. An easy one to start with is one that evokes a very natural state in us: kindness.

What Is Loving-Kindness Meditation?
Loving-kindness meditation focuses on developing feelings of goodwill, kindness and warmth towards others (Salzberg, 1997). As I’ve described in my TEDx talk, compassion, kindness and empathy are very basic emotions to us. Research shows that loving-kindness meditation has a tremendous amount of benefits ranging from benefitting well-being to giving relief from illness and improving emotional intelligence:

WELL-BEING

1. Increases Positive Emotions & Decreases Negative Emotions
In a landmark study, Barbara Frederickson and her colleagues (Fredrickson, Cohn, Coffey, Pek, & Finkel, 2008) found that practicing seven weeks of loving-kindness meditation increased love, joy, contentment, gratitude, pride, hope, interest, amusement, and awe. These positive emotions then produced increases in a wide range of personal resources (e.g., increased mindfulness, purpose in life, social support, decreased illness symptoms), which, in turn, predicted increased life satisfaction and reduced depressive symptoms.

2. Increases vagal tone, which increases positive emotions & feelings of social connection
A study by Kok et al (2013)found that individuals in a loving-kindness meditation intervention, compared to a control group, had increases in positive emotions, an effect moderated by baseline vagal tone — a physiological marker of well-being.

HEALING
We don’t usually think of meditation as being able to help us with severe physical or mental ailments, but research shows it can help.

3. Decreases migraines
A recent study by Tonelli et al (2014) demonstrated the immediate effects of a brief loving-kindness meditation intervention in reducing migraine pain and alleviating emotional tension associated with chronic migraines.

4. Decreases chronic pain
A pilot study of patients with chronic low back pain randomized to loving-kindness meditation or standard care, loving-kindness meditation was associated with greater decreases in pain, anger, and psychological distress than the control group (Carson et al., 2005).

5. Decreases PTSD
A study by Kearney et al (2013) found that a 12-week loving-kindness meditation course significantly reduced depression and PTSD symptoms among veterans diagnosed with PTSD.

6. Decreases schizophrenia-spectrum disorders
Also, a pilot study by Johnson et al. (2011) examined the effects of loving-kindness meditation with individuals with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. Findings indicated that loving-kindness meditation was associated with decreased negative symptoms and increased positive emotions and psychological recovery.

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE BRAIN
We know that the brain is shaped by our activities. Regularly practicing loving-kindness meditation can help activate and strengthen areas of the brain responsible for empathy & emotional intelligence

7. Activates empathy & emotional processing in the brain
We showed this link in our research (Hutcherson, Seppala & Gross, 2014) and so have our colleagues (Hoffmann, Grossman & Hinton, 2011).

8. Increases gray matter volume
in areas of the brain related to emotion regulation: Leung et al (2013); Lutz et al (2008); Lee et al (2012)

THE STRESS RESPONSE
Loving-kindness meditation also benefits your psychophysiology & makes it more resilient.

9. Increases respiratory Sinus Arrythmia (RSA)
Just 10 minutes of loving-kindness meditation had an immediate relaxing effect as evidenced by increased respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), an index ofvparasympathetic cardiac control (i.e., your ability to enter a relaxing and restorative state), and slowed (i.e., more relaxed) respiration rate (Law, 2011 reference).

10. Decreases telomere length — a biological marker of aging
We know that stress decreases telomere length (telomeres are tiny bits of your genetic materials — chromosomes — that are a biological marker of aging). However, Hoge et al (2013) found that women with experience in loving-kindness meditation had relatively longer telomere length compared to age-matched controls! Throw out the expensive anti-aging creams and get on your meditation cushion!

SOCIAL CONNECTION
11. Makes you a more helpful person
Loving-kindness meditation appears to enhance positive interpersonal attitudes as well as emotions. For instance, Leiberg, Klimecki and Singer (2011) conducted a study that examined the effects of loving-kindness meditation on pro-social behavior, and found that compared to a memory control group, the loving-kindness meditation group showed increased helping behavior in a game context.

12. Increases compassion
A recent review of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) concludes that loving-kindness meditation may be the most effective practice for increasing compassion (Boellinghaus, Jones & Hutton, 2012)

13. Increases empathy
Similarly, Klimecki, Leiberg, Lamm and Singer (2013) found that loving-kindness meditation training increased participants’ empathic responses to the distress of others, but also increased positive affective experiences, even in response to witnessing others in distress.

14. Decreases your bias towards others
A recent study (Kang, Gray & Dovido, 2014) found that compared to a closely matched active control condition, six weeks of loving-kindness meditation training decreased implicit bias against minorities.

15. Increases social connection
A study by Kok et al (2013) found that those participants in loving-kindness meditation interventions who report experiencing more positive emotions also reported more gains in perception of social connection as well.

SELF-LOVE
How many of us are slaves to self-criticism or low self-esteem? How many of us do not take as good care as we should of ourselves?

16. Curbs self-criticism:
A study by Shahar et al (2014) found that loving-kindness meditation was effective for self-critical individuals in reducing self-criticism and depressive symptoms, and improving self-compassion and positive emotions. These changes were maintained three months post-intervention

IMMEDIATE & LONG-TERM IMPACT
The nice thing about loving-kindness meditation is that it has been shown to be effective in both immediate and small doses (i.e. instant gratification) but that it also has long-lasting and enduring effects.

17. Is effective even in small doses
Our study — Hutcherson, Seppala and Gross (2008)— found an effect of a small dose of loving-kindness meditation (practiced in a single short session lasting less than 10 minutes). Compared with a closely matched control task, even just a few minutes of loving-kindness meditation increased feelings of social connection and positivity toward strangers.

18. Has long-term impact.
A study by Cohn et al (2011) found that 35 percent of participants of a loving-kindness meditation intervention who continued to meditate and experience enhanced positive emotions 15 months after the intervention. Positive emotions correlated positively with the number of minutes spent meditating daily.
Want to give it a shot? I created a recording of the loving-kindness meditation we used in our study that you can download here or access on YouTube here.
Let me know what you think in the comment section below! Happy meditating!

Follow Emma Seppälä, Ph.D on Twitter: www.twitter.com/emmaseppala

 

[F'Loki]

Her short 10 minute TEDxTALKS. Highly recommended. The second one in particular is very touching (About PTSD in soldiers and a personal friend who lost his legs in Iraq).

 

[F'Loki]

Loving-Kindness (metta) Meditation is NOT…
• Selfish. The first step toward loving others is to love ourselves. The fault we find with ourselves will also be found in others. Metta teaches us to be kind to ourselves no matter what happens, even as we shape our behavior for the better.
• Complacent. Metta is a force of will—good will—that can override the instinctive tendencies of fear and anger. Metta frees us from old habits. It allows us to learn from pain and respond skillfully.
• Positive affirmation. Affirmations are an effort to encourage ourselves by saying things we may not believe, like “I’m getting stronger every day!” Metta isn’t fooling ourselves that our situation is better than it is. The phrases must be intellectually credible to work smoothly.
• Just a mantra. Although the metta phrases are repeated like a mantra, there’s more to it than that. In addition to using the power of attention, metta works with connection, intention, and emotion. We’re doing whatever it takes to cultivate a loving attitude.
• Sugarcoating. We’re not trying to make the reality of our lives less harsh by learning to think or speak in a sweet way. Rather, we want to open to the depth of human experience, including the tragedy of it, more fully. This is possible only if we have a compassionate response to pain.
• A pity party. Opening to pain is not self-indulgent. We’re not wallowing in discomfort, complaining, or whining excessively. On the contrary, opening to pain through compassion allows us to unhook from the familiar story lines of our lives.
• Good feelings. Metta is primarily cultivation of good will rather than good feelings. Feelings come and go, but the ground of our being is the universal wish to be happy and free from suffering. That’s where we put our trust.
• Exhausting. Exhaustion is the result of attachment—wanting things to be one way and not the other. Loving-kindness and compassion stay away from the business of controlling reality so it’s more of a relief than a struggle.
• Demanding. Metta is always on the wishing side of the equation rather than the outcome side. Positive outcomes will certainly come with time, but we’re primarily learning to cultivate a kind attitude no matter what happens to us or to others. Sticking with the wish and remaining unattached to the outcome is unconditional love.

© Germer & Neff, 2010. Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) Training Program.

http://www.mindfulselfcompassion.org/handouts/handouts040212/LovingKindnessMedisnot.pdf

 

[MaCherie]

I'm glad I found this TPD. A doctor told me about this type of meditation a few months back. So much info to come back and check out!

 

[Jabberwocky]

Using Mindfulness to Overcome:
Notes on Dealing with Feelings of Guilty and Shame

I know there are a lot of other heroin addicts who like me have caused tremendous harm to our loved ones. How do you ever find a way to cope with it though when you don't feel you deserve it. As much as ive hurt myself, as much as I hate myself, I don't feel like I've hurt nearly enough to make up for my crimes. I don't feel like I can do this, I don't feel like I'm gonna survive this. I don't think I want too. I'm not suicidal, I just want it over. I feel like I've gone too far to come back now. All that awaits me now is death, or jail then death. I'm too damaged to survive. Thats how I feel. And if I do survive, all that awaits then is the pain and guilt of what I've done. Among countless other emotional problems I had before my addiction.

I'm sorry to hear you have been struggling Jess. You're a really valuable person, with so much to offer the world, it's a shame (pun not intended) that you are devoting so much of your time and energy to feeling guilty and beating yourself up about it (I'm not saying this is "bad," just that it isn't exactly super productive if you're interested in engaging in healthier, more fulfilling, skillful or wise ways of living). Anyways, on to my $0.02...

Cultivating a more aware, mindful relationship inclusive to as much as possible in the diversity of my experiences has been the most helpful way I have addressed deep, pervasive feelings of existential guilt and shame related to things I've done.

Ultimately I have the pretty firm belief that all action and intention flows from a place of need and desire to experience peace, love and connection. You might feel or think you don't deserve to experience such things, but this doesn't mean you are any less deserving than anyone else. In fact, it's is in our nature as humans to seek out connection and love - we are social animals after all. Without one another we'd each die.

I have trained myself to accomplish this through cultivating awareness of the dynamics of perception: how I experience individual sensations, emotions and thoughts, as well as an awareness of the interrelated connections shared between the perception of sensation, emotion and thought (thought as in mental auditory and visual images/representations; an "idea" would be more auditory whereas "playing back a memory" would be more visual).

It's really a practice of exploring some very charged desires and revulsions (such as states of craving, aversion, and fantasy), with a clearer understanding of their operation learning how to come out of autopilot and "let go" of the pleasant and unpleasant sensations that seduce us. Basically I'm conditioning myself to surf urges and impulsive, not to simply fly on autopilot through my life according to labels like good or bad, right or wrong. It's a process characterized most perhaps by learning to get good at letting go.

Something I've noticed rather recently has been the impact of gaining an awareness of how others hear me. The experience of feeling heard is so incredibly profound, particularly when is dealing with profound shame and existential guilt. The experience of being heard of course requires interaction with folks who are capable of hearing you, tapping into what is meaningful to you - what you are really interested in and all about. It requires mindful listening, tolerance, understanding, compassion and patience (these qualities come naturally more to some than others, but more people have to work to cultivate them for them to be meaningful).

Once you find people who are capable of hearing you, the results are profound. Feeling heard and acknowledged in this kind of way is a huge catalyst when it comes to the motivation that can be required to address unwholesome or unhealthy habits, such as overwhelming feelings of guilt or shame. In my experience it is THE catalyst for developing more personal agency and freedom.

The more we attach to feelings the more they significant part of how we think of ourselves, the kind of person we see ourselves as (even though the ultimate reality of who we are couldn't be further from that kind of malaise and self-loathing). I'm not suggesting anyone would be better off ignore their feelings or emotions, whether they are easy or difficult to experience, and especially not emotions like like guilt or shame. A deep exploration of our relationship to difficult emotions can enhance how we see and act on the world, and provides the kind of richness not so obvious when it comes to exploring more pleasant experiences like joy.

Developing a robust self-compassion practice has also done a hell of a lot for me. While it is important to understand the dynamics involve in our present moment experience through exercises designed to increase concentration, it is just as important to devote time to cultivating particular healthy, more wholesome mind states (after all, certainly for the majority, self-hatred does not seem to be a particular practical or healthy mind state). These would be mind states where you can see yourself in more of the totality of who you are, as opposed to cultivating a kind of tunnel vision that narrows and limits conscious perception of experience to only those experiences that are pleasurable or difficult (which limits our decision making ability). Seeing myself as the multidimensional individual that I am, with areas both to improve and become healthier and of strength and capacity, is what I mean.

Practicing to cultivate deeper ways of seeing and interacting with the world has actually made it very difficult for me to engage difficult feelings like shame and guilt that continue to arise in the same kinds of unskillful ways getting stuck in them has caused in the past. By engaging in the kinds of practice required to see myself and my world more clearly, it has become very difficult for me to identify too strongly with shame and guilt. As I engage more in ethical, virtuous behaviors and a more wholesome, compassionate relationship with my sense of self, I have less inclination to believe the afflictive voices in my head telling me I am less than, not good enough, a failure of a human being, etc. etc.

Yes, I'm done things that cause me to feel ashamed and guilty sometimes, but these things do not define the totally of who I am or the totality of my experience. Through gaining an awareness of how my actions have caused me as well as other to suffer, instead of feeling driven to ruminate on guilt, shame or the past I find that really what happens is that it become much more distasteful to continue to engage in immoral or unethical behavior. After all, the very behavior that leads to the experience of shame and feelings of guilt.

So with awareness of how I have unskillfully in the past, how I have harmed myself and others, makes engaging in such behavior moving forward is both more distasteful and less productive. Once one begins to gain a deep awareness of something in the particular way I've been describing, not engaging in the kinds of personal change and transformation that make such behaviors that lead to more guilt and shame so unappealing that we simply stop engaging in them in favor of engaging in more skillful, healthier and more wholesome choices and activities.

We're so much more than what we do - both the good and the bad. As a favorite teacher likes to say, "the quality of your present moment experience is determined by the object of your attention." I guess it's kind of like you are what you eat (see the two wolf story).

[I still need to add the part of describing my particular experience related to guilt and shame]

 

[ConstanceG]

Bumpity Bump

This. Looove. ^^^^^^^

 

[LopLover]

Great resources here! I've been trying on different meditation techniques, trying to find one that really works for me. Thank you. Namaste.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Great resources here! I've been trying on different meditation techniques, trying to find one that really works for me. Thank you. Namaste.

Let us know if you have any questions re: technique. Ultimately it's all about you experimenting with various approaches, discovering what you're drawn to and starting from there. Things tend to happen pretty organically and cannot be forced with this stuff. The good news is that willingness and consistent, regular effort (even just a little effort) is all you'll need to develop you're own practice.

If you don't mind my asking, what does you practice look like?

 

[deuce85]

Does anyone know what happened to Neversickanymore? I noticed he doesn't post anymore.

 

[Jabberwocky]

He had some stuff going on in his personal life that necessitated his stepping away. Definitely one of BL’s all time members and a personal mentor to me in SL. I miss his love for deadhead jams