Mindfulness by Mark Williams and Danny Penman

Post date: Mar 2, 2014 8:27:23 PM

Book

Review

Overall, this is a practical and inspiring book about mindfulness meditation practices which supports its approaches with scientific evidence of their effectiveness. The first part of the book introduces and explains the benefits of mindfulness meditation (with supporting evidence) and the second part of the book details an eight week mindfulness meditation programme (MBCT) which draws on the work of John Kabat-Zinn, who writes in the foreword:

“The programme provides a coherent structure, an architecture if you will, within which you can observe your own mind and body and life unfolding, and a systematic and trustworthy approach for working with whatever arises...fashioned into a coherent, compelling, and commonsensical eight-week programme for anyone caring about his or her own health and sanity, especially in this increasingly fast paced and, as they refer to it, frantic world.” (x-xi)

The MBCT programme was designed for those who suffered repeat bouts of serious depression, and clinical trials have shown it to halve the risk of depression in those with the some of the most debilitating forms, and to be at least as effective as antidepressants.

“It is about seeing the world with greater clarity so that you can take wiser and more considered action to change those things which need to be changed. Meditation helps cultivate a deep and compassionate awareness that allows you to assess your goals and find the optimum path towards realising your deepest values.” (p7)

The authors make it clear that, while the programme is about learning to accept life as it is , but that “mindful acceptance is not resignation. It is not the acceptance of the unacceptable... In the long run, mindfulness encourages you to treat yourself and others with compassion” (p45).

Mindfulness is about learning to observe our thoughts uncritically and non-judgementally, and about being compassionate with ourselves and others - we can learn to observe unhappiness or stress as black clouds in the sky, and simply watch them drifting past.

The 8-week programme of activities is described in detail (and the authors indicate which tracks on the accompanying CD they relate to, making it easy to locate specific exercises and activities on the CD). In addition to the exercises themselves, which are laid out clearly in boxes or tables, you will find background information, explanations and analogies to help the reader understand the purposes and outcomes of the different exercises. In addition to the guided meditations, there are different activities and 'habit releasers' to do each week, and in the final week of the programme you are asked to create a sustainable routine of practices for the long term.

Academic interest: On the whole this is a well referenced book, although it is designed for self-help purposes, guiding people through a series of mindfulness activities (a programme which is also fully supported by a CD of exercises and tasks). If you are interested in the evidence for the effectiveness of mindfulness practices then this book contains some useful information and the notes pages provide details of some significant experiments and studies.

Practitioners: This is a highly practical book which contains a mindfulness programme which is closely based on the programme devised by John Kabat-Zinn (who wrote the foreword). The programme is supported by a CD which guides the listener through the meditations and activities – very useful for practitioner.

Self-helpers: Ideal for self-helpers, this book and its CD provides a guided programme of mindfulness meditation and associated practices, which have proved highly effective for the management of stress, depression and anxiety. The book contains boxes and table where key information is held – so an individual can follow these key activities quite easily. The CD is a great resource – with the speaker guiding you through meditations and activities in real time. Even if you don't want to try mediation, there are other activities and tasks which could be absorbed into your life. If you follow the 8-week programme, it has the potential to change the way you lead your life.

Best Bits

Describing the results of mindfulness meditation, they write:

“You come to realise that thoughts come and go of their own accord; that you are not your thoughts.”....”..watch as they appear in your mind... and watch again as they disappear, like a soap bubble bursting. You come to the profound understanding that thoughts and feelings (including negative ones) are transient. They come and they go, and ultimately you have a choice about whether to act on them or not.” (p4-5)

Mindfulness is described as a kind of mind-training where:

“Pure awareness transcends thinking. It allows you to step outside the chattering negative self-talk and your reactive impulses and emotions. It allows you to look at the world once again with open eyes. And when you do so, a sense of wonder and quiet contentment begins to reappear in your life” (p31).

One of the concepts discussed is that of 'Doing' mode versus 'Being' mode – where in Being mode a person is more present in the moment, less judgemental and less analytical, more empathetic towards others and more compassionate towards themselves.

'become more accepting ... allows you to approach your difficulty with a sense of warmth and curiosity.' (p44).

The authors claim that at the end of the programme, if it is followed:

“You will understand... that worries, stresses and anxieties can be held in a larger space, in which they emerge and dissolve, leaving you to rest in awareness itself – it's a sense of being complete and whole that is independent of your preconceptions. At the end of the eight-week programme many people report knowing, deep within themselves, that this feeling of profound stillness, of being happy, content and free, is always available to them – it's only ever a breath away.' (p66).

About the authors

Mark Williams is Professor of Clinical Psychology, and he is the Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellow at Oxford University and has studied stress and anxiety for over 30 years. The MCBT programme (Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy) was originally developed by Mark Williams, John Teasdale (Cambridge Uni) and Zindel Segal (Uni Toronto). Williams is also co-author of The Mindful Way Through Depression.

Dr Danny Penman is a feature and comment writer who has written for the Daily Mail, the Independent and the BBC. He has a Phd Biochemistry, and has personal experience of using mindfulness to help him to manage pain, for which it is also proven to be effective.