Mindful

    
Mindfulness is now the fastest-growing "self-help" trend since yoga.
This has taken only 40 years.  This is a place to spotlight what
issues stand out for you (social, political, ethical, philosophical,
etc), personally, as mindfulness finds its way in American life, and
how might they be skillfully addressed.
  

    
I kind of wonder about the commercialization; it'll be interesting to 
observe, anyway. 

Basically I feel like simple sitting and meditating is good. I'm not 
clear on what the "mindfulness" thing adds to it.
  

    
If your simple sitting and meditating is anything you'd like to
share, Felicity, I for one would love to know more.  Maybe in
"Everyday Mindfulness"?  

Meanwhile, from The Department of Contradictions of
Commercialization. 
A friend in New Mexico sent me a photo from a Whole Foods magazine
rack where there's an issue of a special Power of Mindfulness
one-time-only magazine, above a magazine for Preppers – "Bug-Out
Planning!" ... Must-Have Survival Guide" ... "Be Ready Now" ...

Anyhoo ––– I, like so many, am aware of the rise of quick-fix
shake-and-bake approaches to mindfulness. They offer something of
value to some. Yet there's something more consequential that I
cherish. 

The watershed moment of backlash, if you will, was probably "Beyond
McMindfulness" in HuffPo, by Ron Purser & David Loy, five years ago
now.
https://goo.gl/mro1sk  Did anyone else notice it when it came out? 
How does it read today?

BTW, Ron's now finishing a book going into depth, ascribing much of
the fault to neoliberalism – which is also cited by some critics of
the reception of Buddhism in the West. 
https://goo.gl/K4fYtS


The thread here seems to be capitalism – and the question, "How can
a quest for the Greatest Good exist alongside a quest for the
greatest goods?"

While mindfulness has made great inroads first in healthcare, then
education, the workplace seems the latest frontier. Great as some
reports are, the jury's still out. Today I read a survey finding
mindfulness meditation impairs motivation in the workplace.
https://goo.gl/NaA3MJ
  

    
useful pointers in #2
  

    
Thank you, Paulina.

Perhaps also points of departure, for sharing first-hand
experiences, questions, comments, criticism, conversation, etc.
  

    
That study suggesting "demotivation" following meditation feels
flawed to me. The structure of the experiment is problematic - if
you ask me immediately after meditation whether I'm feeling
"motivated," I'm likely to say no - but what if you ask me 30
minutes later? Or an hour?