如今，正念(mindfulness)是心理学及其后续领域的热门话题。在2012年，每个月都要出版40多篇关于正念的论文，这个数字打那儿开始就开始上升了。2014年9月，《卫报》记者Barney Ronay说，那一周出版了37本有关正念的新书。世界各地有许多致力于正念的会议、众多的正念组织，甚至是专门的科学期刊和杂志。然而，在如此高涨的合唱中，一个不同的声音，上个月出版的新书《佛陀药丸：冥想(Meditation)能改变你吗？》警告说：正念不是无害的。为了让大家迅速了解这些，以下是浓缩的正念的心理学：
What is mindfulness?什么是正念？
With its roots in various philosophical and religious traditions, especially Buddhism, mindfulness is usually defined as paying attention in a non-judgmental way to one’s experience of the here and now. Some psychologists’ and practitioners’ definitions are broader and speak of compassion for and curiosity about the world.The Oxford Mindfulness Centre, affiliated with the University of Oxford, states: “Mindfulness is the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, with compassion, and open-hearted curiosity.” A mindful mindset can be adopted deliberately as part of a meditative exercise, but mindfulness is also considered a trait. As a trait, mindfulness is measured by agreement with questionnaire items such as “I intentionally stay aware of my feelings” and disagreement with questionnaire items like “I tend to make judgments about how worthwhile or worthless my experiences are”. One popular measure,The Five-Facets Mindfulness Questionnairemeasures a person’s non-reactivity, their acting with awareness, tendency to be non-judgmental, to be observant, and to describe experiences.
正念根植于各种哲学和宗教传统，尤其是佛教。 正念通常的定义是：以一种非评判性的方式关注此时此地的体验。一些心理学家和实践者的定义更宽泛，并且讲到了对世界的悲悯心和好奇心。牛津大学附属牛津正念中心说：“正念是以慈悲和开放的好奇心关注当下之目的所显现的意识(awareness)。”人们可以有意识的采用作为冥想练习一部分的正念观念模式(mindful mindset)。但正念同时也是一种特质(trait)。正念作为一种特质，是通过诸如“我有意和自己觉知到的情绪共同相处”之类的问题来衡量一致性，并且与诸如“我倾向于判断我的体验是否有价值，或者其价值程度”之类的问题来衡量不一致。一个流行的测量方法是以五因素正念问卷(Five-Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire)测量一个人的非反应性、有意识行为、非判断倾向、善于观察、以及经验叙述。
Is mindfulness-based meditation beneficial?
基于正念的冥想是否有益？
Lots of research certainly suggests it can be, but there are question marks over the rigour of some studies. Case in point: a 2013 study reported that a brief mindfulness interventionincreased healthy people’s sense of inner peacecompared with a control group. But the control group did nothing, so as the researchers acknowledge, ” We cannot exactly say whether the significant positive effects in the present study were caused by the mindfulness practice or just by the non-specific support provided by a weekly group.”
大量的研究表明正念是有益的，但有些研究的严谨性是有问题的。比如，2013年的研究报告表明，与对照组相比，短暂的正念干预增加了健康人群内心的平静感，但是对照组什么也没做。因此研究人员承认，“我们不能确定目前研究中的显著正面效应是由正念联系引起的，或者仅仅是由每周一次的小组所提供的不确定的支持引起的。”
That said, a review from 2011 of 23 relevant studies reported thatmindfulness training could have benefits for people’s attentional control and working memory(although the authors warned the quality of the evidence was often poor). Another review, published the same year, of dozens of studies reported that mindfulness has a range of psychological benefits, includingreduced anxiety and greater feelings of life having meaning.
话虽如此，2011年的一项对23个相关研究的评审研究报告指出，正念训练可能有益于人们的注意力控制和工作记忆（尽管作者警告说，证据的质量非常贫乏）。同一年发表的另一份研究报告表明，正念有一系列的心理益处，包括焦虑减少和生活意义感的增加。
A systematic review from 2013 of 8 papers found that mindfulness meditation and similar practicescould be beneficial to prison inmates(for example by reducing their anger and hostility), but the authors again warned about the need for higher quality research. Increasingly, aspects of mindfulness meditation are being incorporated into forms of therapy. For instance, a meta-analysis and review from 2012 of controlled trials found that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy successfullyhelps prevent depression relapse.
2013年进行的一项研究系统的回顾了8篇论文后发现，正念冥想及其类似的练习可能对监狱犯人有益（例如，通过减少他们的愤怒和敌意获益），但是作者再次警告，需要进行更高质量的研究。治疗方式中纳入了越来越多的正念冥想。例如，2012的对照实验元分析和复审发现，基于正念的认知疗法成功的帮助了抑郁症复发的阻止。
What about trait mindfulness?
正念特质呢？
There’s evidence that people who are inclined to be mindful tend to have advantages over others who are not. For instance,students who are more mindful have higher self-esteem. And a study from the noughties reported thatpeople who score higher in trait mindfulness tend be more satisfied with their romantic relationships, and respond better to relationship stress. Another paper claimed thatmanagers who are more mindful tend to have higher-performing staff, who are more satisfied with their jobs. There is even evidence thatpeople who are more mindful are less susceptible to the harmful effects of discrimination.
有证据表明，那些倾向于留意正念的人往往比不喜欢正念的人更具优势。例如，有着更多正念的学生有更高的自尊。一项来自于Nords Read的研究报告表明，在正念特质中得分较高的人更满意他们的恋爱关系，人际关系的压力反应更好。另一篇论文声称，更注重正念特质的管理者员工的绩效更高，这些员工对他们的工作更满意。甚至有证据表明，有更多正念（练习）的人更不易受到歧视的有害影响。
How does mindfulness exert its apparent beneficial effects?
正念如何发挥其明显的有益效果？
Research into this question is ongoing, buta review published in 2011 proposed four key ways: by helping people have more control over their minds, such as the ability to ignore distractions; through increased awareness of one’s own body; through improved control over one’s own emotions and the ability to cope with unpleasant emotions; and finally, through a changed perspective on the self. Regarding the last component, Britta Hölzel and her colleagues write that: “In place of the identification with the static self, there emerges a tendency to identify with the phenomenon of ‘experiencing’ itself”. This fits the Buddhist teaching that there is no such thing as a permanent unchanging self. The authors go on to say that these four components are highly interrelated and are associated with various neural changes, such as enhanced grey matter in frontal brain areas involved in mental control.
这个问题正在研究之中。但是2011年发表的一篇评论提出了正念的四个关键方法：
- 帮助人们更多地控制自己的思想，比如忽视干扰的能力；
- 提高对自己身体的觉察；
- 提高对自己的情绪的控制以及应对不愉快情绪的能力；
- 最后是一种视角，关注于自己的变化的视角。
关于最后一个组成部分，Britta Hölzel和她的同事们写道：“在替代了静态自我认同的地方，出现了对‘体验’本身现象认同的倾向。”这符合佛教的教义，即，永恒不变的自我是不存在的。作者接着说，这四个组成部分是高度相关的，并与神经的各种变化相关联，例如，与精神控制有关的额叶脑区灰质的增强。
Mindfulness sounds amazing, is there any reason not to do it?
正念听起来很神奇，有不练习正念的理由么？
There’s some evidence that mindfulness meditation can beunhelpfulor even harmful for some people.A study from the early 90sreported that following a mindfulness-based meditation retreat most meditators described positive benefits, but 17 said they’d had at least one adverse effect, and two described experiencing “profound” adverse effects, such as panic attacks and loss of motivation.
有一些证据表明，对于某些人来说，正念冥想是没有帮助，甚至是有害的。90年代初的一项研究表明，在一种基于正念的冥想退出之后，大多数禅修者都描述了正念的积极益处，但是有17个人表示他们至少有一种不利的影响，而且其中两个人描述了“深刻的”负面影响体验，比如恐慌发作和失去动机。
A paper published in 2009summarises instances of adverse effects documented in 12 published case studies and reviews of mindfulness meditation. The authors place these adverse effects in three categories: mental health (e.g. anxiety, depersonalisation and hallucinations), physical health (e.g. seizures, double vision); and spiritual health (e.g. religious delusions).
2009年发表的论文总结了12篇已发表的案例研究和正念冥想评论之中所记载的不利影响的实例。作者将这些不利影响分为三类：心理健康（例如焦虑、人格解体和幻觉）、身体健康（例如癫痫发作、复视影像）和灵性健康（例如宗教妄想）。
So who could be at risk from these potential adverse effects?Another paper from 2012 warns that little research has been conducted into this question. The authors led by Patricia Dobkin explain why mindfulness might be risky for some vulnerable people: “Meditation, when practiced intently, leads one into deep exploration of ‘inner space.’ Long-held grief, body tension, and critical or judgmental thoughts may be met perhaps for the first time with full attention.”
那么，哪些人可能面临这些潜在的不利影响呢？另一份来自2012的论文警告说，与这个问题有关的研究很少。由Patricia Dobkin领导的研究解释了为什么正念可能对一些易感人群有风险：“专心练习冥想之时所导致的对‘内在空间’的深入探索，可能会在第一时间将注意力集中在长期的悲伤、身体紧张、以及挑剔或判断的想法之上。”
Writing inThe Guardian, co-author of The Budha Pill Catherine Wikholmreminds us: “the fact that meditation [including mindfulness-based versions] was primarily designed not to make us happier, but to destroy our sense of individual self – who we feel and think we are most of the time – is often overlooked in the science and media stories about it, which focus almost exclusively on the benefits practitioners can expect.”
《卫报》和《The Budha Pill》的作者Catherine Wikholm提醒我们：“冥想（包括以正念为基础的部分）最初的目的并不是为了让我们更快乐，而是为了毁掉我们对自己的感觉，毁掉那个我们大多数时间所认为的、所感受的自己。科学和媒体故事常常忽略这些，而这些报道几乎完全集中在从业人员期望的利益之上。
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