MINDFULNESS FOR A HEALTHY HEART

According to the Australian Heart Foundation, every 10 minutes somebody in Australia dies from heart disease. The leading underlying cause of death for all Australians is reported to be ischaemic heart disease (IHD), contributing to some 18 per cent of all male deaths and some 17 per cent of all female deaths. Heart disease is also the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States of America … and many other places as well.

Joel Dimsdale's 2008 article ‘Psychological Stress and Cardiovascular Disease’ published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, is a metaanalysis of the world's research literature on the unique relationship between stress and cardiovascular disease (CVD).

CVD is not a single disorder but represents over 20 different disease including stroke, various heart diseases (including coronary heart disease), and heart failure. According to the American Heart Association, if all forms of CVD were eliminated, total life expectancy in the US would increase by 7 years. The main cause of CVD is atherosclerosis – the build up of fatty plaque on the inner layer of artery walls. This can lead to blood clots. When a coronary artery or vessel is blocked, it is called coronary heart [or artery] disease, which is the major form of CVD.

Major risk factors for CVD include smoking, high blood pressure, physical inactivity, obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Now, what is clear is that stress triggers events. It is less clear if stress actually causes events. However, Dimsdale has documented overwhelming evidence confirming the ‘deleterious effects of stress on the heart and for the fact that vulnerability and resilience factors play a role in amplifying or dampening those effects’.

The heart and blood vessels are particularly sensitive to acute and chronic stress. With every beat, the heart not only pumps blood, but also transmits complex patterns of neurological, hormonal, pressure and electromagnetic information to the brain and throughout the body.

The heart is uniquely positioned as a powerful communications hub that connects the body, mind, emotions and spirit. Research suggests that there is an elaborate feedback network of hormones, chemicals and nerves that exist between the brain, the heart and centres of thoughts and emotions. The heart sends the brain messages that affect our perceptions, our mental processing and our feelings.

We all know that there is a strong connection between stress and cardiovascular health via multiple pathways including type A behaviour pattern (hostility and anger are the lethal elements), the direct effects of adrenaline on blood vessels and the heart itself (Takotsubo cardiomyopathy), acceleration of atherosclerosis leading to coronary artery disease, abnormal metabolism, insulin resistance and inflammation, and irritability of the heart muscle.

You can help prevent heart disease by quitting smoking, lowering cholesterol, controlling high blood pressure and blood sugar, maintaining a healthy weight and exercising. Oh, yes, I guess I don’t need to tell you - but I will anyway - that there is abundant evidence in the medical and scientific journals attesting to the benefits of meditation – especially mindfulness meditation – as regards personal risk management for heart disease … not to mention so many other kinds of disease as well.

A study examining the effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction found a significant improvement in breathing efficiency and frequency (Robert-McComb et al: 2004), which assists in the management of heart disease. Lowered resting level of the stress hormone cortisol was also observed (cf cortisol-induced hypertension). Higher and more prolonged levels of cortisol in the bloodstream - like those associated with chronic stress - have been shown to have numerous negative effects including hypertension, impaired cognitive performance, suppressed thyroid function, blood sugar imbalances such as hyperglycemia, decreased bone density and muscle tissue, lowered immunity, and inflammatory responses in the body.

We all know that hypertension is a major risk factor for heart attacks and cardiovascular disease. An 8-month study involving 111 teens on the verge of becoming hypertensive adults, found that meditation helps blood vessels relax (Barnes et al: 2004). Two 15-minute meditation sessions led to an average 21 per cent increase in the ability of the teens' blood vessels to dilate. In contrast, the teens who did not meditate experienced a 4 per cent decrease in blood vessel dilation over the 8-month study.

Lead investigator Dr Vernon A Barnes, stated: ‘We know that this type of change is achievable with lipid-lowering drugs, but it's remarkable that a meditation program can produce such a change. This could have important implications for inclusion of meditation programs to prevent and treat cardiovascular diseases and its clinical consequences.’

Another important study shows that mindfulness meditation is associated  with improved glycemic control in type 2 diabetes (Rosenzweig et al: 2007).

Mindfulness is not just an antidote for stress. Mindfulness actually changes things – you! The only 'thing' you can ever change. (You're powerless over everything else.) The regular practice of mindfulness meditation allows you to make the necessary ‘adjustments’ to changing circumstances and unprecedented events. You learn to refine and adjust your expectations (and invent new expectations) and to tailor your ‘responses’ [cf ‘reactions’] to emerging threats as well as general existential uncertainty.

The key elements? I have mentioned these two phrases so many times in my now more than 80 blogs since October 2010 – choiceless awareness and bare attention. Commit them to memory. Better still, commit them to daily practice.

This post sets out a simple form of mindfulness sitting meditation. Also, if you are living with heart disease you may wish to purchase this very good interactive mindfulness audio CD featuring Dr Bob Stahl.

RESOURCES:

Barnes VA, Treiber FA, Johnson MH: Impact of transcendental meditation on ambulatory blood pressure in African-American adolescents. Am J Hypertens. 2004;17, 366–369; doi: 10.1016/j.amjhyper.2003.12.008

Dimsdale JE: Psychological Stress and Cardiovascular Disease. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2008;51;1237-1246 doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2007.12.024

Robert McComb JJ, Tacon A, Randolph P, Caldera Y: A pilot study to examine the effects of a mindfulness-based stress-reduction and relaxation program on levels of stress hormones, physical functioning, and submaximal exercise responses. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 2004;10(5):819-27.

Rosenzweig S, Reibel DK, Greeson JM, Edman JS, Jasser SA, McMearty KD, Goldstein BJ: Mindfulness-based stress reduction is associated with improved glycemic control in type 2 diabetes mellitus: A pilot study. Altern Ther Health Med. 2007;13(5):36-38.

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IMPORTANT NOTICE: See the Terms of Use and Disclaimer. The information provided on this blogspot is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Never delay or disregard seeking professional medical advice from your medical practitioner or other qualified health provider because of something you have read on this blogspot. For immediate advice or support call Lifeline on 13 1 1 14 or Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800. For information, advice and referral on mental illness contact the SANE Helpline on 1800 18 SANE (7263) go online via sane.org

MINDFULNESS MEDITATION MAY EASE IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME

Research done at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has found that women with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) who practised mindfulness meditation had more than a 38 per cent reduction in symptoms, far surpassing a nearly 12 per cent reduction for women who participated in a traditional support group.

Moreover, mindfulness meditation helped reduce psychological distress and improved quality of life, the study found.

One of the study authors said mindfulness meditation "empowers" patients to deal with an illness that is difficult to treat.

IBS is a common chronic illness, affecting the large intestine (colon), that can start as early as adolescence and become a lifelong condition. Symptoms include abdominal pain, cramps, diarrhoea and constipation.

Cases of ISB range from mild to severe. The condition differs from inflammatory bowel disease, a more serious condition with a similar name.

IBS is generally more common in women - affecting women roughly twice as much as men. Though IBS can occur at any age, it most commonly begins in the 20s or 30s. About one in 6 people has the condition in the United States, according to the National Institutes of Health. (In Australia the figure is said to be one in 5.) The condition is believed to stem from a genetic predisposition and is triggered by stress, a gastrointestinal infection or gastrointestinal surgery.

Treatments include anti-spasmodic medications to relax the colon, and drugs to reduce constipation and diarrhoea. Adding fibre to the diet can improve symptoms of constipation, though not usually other symptoms of IBS.

A high-fibre diet means a regular breakfast of bran, muesli or other high-fibre cereal plus 3 or 4 pieces of fruit during the day, and a generous intake of vegetables with main meals, all washed down with plenty of water.

Patients are advised to avoid drinks and foods that stimulate the intestines, such as alcohol, caffeinated beverages, some grains, chocolate and milk. However, one regimen does not help everyone, according to health officials.

Here is a short but helpful video on controlling IBS symptoms:

"It's not easy to treat IBS, even with the best standard medical approaches," said study co-author Dr Olafur Palsson, an associate professor, clinical psychologist and research in the gastroenterolgoy department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "It's chronic and, over time, it's hard to treat because it is complicated."

Mindfulness meditation helps practitioners relax by focusing on the moment, paying attention to breathing, the body and thoughts as they occur, without judgment.

"It's a different way of using the mind and being aware," said Palsson. He noted that more than 200 hospitals across the United States now offer a mindfulness meditation training program.

For the study, 75 women between 19 and 71 years old, with an average age of nearly 43 years, were randomly divided into two groups. One group participated in a mindfulness meditation training session and the other in a traditional support group, both for 8 weeks.

Ahead of time, the groups rated the treatments' potential benefit, or "credibility," about the same, the study said, but at the end of 8 weeks, the meditation group had a 26.4 per cent reduction in "overall severity of symptoms" compared to a 6.2 per cent reduction in the support group. By the end of 3 months, the disparity persisted as improvement increased to a 38.2 per cent reduction in symptoms for the meditation group versus a 11.8 per cent reduction for the therapy group.

The study authors also noted that mindfulness meditation was inexpensive and widely available.

One expert praised the research results as original and powerful.

"It's a small sample, but I'm impressed. It's not so easy to do this with treatments that are not well-defined," said Dr Albena D Halpert, a gastroenterologist and assistant professor of medicine at Boston University Medical School. "There have been other studies that looked at psychological treatment options, but this is the first looking at mindfulness, and the results are robust."

This blog sets out a simple form of mindfulness sitting meditation.

For further information

• Irritable Bowel Information and Support Association of Australia www.ibis-australia.org
• The Gut Foundation www.gut.nsw.edu.au
• The Gastroenterological Society of Australia http://www.gesa.org.au/
• My Dr http://www.mydr.com.au/
• Better Health Channel www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au

IMPORTANT NOTICE: See the Terms of Use and Disclaimer. The information provided on this blogspot is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Never delay or disregard seeking professional medical advice from your medical practitioner or other qualified health provider because of something you have read on this blogspot. For immediate advice or support call Lifeline on 13 1 1 14 or Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800. For information, advice and referral on mental illness contact the SANE Helpline on 1800 18 SANE (7263) go online via sane.org

 

EARLY GREEK PHILOSOPHERS AND MINDFULNESS [PART 4]

This is the fourth and final blog in a series of blogs discussing the ideas of some of the early Greek philosophers with a view to delineating what there is of value to us today as regards our mindfulness practice.

As previously mentioned, mindfulness is not a philosophy in itself. However, there are a number of philosophical ideas and principles that can be said to underlie the practice of mindfulness in its secular and non-sectarian form, and some of those ideas and principles are of quite ancient provenance.

Let’s look at the ideas and teachings of the nobleman Heraclitus of Ephesus (c535-c475 BCE) [pictured left and below] – my favourite Presocratic philosopher – and examine how those ideas relate to the practice of mindfulness.

Professor John Anderson wrote of Heraclitus’ “wide awake approach to problems”, by which he meant that Heraclitus adopted and advocated a rigorously empirical and logical methodology in the pursuit of truth (reality ... what is).

Heraclitus was known as the “flux and fire” philosopher. He wrote, “All things are flowing”, and “There is nothing permanent except change”. (How very Buddhist!) He also famously said, “Let us not conjecture at random about the greatest things. We must follow the common.”

What that means is that if we would know the conditions of existence we must look for that which is “common” to all things. In addition, we should reject supernatural, occult and all other unobservable explanations of the otherwise observable conditions of existence. “The things that can be seen, heard and learned are what I prize most,” he writes. In other words, naturalism, for Heraclitus eschewed all notions of the occult and the supernatural. He wrote, “"this world [or world-order] did none of the gods or humans make; but it always was and is and shall be: an ever-living fire, kindling in measures and going out in measures." Such is the cosmology of Heraclitus and the other exalted thinkers of his day. How ancient, yet so very modern.

Heraclitus warns us that we need to be prepared to be surprised by our discoveries. He writes, “If you do not expect the unexpected, you will not find it; for it is hard to be sought out and difficult.” How often life teaches us what we thought we knew was not at all in accord with things as they really are. “The sun is new every day,” writes the anything but world weary Heraclitus.

All things are in a state of flux, says Heraclitus. Everything is in process and no single element is ever predominant for there is a contrary tension of things by means of which there is a resolution (an "attunement", cf "at-one-ment") of conflicting opposites. Nothing is simple, indeed all things are complex, have internal differentiation, and interact with other things ... all on the same level or order of reality and observability. In addition, things are constituent members of wider systems and exchanges of things. The forms of things are constantly being transmuted.

For Heraclitus change is the unity of all things, and there is a single logic that applies to all things and how they are related. (By now readers should be aware that logic is about things, not thought, and how things are related. Sound logical thinking means relating [that is, putting together or distinguishing] different pieces of information about actual or alleged facts. “Reality is propositional,” writes John Anderson, for there is a logical direct relationship between any proposition and the way things actually are.)

The unity underlying all change and opposition is the Logos [λόγος] – a term first used by Heraclitus in around 600 BCE to refer, not to any theological abstraction, but to the organised and co-ordinated way in which, as Heraclitus discovered, all things work and are constituted. That is, the logic (or “formula”) of things. Not surprisingly, Heraclitus also taught that the single logic applying to all things also manifested itself as objective moral law.

Mindfulness is a lifelong inquiry into what it means to be fully present and alert in the present moment. (Heraclitus was right when he said that most people “sleep-walk” their way through life. How very relevant that is to the successful practice of mindfulness!) Each moment of our existence is but a brief occurrence in what is otherwise a state of flux. Life is nothing but the very livingness of all things living out their livingness from one moment to the next. The unity of all things derives, not from all things being one, but simply from the fact that a single logic applies to all things.

In our mindfulness practice thought will follow feeling, feeling will follow thought, and so on. Nothing is predominant even if from time to time some particular thought, feeling or sensation is particularly strong. Mindfulness enables us to look at ourselves thought-less-ly and feeling-less-ly such that in time our minds become free from notions of self (that is, notions of “I” and “me”). Notions of self have the appearance of solidity and continuity, but that is only by reason of habit and memory. The only solidity (if there be any at all) and continuity there is subsists in the seemingly endless process or flow of things and their transmutation.

I hope you have enjoyed these blogs on the ideas of some of the more important Presocratic philosophers.

Recommended Reading: John Burnet, Early Greek Philosophy, 3rd ed (A & C Black, 1920); John Anderson, Lectures on Greek Philosophy 1928 (Sydney University Press, 2008). 

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EARLY GREEK PHILOSOPHERS AND MINDFULNESS [PART 1]

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EARLY GREEK PHILOSOPHERS AND MINDFULNESS [PART 3]

EARLY GREEK PHILOSOPHERS AND MINDFULNESS [PART 3]

This is the third in a series of blogs discussing the ideas of some of the early Greek philosophers with a view to delineating what there is of value to us today as regards our mindfulness practice.

As previously mentioned, mindfulness is not a philosophy in itself. However, there are a number of philosophical ideas and principles that can be said to underlie the practice of mindfulness in its secular and non-sectarian form, and some of those ideas and principles are of quite ancient provenance.

Let’s look at the ideas of Anaximenes (585-528 BCE) [pictured right] and examine how those ideas relate to the practice of mindfulness.

Thales thought that the basic “stuff” (material substratum, essence or “first principle”) of things was water. For Anaximander the basic “stuff” and qualities of life were opposites ... and those opposites were in conflict. He postulated a theoretical entity (apeiron) to explain observable phenomena.

Anaximenes was of the view that the basic “stuff” and qualities of the world were not opposed (cf Anaximander) but were simply different stages of a continuum of differences, “air” being the material substratum. Anaximenes spoke in terms of an interconnected and interacting fire-air-cloud-water-earth-stone continuum, with everything that exists having developed out of the original air and now being made of air.

Anaximenes’ naturalistic cosmology may seem odd but it was a bold attempt at an overall theory as well as being a constituent analysis. The important thing is not whether Anaximenes was right or wrong in his conclusion that everything was made of air – although we do know that atoms are mostly empty space (cf air) despite the apparent solidity of objects – but that he analysed one feature in terms of another.

His empirical methodology involved making observations and then forming explanatory theories of successively greater generality with the final theory being tested against a mass of superficially unconnected phenomena. He looked for the broader picture in nature, seeking unifying causes for diversely occurring events rather than treating each one on an ad hoc basis or attributing them to supernatural causes.

Unlike Anaximander, Anaximenes’ theory did not rely on any unobservables. His methodology was entirely experiential as he sought to explain how the process and mechanism of change (transmutation) actually occurs.

What has all this to do with mindfulness? A fair bit. In any session of mindfulness practice, one’s stream of consciousness will consist of numerous superficially unconnected and diversely occurring phenomena (thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, sounds, etc). The important thing is not to dwell or focus on any one or more of these ad hoc occurrences but to fix and keep our mindfulness (that is, attention and awareness) at its “post of observation” whether that point be the tip of the nostrils against which the breathing air strikes or that part of the lower abdomen where one can most noticeably observe its rise and fall. This needs to be done in a unified fashion, allowing the process of transmutation (that is, one occurring phenomenon is quickly replaced by another, and then another, and so on) to unfold naturally, automatically and unselfconsciously.

Although it may seem counter-intuitive, keeping your attention focused on the breath enables you to stay with the broader picture (cf Anaximenes) without getting caught up in the detail of each passing phenomenon.

In my next blog (the final one in this series) we will look at the ideas of Heraclitus (c535-c475 BCE) - a real favourite of mine - and how his distinctive ideas relate to the practice of mindfulness.

Recommended Reading: John Burnet, Early Greek Philosophy, 3rd ed (A & C Black, 1920); John Anderson, Lectures on Greek Philosophy 1928 (Sydney University Press, 2008). 

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EARLY GREEK PHILOSOPHERS AND MINDFULNESS [PART 1]

EARLY GREEK PHILOSOPHERS AND MINDFULNESS [PART 2]
EARLY GREEK PHILOSOPHERS AND MINDFULNESS [PART 4]

EARLY GREEK PHILOSOPHERS AND MINDFULNESS [PART 2]

This is the second in a series of blogs discussing the ideas of some of the early Greek philosophers with a view to delineating what there is of value to us today as regards our mindfulness practice.

As mentioned in my previous blog on the ideas of Thales, mindfulness is not a philosophy in itself. However, there are a number of philosophical ideas and principles that can be said to underlie the practice of mindfulness in its secular and non-sectarian form, and some of those ideas and principles are of quite ancient provenance.

Let’s look at the ideas of Anaximander (c610-c546 BCE) [pictured above], successor to and pupil of Thales, and how those ideas relate to the practice of mindfulness.

Thales thought that the basic “stuff” (material substratum, essence or “first principle”) of things was water. Anaximander raised a logical objection, namely that how can one take one thing as a description of all things? Clearly, Thales exaggerated the “moist” at the expense of the “dry”. What this means is this ... any theory of reality must account for the existence of opposites, for if there were only water, there could not be anything hot, or any fire.

So, for Anaximander the basic “stuff” and qualities of life are opposites ... and those opposites are in conflict. He postulated a theoretical entity (apeiron) to explain observable phenomena. The word apeiron can mean “infinite” as well as “indefinite” (especially the latter, and in a qualitative as opposed to quantitative sense).

One defect in Anaximander’s otherwise realist methodology is that he attempted to explain the observable in terms of some supposed basic unobservable entity, namely the apeiron. As we saw in our last blog, logic compels us to reject the unobservable as the cause of the observable. Nevertheless, Anaximander is to be otherwise commended for his honest and rigorous insistence on and pursuit of the real.

What do we learn from the empirical naturalist Anaximander? For one thing we learn the importance of demarcation and differentiation, that is, marking off one thing from other things. We also learn that there is a simple unity containing opposites – not a unity in the sense that all things are one but that a single logic applies to all things, there being a continuous process among different things.

So, in our mindfulness practice we learn to focus our attention on whatever comprises the action of the present moment. Our thoughts, feelings and bodily sensations will often be contradictory in nature but they nevertheless constitute the “content” of our experience.

When we stay in the action of the present moment, being mindful (in an immediate and direct way) of whatever we are thinking, feeling and experiencing from one moment to the next, we are able to separate out thoughts and feelings about ourselves and others from the person each one of us really is. We look and see ... and the mind empties itself of its content from one moment to the next ... and what was previously unconscious becomes conscious.

Like Buddha Shakyamuni Anaximander taught that all things were impermanent. In the words of Anaximander, in Simplicius’ commentary on Aristotle’s physics, “Whence things have their origin, thence also their destruction happens, as is the order of things; for they execute the sentence upon one another - the condemnation for the crime - in conformity with the ordinance of time.” However, there is nevertheless a certain regularity and predictability about life by reason of a certain balancing out of all opposites which act on, dominate and otherwise contain each other. Things flow in and out of consciousness, for such is the flux of life.

Anaximander questioned the existence of the gods in the same way that Buddha Shakyamuni was agnostic on the question of God’s existence. Both taught that one could attain “deliverance” independently of any external agency. Good news indeed.

In my next blog we will look at the ideas of Anaximenes (585-528 BCE) and how his distinctive ideas relate to the practice of mindfulness.

Recommended Reading: John Burnet, Early Greek Philosophy, 3rd ed (A & C Black, 1920); John Anderson, Lectures on Greek Philosophy 1928 (Sydney University Press, 2008). 

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MINDFULNESS, PROFESSOR JOHN ANDERSON AND THE FACTICITY OF THINGS
EARLY GREEK PHILOSOPHERS AND MINDFULNESS [PART 1]

EARLY GREEK PHILOSOPHERS AND MINDFULNESS [PART 3]
EARLY GREEK PHILOSOPHERS AND MINDFULNESS [PART 4]

EARLY GREEK PHILOSOPHERS AND MINDFULNESS [PART 1]

Today I begin a series of blogs discussing the ideas of some of the early Greek philosophers with a view to delineating what there is of value to us today as regards our mindfulness practice.

Mindfulness is not a philosophy in itself. However, there are a number of philosophical ideas and principles that can be said to underlie the practice of mindfulness in its secular and non-sectarian form, and some of those ideas and principles are of quite ancient provenance.

The ancient Greeks produced some great thinkers. Although notably disinclined to theology, the Greeks made great philosophers. (Both theology and philosophy attempt to “explain” things, but philosophy, at its best, does so by rejecting unobservable agencies as the cause of observable things. That is the greatness of philosophy, especially Greek philosophy.)

Let’s go back to the 6th and 5th centuries BCE. We begin with some of the more important Presocratic philosophers. First, Thales (c624-c546 BCE).

Thales (pictured below) can be called the founder of philosophy. He was “doing logic” – for logic is about things, and the relations between things, not words or ideas – some 150 years before Socrates.

Thales had travelled to Egypt to study geometry. (It seems that the Greeks derived their philosophy from the Egyptians.) He was the first upon whom the title, Sophist, was conferred, and in his advanced years was visited by Pythagoras whom Thales instructed in the disciplines of a scholar.

It is written that Thales, a proto-scientist, opined that the earth was made of, or rested upon, water, but for Thales that was simply a hypothesis to be tested, and was offered only as an attempted explanation as opposed to some final evaluation. Water was perhaps something out of which things came and into which things returned, as opposed to being a supposed characteristic of all things at all times.

Thales was a naturalist and an empiricist. What is important and lasting about Thales' ideas is not so much his search for a supposed common “substance” of all things but his attempt to provide an overall theory which was general, which was based on observation, and which made no appeal to supernatural causes. (Thales wrote that “all things are full of gods”. That was his attempt at desupernaturalisation – that is, bringing the gods down to earth.)

Thales reminds us ever to reject unobservable agencies as the cause of observable things. Cause-and-effect belong to the observable here-and-now, for life itself is nothing more than a continuum of living things living our their livingness in time and space. Never forget that.

How true that is of the practice of mindfulness! There is a continuity of moment-to-moment experience and awareness ... a continuous process or transformation from one state to another (cf water-ice-steam). Everything is observable, and all things observed exist and are observable on the same plane of observability. Furthermore, there must be a continuity between what is proposed as an explanation for any occurrence and the occurrence itself, for if there were no such continuity it would not be possible for us to say how observable effects are produced ... nor even that they are effects at all.

The legacy of Thales is this ... there is only one order or level of reality. No wonder we speak of the practice of mindfulness in terms of the presence of bare and curious attention to, and choiceless and non-judgmental awareness of, the action of the present moment ... from one moment to the next.

In my next blog we will look at the ideas of Anaximander (c610-c546 BCE) and how those ideas relate to the practice of mindfulness.

Recommended Reading: John Burnet, Early Greek Philosophy, 3rd ed (A & C Black, 1920); John Anderson, Lectures on Greek Philosophy 1928 (Sydney University Press, 2008). 


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MINDFULNESS, PROFESSOR JOHN ANDERSON AND THE FACTICITY OF THINGS
EARLY GREEK PHILOSOPHERS AND MINDFULNESS [PART 2]
EARLY GREEK PHILOSOPHERS AND MINDFULNESS [PART 3]
EARLY GREEK PHILOSOPHERS AND MINDFULNESS [PART 4]