Mindfulness

Putting feelings into words produces therapeutic effects in the brain - Science Blog

All along I've been touting the benefits of meditation and here we have a scientific study proving me right once again. The point of mindful meditation is not to arrive at a solution to a problem but merely to examine a particular aspect of yourself, whether physical or psychological. Putting words to a psychological state is important as it allows you to place it in the realm of logic. Language is inherently logical, which is why it cannot capture everything about the world, yet it does provide us a means to express things about the world. Psychological states are all the more troublesome for language as language only works in public. If you simply exist with your emotions without expressing them then you only have a tacit understanding of those emotions. Once you place those emotions in the public space by putting them to words you have a frame of reference that allows you to examine and understand the emotions. When I meditate I will move from focus on breathing to a particular issue in my mind, whether as banal as politics or as personal as who I am. I'm not looking for answers, simply the effort to concentrate on a particular topic. I tend to feel clear-minded afterwards, even if it's only a ten-minute session. I've actually gone two hours before, which was a bit of a mind-bender.