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Spiritual Bypassing in the Contemporary Mindfulness Movement
ICEA
Format: Journal Article
Publication Date: Nov 30, 2016
Pages: 75 - 94
Sources ID: 58296
Visibility: Public (group default)
Abstract: (Show)
Within the popular mindfulness movement, it is now a common phenomenon to pick up a mindfulness book or click a meditation app on our phones when we are experiencing anxiety or having abad day. It has become habitual for some of us to turn to Jon Kabat-Zinn, Sharon Salzberg, or Jack Kornfield and their words of wisdom in order to feel more peaceful, more in control of our emotions, more centered. Sometimes we turn to sitting practice, placing attention on the breathing and shedding thoughts and emotions. Perhaps we are put off by so-called spiritual people who aren’t always peaceful or blissful. When bad things happen, perhaps we are quick to say it was “supposed to be” that way, dismissing the pain and hurt we might otherwise feel. These might be a few of the symptoms of what is called “spiritual bypassing.”