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Feeling connected with nature has broad benefits and can manifest in many ways. One important component of nature connectedness is believing that the self and nature are “one” or interdependent. Mindfulness is associated with greater interdependence and also appears to be associated with feeling connected with nature. Decentering is a mechanism of mindfulness that involves creating a reflective distance from which thoughts and emotions can be observed as transient, internal phenomena and not unequivocal truths. Assuming a decentered perspective may allow individuals to get “out of their heads” and into the surrounding world. This study examined the relationships between dispositional mindfulness, decentering, and nature connectedness in a sample (N = 467) of American adults. Results indicated that dispositional mindfulness was positively associated with nature connectedness, with two dispositional mindfulness facets, observing and non-reacting, accounting for the majority of this association. Furthermore, decentering mediated the relationship between dispositional mindfulness and nature connectedness. Key Words: Nature connectedness—Mindfulness—Decentering—Self.
Mindfulness has emerged as an important construct in the mental health field. Although evidence suggests benefits, it also appears that excitement over the clinical applications of mindfulness has largely suspended concentrated efforts to clarify fundamental elements of the construct. This article explores conceptual confusion and contrasts primary mindfulness‐based techniques before investigating attrition factors, adverse effects of mindfulness practices, and populations contraindicated for mindfulness‐based techniques. Implications for practice are provided.
This study sought to investigate whether washing dishes could be used as an informal contemplative practice, promoting the state of mindfulness along with attendant emotional and attentional phenomena. We hypothesized that, relative to a control condition, participants receiving mindful dishwashing instruction would evidence greater state mindfulness, attentional awareness, and positive affect, as well as reduce negative affect and lead to overestimations of time spent dishwashing. A sample of 51 college students engaged in either a mindful or control dishwashing practice before completing measures of mindfulness, affect, and experiential recall. Mindful dishwashers evidenced greater state mindfulness, increases in elements of positive affect (i.e., inspiration), decreases in elements of negative affect (i.e., nervousness), and overestimations of dishwashing time. Implications for these findings are diverse and suggest that mindfulness as well as positive affect could be cultivated through intentionally engaging in a broad range of activities.