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COLUMN EDITOR: SHANON PHELAN
Oh, I've had my moments, and if I had to do it over again, id have more of them. In fact. I'd try to have nothing else. Just moments. one after another, instead of living so many years ahead of each day (Kabot-Zinn, 2005, p. 17).
Occupations are a synthesis of doing, being, becoming and belonging (Yerxa, 2009). Being has been defined as the meditative or contemplative self, and represents the here and now of occupations (Wilcock, 1998). I consider 'being' the assemblage of feelings, emotions and thoughts that make up the essence ofthe present moment. Collins (2001) suggests that occupational therapists are uniquely poised to consider the complexity of inner lives (being) and the extent to which these inner states impact on the occupational process (doing).
Mindfulness is a practice that helps people deeply explore their being. It is characterized by an awareness of and enhanced attention to the constant stream of lived experience (Varela, Thompson, & Rosch, 1992). Mindfulness is the opposite of multitasking and mindlessness. Being mindful increases engagement with the present moment and allows for a clearer understanding of how thoughts, feelings and emotions influence health and quality of life. Mindfulness is most often cultivated through meditation practices, and may also be cultivated informally (e.g., through yoga, tai chi, walking, body scans, and mindful eating) (Kabot-Zinn, 2005). Empirical research and publications in the field have proliferated in the past few decades (Black, 2012). Researchers have found that mindful practices lead to structural and functional changes in the brain, resulting in, among other things, more sophisticated attention skills and improved well-being (Holzel et al., 2011; Siegel, 2007). Mindfulness has been researched in fields as diverse as professional sports, law, business leadership, and parenting (Black, 2012). The practice has also been formalized for use with clinical populations (Kabot-Zinn, 2005; Segal, Williams, & Teasdale, 2002). Interestingly, some researchers have suggested that mindfulness may be more effective than medications in managing some chronic diseases (Baker, Costa, & Nygaard, 2012).
Mindfulness and professional actions
In this paper I discuss ways in which mindfulness, a practice focused on 'being', has the potential to nurture the 'doing' of occupational therapy. To structure this paper, I use Noffke's (1997, 2009) seminal work regarding professional...