• Dr Heather Kempton presents the September Massey University College of Humanities and Social Sciences public lecture.

Mindfulness for changing times

Mindfulness is the practice of being aware and attentive in the present moment, while adopting a non-judgmental attitude to experiences that occur.

The practice, derived from Buddhist teachings more than 2,500 years old, has been adapted for secular application. Clinically, mindfulness can help address health issues such as depression and pain.

With its surging popularity, Massey University’s Dr Heather Kempton, whose background is in cognitive psychology, discusses mindfulness in terms of the teachings’ origin, that is, to free oneself from suffering by profoundly appreciating that everything is impermanent and subject to change.

She talks about her research into the links between the modern practice of mindfulness and meditation and traditional Buddhist philosophy and spiritual practices, and the usefulness of secular mindfulness in modern times.

We are often reminded that we live in changing times, she says.  But the times have always been changing, and mindfulness can help see us through.

Weighing up the benefits

Heather says there is growing interest in the psychology field to investigate whether meditation and mindfulness are effective in improving cognition and wellbeing, and potentially in warding off neurological diseases such as dementia, as well as in helping people manage anxiety and depression.

She is currently supervising several studies among postgraduate students at Massey’s School of Psychology who are examining changes in cognition and emotional states among study participants. They undertake laboratory tests to measure study performance in, for example, doing simple colour-naming tasks, comparing results between those who practise mindfulness and those who don’t, as well as qualitative research addressing individuals experiences.

Dr Kempton is also interested in possible adverse effects; this could be for a person whose experience of depression or anxiety is heightened by the focus that mindfulness and meditation bring to one’s inner thoughts and self-awareness. Or it could be that people feel they have failed if practising mindfulness and meditation does not bring about the hoped-for improvement in anxiety or depression.

Furthermore,  identifying whether mindfulness enhances improvements to wellbeing because of measurable neurological changes, or just because people believe it has, is yet another research area.

Spiritual connections

Heather advises that “people shouldn’t see mindfulness as a panacea for all problems” – rather as way of being and doing, validated in part by the fact that it has been around for more than 2000 years. As a secular practice it can offer an everyday, accessible reminder for regaining a sense of calm, while Buddhist philosophy and practice encompasses a lifelong spiritual journey, she says.

Her interest in the topic goes beyond being purely academic. A practising Buddhist, she became a Buddhist chaplain five years ago and is now providing training for the New Zealand Buddhist Council’s chaplaincy training. She was recently appointed as a Buddhist chaplain for the Hibiscus Coast Hospice, providing end-of-life counselling and inter-faith spiritual support for the terminally ill and their families.

Heather says that she does not necessarily bring a specific Buddhist message in these situations, and that the training is aimed at offering multi-faith support. For example, she will read from the Bible, the Koran or from Buddhist texts if a patient requests it. She says some people who have not practised or followed a particular religion throughout their lives have told her they feel an instinctive affinity to Buddhist philosophy, and that it “makes sense”.

Another area of mindfulness research she is interested in is the overlap between mindfulness and poetry. Can reading poetry – Buddhist or other – have a similar effect as practising mindfulness meditation? Her research on this question is the topic of a forthcoming journal article.

The September Massey University "Our Changing World" lecture, given by Heather, is the eighth in a series of ten free public lectures this year run by Massey’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Historian Professor Peter Lineham (who delivers the final lecture on the outlook for religions in New Zealand) says he and his colleagues in humanities and social sciences are passionate about connecting with the public to share ideas and knowledge, generate debate and provide new conversation points on complex issues.

In the moment: mindfulness for changing times, a lecture by Dr Heather Kempton

Thursday 27 September 2018, 6.30pm, Sir Neil Waters Building, Massey Univeristy Auckland campus, Albany