Relational Mindfulness

Book excerpt: This book proposes a new approach to mindfulness-based interventions, presenting them not as individual, but as relational practices. In the last decades, mindfulness has exerted a growing influence on many fields of research and activity, but always as an individual practice. The authors in this volume believe that the strong development of mindfulness today implies considering a dialogue between this individualistic approach and the perspective of relational mindfulness based on social constructionism. The volume is organized in two parts. The first part focuses on the theoretical foundations of relational mindfulness. The second part presents possibilities of applications of relational mindfulness in clinical and organizational settings to promote mental health and personal development. Relational Mindfulness: Fundamentals and Applications will be of interest to a wide range of professionals interested in applying mindfulness-based interventions in mental health care and productive organizations, such as clinical and health psychologists, public health professionals and human resources analysts and consultants, among others. "It is true that the metaphor of mindfulness has been enormously fruitful in its invitation to innovate. By removing meditative practices from their ancient roots, practitioners were free to create practices especially relevant to context. (...) At the same time, there was also a recognizable loss in the profoundly rich heritage that was left behind. For many of us, the greatest loss resulted from the absorption of such practices into Western individualism. What had once been an orientation to practice emphasizing our fundamental inter-being, had become a gateway to silent separation. It is in this context that the present volume bursts into significance. With special appreciation to the editors of this book, we are treated to a multi-dimensional exploration into the relational dimensions of mindfulness practices. Bringing ideas, experience, and wisdom from across professions, and across continents the contributors open an exciting path to the future." - Excerpt from the Foreword by Kenneth J. Gergen