Mindfulness and Resilience in Britain: A Genealogy of the “Present Moment”

In Britain, mindfulness practice has increasingly been incorporated into preventative healthcare as a support for psychological resilience. An awareness practice originating in Buddhism, mindfulness is framed as a scientifically verified way of cultivating a skilful engagement with life to support m...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of global buddhism
Main Author: Cook, Joanna (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: [publisher not identified] 2021
In: Journal of global buddhism
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Great Britain / Buddhism / Watchfulness / Mental health / Resilience (Personality trait)
RelBib Classification:AE Psychology of religion
BL Buddhism
KBF British Isles
Further subjects:B Buddhism
B Psychology
B Britain
B Mindfulness
B Resilience
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
Volltext (kostenfrei)
Rights Information:CC BY-NC 4.0
Description
Summary:In Britain, mindfulness practice has increasingly been incorporated into preventative healthcare as a support for psychological resilience. An awareness practice originating in Buddhism, mindfulness is framed as a scientifically verified way of cultivating a skilful engagement with life to support mental health. What has led to this unprecedented interest in mindfulness? And how have British people come to think of cultivating a kindly relationship with their own minds as a constituent aspect of the “good life”? In this paper, I explore the specifically British history that informs the association between mindfulness and psychological resilience today. I show that the association between psychological resilience and mindfulness practice is the result of broader historical concerns about the nature of modern society and psychology. Taking a genealogical approach, I argue that changing patterns in British psychology and Buddhism, while framed in universalist registers, are constituted in and constitutive of a broader historical and political context.
ISSN:1527-6457
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of global buddhism
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.4727573