The truth is, no psychiatric illness is a “real disease” like measles or cancer. In fact, the DSM itself tries to address this issue in its very pages. In the introduction of the DSM, it states “no assumption that each category of mental disorder is a completely discrete entity with absolute boundaries dividing it from other mental disorders or no mental disorder.” And yet, people still take the content of the DSM literally.

In my opinion, the problem with the DSM is that it has always tried to be an objective reflection of psychological pathology, seeped in science and the medical model. It strives to be a manual that reflects a materialist perspective on reality, when in fact it simply categorizes symptoms based on largely subjective assessment. When the field of psychiatry embraces its psychological roots and retreats from pure brain materialism, perhaps there will be less controversy surrounding the DSM. In the mean time, it’s what we have, and what we will continue to use to define the field of mental illness, with profound implications for consumers and providers alike.

Ever had a really bad day, with miserable tasks before you, and found yourself daydreaming about a tropical Caribbean beach in search of relief. I know I have. Have you noticed that it doesn’t really work?

An article published in Science written by the researchers Matthew Killingsworth and Daniel Gilbert sought to capture the activities that people engaged in, the thoughts they were having while engaged in said activity, and their level of happiness at the moment of their engagement in the activity. Their research involved the use of an iPhone app that randomly contacted people and asked them what they were doing, what they were thinking, and what they were feeling.

What the research shows is that people who were most thoroughly engaged and mentally concentrated on the task before them rated the highest level of happiness. The people, whose minds had wandered, regardless of the activity, rated the least amount of happiness. Furthermore, the researchers found evidence that it was the mind wandering itself that caused the unhappiness and not that unhappiness caused the mind wandering. When the content of the mind wandering was factored into it, the people who wandered to negative thoughts were unhappier than the people who wandered to pleasant thoughts, but the people who didn’t wander at all, and who remained engaged and concentrated on the task at hand, were the happiest of all.

This seems entirely consistent with everything I’ve learned from my Buddhist meditation practice. A concentrated mind is a mind at peace, is still, unwavering, and contented. A wandering mind is a mind in conflict. One of my favorite expressions from Buddhism refers to the “monkey mind”, a mind bouncing around from this thought to that thought like a monkey jumping from this tree limb to that. Concentration practice, the first part of meditation instruction, trains the mind to stay on the object you intend the mind to stay on (the breath, a mantra, etc.). With more and more practice, the benefits of this concentration make themselves apparent; you achieve clarity, calmness, and a profound sense of being at ease.

So while this research wasn’t in the slightest way about meditation, it does reinforce one of the most important foundational teachings in any meditation practice: the benefits of concentration. The moral of this research seems to be, if you stray, you pay.

The NY Times article features the work of psychologist Martin Seligman, famous for founding the positive psychology movement and author of the 2002 book “Authentic Happiness”. Seligman now says that he regrets the title and that he’s refining his understanding of happiness. Now, under the rubric of positive psychology, Seligman is including concepts of positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment instead of his previous focus on the concept of happiness. This constellation of states and circumstances should lead to what he’s now calling “well-being” instead of happiness.

Happiness implies smiles, good feelings, lightness, joy, giggles, rainbows, and hugs. Whose life can encompass such things at all times? Does yours? It further implies no negativity, no problems, no negative emotions, no worries, no losses, and no pain. Whose life is devoid of such things? Mine certainly isn’t.

The ACT training I attended emphasized the importance of accepting what is often referred to as the unpleasant aspects of ones life. For example, negative emotional states arise, sometimes as a product of a difficult life history, and sometimes because of present day circumstances. Regardless of where they come from, ACT teaches the importance of simply accepting that emotions come and go, and that the very act of trying to make them go away only serves to make them worse (for example, a favorite saying that I use with clients is “what you resist persists”). The same idea can be applied to unpleasant or negative thoughts.

When people come in to my office looking for “happiness”, what they are often asking for is to have a life without any negativity, no painful emotions, no difficult or challenging thoughts. This is entirely unrealistic. The first of the Four Noble Truth’s the Buddha taught was that “life is suffering”. To expect that we can live a life without pain or difficulty sets us up for disappointment and despair.

Instead, I believe that we can lead a life filled with contentment. Contentment isn’t about happiness. Contentment means that we’re ok with life just as it is, especially in those difficult moments, trusting that they will pass just like everything passes. Thoughts, feelings, circumstances come and go, like day and night, or like the seasons. They might not be pleasant when they’re here, but fighting what is inevitable and unavoidable only makes things worse. Being “contented with what is” is achievable because contentment isn’t dependent on the content of any given moment. So, yes, happiness is delightful when we’re happy, but as a life goal, it’s highly overrated because it is unachievable as a constant state. Better to shoot for contentment. May you find contentment in this very moment and for all time.

I can’t say I was surprised to see live images of people cheering and waving American flags (and one Bush Cheney campaign sign) in front of the White House. But I immediately felt uncomfortable by the celebration. I readily admit that I’m not the least bit troubled that the world no longer has Osama bin Laden around. But to my mind there’s something unseemly in celebrating a human beings death, regardless of who he or she was or what they did.

I’m not Christian but one of the things I most admire about the teachings of Christ is the statement attributed to him from his final moments on the cross: “Forgive them Father for they know not what they do”. An inspiring example of forgiveness if ever there was one. I’m much more immersed in Buddhist teachings and there too you’ll find a message of forgiveness and compassion for even the worst people because of the fundamental teaching that we are all one.

As my workweek began I wondered to what extent these current events would present itself as a topic in my clients sessions. Often when there is big news in the world clients use some of their time to process their reactions. I was heartened that so many of my clients focused on the celebrations they observed and how it didn’t sit well with them. I observed the same kind of sentiments amongst my friends and acquaintances on Facebook. And finally, as the week progressed, the media itself began to comment on the issue, with articles in the Boston Globe (Rejoicing Over Death of bin Laden Debated) and the New York Times (Celebrating a Death: Ugly, Maybe, but Only Human).

As the New York Times article suggests, celebrating the death of someone like Osama bin Laden may be human, but apparently, for a smaller minority of us, it’s also human to be put off by the celebration. And that minority heartens me because I believe they are our future.

The March 28-April 4 addition of Newsweek has on it’s cover “Apocalypse Now: Tsunamis.  Earthquakes.  Nuclear Meltdowns.  Revolutions.  Economies on the Brink.  What the #@%! Is Next?”.

I must admit that I’ve been thinking a lot about such things recently, watching the news over the span of one short week to see documented the psychological public unraveling of a major TV star, the corrupt abuse of power in Wisconsin, the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear emergency in Japan, and the start of a third Middle East war.  Friends have gently teased me about my doomsday preoccupations, and I won’t deny that I question my fascination as well.  But it appears undeniable that something is happening in this world and I won’t turn my back to it.

Which is the point of this post.  Nostradamus may have got in early on the whole doomsday prognostication thing, but it’s a flourishing business lately, what with global climate change, peak oil, water shortages, drought and famine, the decline and death of bee colonies (with devastating implications for the cultivation of food), massive failing economies, and unrest throughout the world.  If you pay attention to any one of these topics, the future is bleak.  Combined, the overlapping problems become exponentially more complicated and overwhelming.  And my belief is that we are powerless to do anything about any of it.  It’s not to say that we shouldn’t conserve more and consume less, to recycle, to save for our future.  We should do all these things and more.  I’m just not convinced that any of our individual actions will make much difference.

At the risk of sounding pessimistic, I believe some major shit is unfolding and that it is inevitable and unavoidable.  And there’s not a lot any of can do to stop it.  But there is something we can do internally and subjectively in regards to what is unfolding, and that has to do with how we respond to it all.

My favorite philosopher Ken Wilber has a saying that I think applies here.  He talks about psychological and spiritual development and how a marker for its measure is that one is more open, receptive, and fully engaged with what is in front of him (reality).  And he describes that from that open, receptive and engaged posture, “it hurts more, but bothers you less”.  I do believe we’re all in for a whole lot of hurt in the coming decades, but I’m all for it bothering me less.

I want to have the most optimal relationship with reality—exactly as it is—not how I want it to be.  While I might very much want things to stay exactly as they are in the relatively comfortable life that I’m living, I don’t expect that to be the case.  Therefore, can I be prepared for the life that appears inevitable?  Preparedness in this case simply means having a mind and heart that can remain open to what it perceives with the greatest equanimity and grace.

That’s not to say that things wont suck.  I’m expecting them to suck big time.  But as another wise person once said, “pain is unavoidable, suffering is optional”.  Suffering refers to the layers of mental anguish we create for ourselves when we tell ourselves that the reality that is in front of us shouldn’t be there.  It’s like rubbing salt into a psychic wound.  It serves no good except to make a bad situation worse and to increase our pain.

So I’m preparing myself for the hurt, to experience the pain of the coming “apocalypse” with as much openness and receptivity as I can muster.  To keep my heart and mind open fully to the unfolding experience of my life, whatever befalls it.

Will you join me?

New research published in the January 30th issue of “Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging” reported that meditation for 30 minutes a day for eight weeks changes gray-matter density in areas of the brain associated with memory, sense of self, empathy, and stress.

The research involved 16 individuals with no past experience with meditation. They received MRI scans both before and after the eight weeks of meditation practice. The research participant’s brains were compared with a control group who did not practice meditation. The scans show increases in brain matter in the meditation practitioners and no differences with the control group.

So why is this important?

When research can materially demonstrate changes in the brains from a very brief period of meditation practice in the areas that control learning and memory processing, emotional regulation, self-referential processing and perspective taking, that is a good endorsement for a daily practice. To have more neural hardware for learning and memory, to manage ones emotions, to take perspective, and to process the “self” seems like a very good thing to me indeed.

But more to the point, anything that science can do to take the benefits of meditation out of a mystical, spiritual realm and plant it firmly in objective, measureable phenomenon seems valuable if it opens meditation up to more people. I know of no other practice that is as valuable for the development of a healthy self.

And just think about the changes that accrue to long-term meditators. So please don’t delay, and start meditating today. Every little bit helps!