Mindfulness Peace Project

Ratna Peace Initiative | Veterans Peace of Mind | Solitary Confinement

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Science Supports Mindfulness

All the VPoM programs are based on secular (nonreligious) mindfulness practices.

The detrimental effects of combat exposure on mental health have long been recognized. Depression, anxiety, Post-Traumatic Stress (PTS) and elevated rates of suicide and violence are common among returning veterans.[1] According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), an estimated one in five Iraq and Afghanistan veterans will suffer from PTS or major depression. For Vietnam-era veterans, PTS rates are even more staggering – over 30% of male Vietnam veterans have had symptoms that were consistent with PTS at some point in their lives.[2]

Despite these high odds for veterans, there is hope. PTS is considered an anxiety disorder, and as such, clinically effective methods that are useful in treating other anxiety-related disorders are often useful in treating PTS. Mindfulness is one such method.

Mindfulness training teaches patients to recognize and disengage from modes of thinking characterized in traumatized veterans by disturbed and ruminative thinking. Mindfulness meditation applies the skill of intentionally paying attention to one’s thoughts, without judgment. Rather than dwelling on unpleasant thoughts and memories, the meditation techniques taught by VPoM instructors teach veterans to separate their thoughts from their experiences, allowing them to honor the service they have given and empowering them to move beyond their pain, both physical and mental.

The efficacy of mindfulness meditation has been acknowledged by the VA[3] , as well as the Marine Corps, where mindfulness practices are being used to help soldiers before and after deployment[4]. This advocacy is not only based on positive, qualitative results, but on a growing body of scientific research that demonstrates the physiological benefits of mindfulness. For example, Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital found that the grey matter density of the frontal cortex, the part of the brain that manages higher cognitive functions, was significantly increased in meditators[5]. Scientists have also found that the region of the brain most associated with emotional reactivity and fear, the amygdala, can decrease in grey matter in those who meditate.[6] Hence the brain activity that generates anxiety and aggression lowers while the activities of discernment and reflection expand.

[1] Institute of Medicine (IOM), “Preface,” in Treatment for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Military and Veteran Populations: Final Assessment (Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2014 Jun 17), p. xiii. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25077185/

[2] PTSD: National Center for PTSD. https://www.ptsd.va.gov/

[3] Vujanovic, A.A., Niles, B., Pietrefesa, A., Potter, C. M.,& Schmertz, S.K. (2010). Potential of mindfulness in treating trauma reactions. Professional Psychology Research and Practice 42(1), 24-31. Retrieved from http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/treatment/overview/mindful-PTSD.asp

[4]Mindfulness and meditation training could ease PTSD symptoms, researchers say.    http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/mindfulness-and-meditation-training-could-ease-ptsd-symptoms-researchers-say/2013/02/16/a296a52a-4ad2-11e2-b709-667035ff9029_story.html

[5] Holzen, B. K., Carmody, J., Vangel, M., Congleton, C., Yerramsetti, S., Gard, T., & Lazar, W. (2011). Mindfulness practice leads to increases in regional brain grey matter density. Psychiatry Res., 191(1), 36-43. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.Nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3004979/

[6] Holzel, B. K., Carmody, J., Evans, K. C., Hoge, E.A., Dusek, J. A., Morgan, L., Pitman, R. K., Lazar, S.W. Stress reduction correlates with structural changes in the amygdala. Retrieved from http://scan.oxfordjournals.org/content/5/1/11.full

In This Section

  • Book: Walking The Tiger’s Path
  • Book: Warriors Heart
  • Incarcerated Veterans
  • Fearless Victory
  • Science Supports Mindfulness
  • Veterans Peace of Mind
  • Veterans Peace of Mind – Resources
  • Veterans Study Course – Warrior’s Heart

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“Colorado Matters” Radio Interview – Listen

Ryan Warner of KCFR's Colorado Matters interviews Margot Neuman and Iraq vet SSG Paul Kendel about veteran's mindfulness training. 15 minutes.

Veterans' Comments

I’ve been practicing mindfulness meditation for over 5 years. Meditation changed my life in profound ways. I’m more calm. I have tools to deal with stress. I have more awareness of trauma triggers and I’m less reactive. When I get upset, I can calm down by practicing mindfulness … I don’t know what my life would be today if I hadn’t found meditation. — C
Mindfulness Peace Project
2024-03-19T23:10:25+00:00
I’ve been practicing mindfulness meditation for over 5 years. Meditation changed my life in profound ways. I’m more calm. I have tools to deal with stress. I have more awareness of trauma triggers and I’m less reactive. When I get upset, I can calm down by practicing mindfulness … I don’t know what my life would be today if I hadn’t found meditation. — C
https://mindfulnesspeaceproject.org/testimonials/ive-been-practicing-mindfulness-meditation-for-over-5-years/
An astonished veteran exclaimed at the progress of a mustang named Mama. “She is not the same horse we worked with a month ago. If Mama can heal so quickly, so can we. She gives us hope.” — C
Mindfulness Peace Project
2024-03-19T23:10:47+00:00
An astonished veteran exclaimed at the progress of a mustang named Mama. “She is not the same horse we worked with a month ago. If Mama can heal so quickly, so can we. She gives us hope.” — C
https://mindfulnesspeaceproject.org/testimonials/an-astonished-veteran-exclaimed/
Awareness helps us to notice things. It helps us to notice when we are being a jerk. … There was a situation about 6 months ago between me and my friend in class where he flipped out. He was ready to fight. Since I've started meditation I am more calm. Instead of flying off the handle I was able to maintain my calm because of my awareness. I could feel my anger building but I didn’t let it take control. I knew the anger was building. — RV
Mindfulness Peace Project
2024-03-19T23:11:25+00:00
Awareness helps us to notice things. It helps us to notice when we are being a jerk. … There was a situation about 6 months ago between me and my friend in class where he flipped out. He was ready to fight. Since I've started meditation I am more calm. Instead of flying off the handle I was able to maintain my calm because of my awareness. I could feel my anger building but I didn’t let it take control. I knew the anger was building. — RV
https://mindfulnesspeaceproject.org/testimonials/awareness-helps-us-to-notice-things/
I have experienced this a little: to go deeper than the feeling of anger to see what it is that makes me feel that. I have found that most of the time it is fear, fear of my security, my peace, my world being upset. I don’t know where the insight comes from but when you can calm the mind I could really think clearly and gain some wisdom to why I acted in anger. — MF
Mindfulness Peace Project
2024-03-19T23:11:46+00:00
I have experienced this a little: to go deeper than the feeling of anger to see what it is that makes me feel that. I have found that most of the time it is fear, fear of my security, my peace, my world being upset. I don’t know where the insight comes from but when you can calm the mind I could really think clearly and gain some wisdom to why I acted in anger. — MF
https://mindfulnesspeaceproject.org/testimonials/i-have-experienced-this-a-little/
Yet the real virtue comes with my experiences with people. I’ve become less arrogant so I listen better. I am less affected by the negativities of prison. For example I don’t meet insult with abuse. Mindfulness allows me to watch the insult pass. My head is smaller but it contains more space! – LC
Mindfulness Peace Project
2024-03-19T23:12:13+00:00
Yet the real virtue comes with my experiences with people. I’ve become less arrogant so I listen better. I am less affected by the negativities of prison. For example I don’t meet insult with abuse. Mindfulness allows me to watch the insult pass. My head is smaller but it contains more space! – LC
https://mindfulnesspeaceproject.org/testimonials/yet-the-real-virtue-comes-with-my-experiences-with-people/
Once a thought has been acknowledged and I return to the breath, the thought seems satisfied and loses its power to demand my attention. — AE
Mindfulness Peace Project
2024-03-19T23:12:52+00:00
Once a thought has been acknowledged and I return to the breath, the thought seems satisfied and loses its power to demand my attention. — AE
https://mindfulnesspeaceproject.org/testimonials/once-a-thought-has-been-acknowledged/
Patience is not an easy task … Being in prison since I was 17 years old with no sign of ever physically leaving this place, I have learned to become such great friends with patience…It humbles me. I get too upset about my prison circumstances of life, patience brings me back to reality…many of us are suffering and life circumstances can be brutal for anyone of us, not just me. — KW
Mindfulness Peace Project
2024-03-19T23:13:16+00:00
Patience is not an easy task … Being in prison since I was 17 years old with no sign of ever physically leaving this place, I have learned to become such great friends with patience…It humbles me. I get too upset about my prison circumstances of life, patience brings me back to reality…many of us are suffering and life circumstances can be brutal for anyone of us, not just me. — KW
https://mindfulnesspeaceproject.org/testimonials/patience-is-not-an-easy-task/
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