Post by Admin on Feb 25, 2018 16:47:39 GMT -5
(This post is a follow-up to another item in this section of mindfulvets.net forum. It's sort of a reply, but thought it deserved its own topic given the different twists the author has provided.dl)
Just came across another 'McMindfulness' reference and share it here, as it adds a slightly different perspective; it's from a law professor in the UK who frames the discussion of McMindfulness-Mindfulness-Buddhism in terms of consumerism, societal power structures and what he calls, "The Attention Economy".
Here again, as in our previous discussions of "Mind the Hype" -- this author takes aim at the gross (he might say 'crass') monetization of all things mindful by so many around the world, saying basically that corporations are vying for our 'Attention' as consumers, and that McMindfulness is just another 'commodity' with which to get our attention, and thus our money.
I confess ignorance of the present discourse or meaning of the term 'Neoliberals', as he doesn't really define his use of the term; but I get it -- (my term not his) it's 'them damned hippies at it again' school of anthropology/sociology. Doran asserts that in the Sixties all this mindfulness/Buddhist 'stuff' was the domain and purview of those in the counterculture, who eschewed materialism; only to now in the 21st century turn out to be marketing this 'stuff' as McMindfulness.
Hopefully, the fact that my tongue is firmly planted in-cheek in the last paragraph is obvious. So, I'll let the reader decide where this Law Professor comes in on the on-going 'What is REAL mindfulness?" debate; key paragraphs quoted here below, but you can read it all at THIS PAGE on theconversation.com.
Just came across another 'McMindfulness' reference and share it here, as it adds a slightly different perspective; it's from a law professor in the UK who frames the discussion of McMindfulness-Mindfulness-Buddhism in terms of consumerism, societal power structures and what he calls, "The Attention Economy".
Here again, as in our previous discussions of "Mind the Hype" -- this author takes aim at the gross (he might say 'crass') monetization of all things mindful by so many around the world, saying basically that corporations are vying for our 'Attention' as consumers, and that McMindfulness is just another 'commodity' with which to get our attention, and thus our money.
I confess ignorance of the present discourse or meaning of the term 'Neoliberals', as he doesn't really define his use of the term; but I get it -- (my term not his) it's 'them damned hippies at it again' school of anthropology/sociology. Doran asserts that in the Sixties all this mindfulness/Buddhist 'stuff' was the domain and purview of those in the counterculture, who eschewed materialism; only to now in the 21st century turn out to be marketing this 'stuff' as McMindfulness.
Hopefully, the fact that my tongue is firmly planted in-cheek in the last paragraph is obvious. So, I'll let the reader decide where this Law Professor comes in on the on-going 'What is REAL mindfulness?" debate; key paragraphs quoted here below, but you can read it all at THIS PAGE on theconversation.com.
McMindfulness: Buddhism as sold to you by neoliberals
February 23, 2018 8.12am EST
Author: Peter Doran
Lecturer in Law, Queen's University Belfast
EXCERPTS:
Mindfulness is big business, worth in excess of US$1.0 billion in the US alone and linked – somewhat paradoxically – to an expanding range of must have products. These include downloadable apps (1300 at the last count), books to read or colour in, and online courses. Mindfulness practice and training is now part of a global wellness industry worth trillions of dollars.
Mindfulness has its origins in Buddhist meditation teachings and encourages the quiet observation of habituated thought patterns and emotions. The aim is to interrupt what can be an unhealthy tendency to over-identify with and stress out about these transient contents of the mind. By doing so, those who practice mindfulness can come to dwell in what is often described as a more “spacious” and liberating awareness. They are freed from seemingly automatic tendencies (such as anxiety about status, appearances, future prospects, our productivity) that are exploited by advertisers and other institutions in order to shape our behaviour. In its original Buddhist settings, mindfulness is inseparable from the ethical life.
The rapid rise and mainstreaming of what was once regarded as the preserve of a 1960s counterculture associated with a rejection of materialist values might seem surprising. But it is no accident that these practices of meditation and mindfulness have become so widespread. Neoliberalism and the associated rise of the “attention economy” are signs of our consumerist and enterprising times. Corporations and dominant institutions thrive by capturing and directing our time and attention, both of which appear to be in ever-shorter supply.
The attention economy
The celebrated French activist philosopher and psychotherapist Félix Guattari observed some time ago that contemporary capitalism had begun to determine who we think we are. The power of corporate media, advertising, video games, Hollywood and the rise of social media condition how we present and think about ourselves. And in turn, our visions of ourselves participate in the production of all other commodities….
----
McMindfulness
Meanwhile, mindfulness, a practice with its roots in Buddhism, has mushroomed in popularity. This may seem odd. But the popular, secular variety of “mindfulness” – or “McMindfulness”, as it has been dubbed – can appear to offer a tailored, therapeutic response to many of the features of contemporary neoliberalism and the demands of the attention economy....
….
Back to Buddhism?
So-called secular therapeutic mindfulness practices, then, can operate on the same register as neoliberalism and the “attention economy”. That’s why the philosopher Slavoj Žižek once described Buddhism as the perfect supplement for a consumerist society. Žižek was only half right. The real problem is the selective appropriation of Buddhist practices, stripped of their ethical and philosophical insights. As a result, mindfulness practices are too often presented and taught without adequate acknowledgement of the power structures that are themselves an important source of our distress.
….
Conclusion, end of his last paragraph:
….Stripped of its ethical and contextual roots, mindfulness-based practices borrowed from Buddhist and Zen lineages risk shoring up the very sources of suffering from which the Buddha set out to liberate himself and others. But practised correctly, mindfulness – aligned with and informed by acknowledgement of powerful institutional sources of suffering – can be a pathway to critical engagement and resistance (emphasis ours).
Read it all at THIS PAGE on theconversation.com.
February 23, 2018 8.12am EST
Author: Peter Doran
Lecturer in Law, Queen's University Belfast
EXCERPTS:
Mindfulness is big business, worth in excess of US$1.0 billion in the US alone and linked – somewhat paradoxically – to an expanding range of must have products. These include downloadable apps (1300 at the last count), books to read or colour in, and online courses. Mindfulness practice and training is now part of a global wellness industry worth trillions of dollars.
Mindfulness has its origins in Buddhist meditation teachings and encourages the quiet observation of habituated thought patterns and emotions. The aim is to interrupt what can be an unhealthy tendency to over-identify with and stress out about these transient contents of the mind. By doing so, those who practice mindfulness can come to dwell in what is often described as a more “spacious” and liberating awareness. They are freed from seemingly automatic tendencies (such as anxiety about status, appearances, future prospects, our productivity) that are exploited by advertisers and other institutions in order to shape our behaviour. In its original Buddhist settings, mindfulness is inseparable from the ethical life.
The rapid rise and mainstreaming of what was once regarded as the preserve of a 1960s counterculture associated with a rejection of materialist values might seem surprising. But it is no accident that these practices of meditation and mindfulness have become so widespread. Neoliberalism and the associated rise of the “attention economy” are signs of our consumerist and enterprising times. Corporations and dominant institutions thrive by capturing and directing our time and attention, both of which appear to be in ever-shorter supply.
The attention economy
The celebrated French activist philosopher and psychotherapist Félix Guattari observed some time ago that contemporary capitalism had begun to determine who we think we are. The power of corporate media, advertising, video games, Hollywood and the rise of social media condition how we present and think about ourselves. And in turn, our visions of ourselves participate in the production of all other commodities….
----
McMindfulness
Meanwhile, mindfulness, a practice with its roots in Buddhism, has mushroomed in popularity. This may seem odd. But the popular, secular variety of “mindfulness” – or “McMindfulness”, as it has been dubbed – can appear to offer a tailored, therapeutic response to many of the features of contemporary neoliberalism and the demands of the attention economy....
….
Back to Buddhism?
So-called secular therapeutic mindfulness practices, then, can operate on the same register as neoliberalism and the “attention economy”. That’s why the philosopher Slavoj Žižek once described Buddhism as the perfect supplement for a consumerist society. Žižek was only half right. The real problem is the selective appropriation of Buddhist practices, stripped of their ethical and philosophical insights. As a result, mindfulness practices are too often presented and taught without adequate acknowledgement of the power structures that are themselves an important source of our distress.
….
Conclusion, end of his last paragraph:
….Stripped of its ethical and contextual roots, mindfulness-based practices borrowed from Buddhist and Zen lineages risk shoring up the very sources of suffering from which the Buddha set out to liberate himself and others. But practised correctly, mindfulness – aligned with and informed by acknowledgement of powerful institutional sources of suffering – can be a pathway to critical engagement and resistance (emphasis ours).
Read it all at THIS PAGE on theconversation.com.