Mindfulness in Law The Cultivation of Focus, Concentration, and the Reduction of Stress

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1 Mindfulness in Law The Cultivation of Focus, Concentration, and the Reduction of Stress ACC Greater New York Harvard Club, 5:30-6:20 PM May 12, 2015 Professor Scott L. Rogers Director, Mindfulness in Law Program University of Miami School of Law Co-Director, UMindfulness Research & Practice Initiative University of Miami phone: Program Handout Materials

2 Overview of Mindfulness Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way, on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally. - - Jon Kabat- ZInn The present moment is :lled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive you will see it. - - Thich Nhat Hanh For 10 or 15 minutes twice a day I sit peacefully. I relax and think about nothing or as little as possible. --Justice Stephen Breyer Mindfulness is a practice of paying attention to what is taking place in the present moment. While this is easier said than done, mindfulness exercises are simple to learn and can have meaningful benefits across a variety of areas including stress reduction, clarity and concentration, immune functioning, and working with anxiety and depression. Mindfulness is becoming an especially relevant topic within the legal profession and a growing number of legal organizations are including mindfulness information on their websites and offering mindfulness presentations and workshops. Recent neuroscience research exploring mindfulness meditation is finding that mindfulness practices are associated with changes to the structure and function of the brain in the areas of attention, emotional regulation, and memory. Mindfulness practices, and the insights out of which they flow, offer a fresh (yet timeless) approach to working and thriving amid stressful environments. Rather than resisting unwanted and undesirable events (and people), mindfulness invites you to learn ways of relating to these experiences from a place of equanimity, curiosity, and insight, borne out of a deeper understanding of the nature of mental activity, distraction, and the power of deliberate attention. Medical and neuroscience research support the benefits to brain and body that are associated with mindfulness exercises. Together we will begin to explore some fundamental mindfulness insights and mindfulness exercises that you can incorporate into your day to help you find a little more ease in the midst of stressful situations, relate more effectively to challenging people and events, and enhance your overall sense of well-being. Copyright Scott L. Rogers. All Rights Reserved. 1

3 One Minute Mindfulness Exercise 1. Sit in a chair with eyes lowered or closed. Uncross your legs and allow your hands to rest by your side or on your lap. 2. Allow your posture to be upright and stable, but not too taut not slouched. 3. Take a few breaths and bring awareness to your body, sitting in the chair. 4. As you breathe, pay attention to the movement of the breath as it enters and leaves your body, attending to the feel of air around your nostrils or mouth, or the rise and fall of your belly. 5. There is no need to control your breathing or to try to breathe in any particular way. 6. Maintain awareness on your breathing, noticing the breath as you might the coming and going of ocean waves against the shore. 7. When you notice your mind getting lost in distraction (and you will), gently bring awareness back to the breath. 8. When you are ready, bring awareness to the body. Gently lift your gaze or open your eyes. Carry a bit of the state of mind and body you have cultivated into the moments that follow. Mindfulness exercises can be found on websites across the Internet. Below are some webpages with exercises you may find of interest: (Miami Law) (MARC) (Contemplative Mind) Copyright Scott L. Rogers. All Rights Reserved. 2

4 Landscape of the Mind: Bringing Awareness to the "Attractive Nuisance" Copyright Scott L. Rogers. All Rights Reserved. For permission to use, contact Scott Rogers at 3

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7 Resources Law Articles Cohen, J., Mindfulness and Stress, The Recorder (2012) Gold, A., "Mindfulness: A Challenge for Our Times," DCBA Bulletin (May 2012). Hyman, P., "The Mindful Lawyer: Mindfulness, Mediation and Law Practice" Ver. B. J., (2007). Magee, R., "Educating Lawyers to Meditate? From Exercises to Epistemology to Ethics: The Contemplative Practice and Law Movement as Legal Education Reform," 79 UMKC L. Rev 535 (2011). Magee, R., Making the Caw for Mindfulness and the Law NW Lawyer (Wash. State Bar Ass. 2014). Riskin, L., "The Contemplative Lawyer: On the Potential Contributions of Mindfulness, Meditation to Law Students, Lawyers and their Clients," 7 Harv. Negot. L. Rev. 1, (2002); Rogers, S., What Do We Want? Mindfulness In Law Louisiana State Bar Journal 62(4), p. 268( Dec. 2014/Jan. 2015). Rogers, S., Mindfulness in Law (2014). In "The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of Mindfulness," Amanda Ie, Christelle Ngoumen & Ellen Langer, Editors. (Wiley- Blackwell). Tropin, H., "Meditation and Controlling the Inner Mongo," DCBA Bulletin, (June 2012) Zeglovitch, R., "The Mindful Lawyer," ABA GP Solo (2006). Science Articles Hölzel, B.K., et. al., "Mindfulness practice leads to increases in regional brain gray matter density." Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, 2011;191, Jha, A., Rogers, S., & Morrison, A. (2013). Mindfulness training in high stress professions: Strengthening attention & resilience. In R. Baer (Ed.), Mindfulness-based treatment approaches: A clinician s guide (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Elsevier. Kabat-Zinn, J., Davidson, R., et. al., "Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation," Psychosomatic Medicine 65: (2003). Lazar, S., et. al.. Meditation Experience is Associated with Increased Cortical Thickness, NeuroReport, 16: (2005). Luders, et. al., "The Unique Brain Anatomy of Meditation Practitioners: Alterations in Cortical Gyrification," Front Hum Neurosci. 2012; 6: 34. (2012). Morrison, A., Goolsarran, M., Rogers, S. & Jha, A. (2014) Taming a Wandering Attention: Short-Form Mindfulness Training in Student Cohorts, in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 7:897. doi: / fnhum Ricard, et al., Neuroscience Reveals the Secrets of Meditation s Benefits Sci. Am. (Oct. 2015). Copyright Scott L. Rogers. All Rights Reserved. 6

8 Magazines Mindful: This recently launched magazine is devoted to mindfulness. Books Albers, S., Eating Mindfully: How to End Mindless Eating and Enjoy a Balanced Relationship with Food (2003). Goleman, D., Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence (2013). Halpern, C., "Making Waves and Riding the Currents: Activism and the Practice of Wisdom" (2009). Harris, D., 10% Happier (2014). Love, H., & Martin, N., Yoga for Lawyers: Mind-Body Techniques to Feel Better All the Time (ABA,, 2014) Nhat Hanh, T., The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Mindfulness (1999). Kabat-Zinn, J., "Mindfulness for Beginners" (2012). Langer, E., Mindfulness (1990). Chade-Meng, T., Search Inside Yourself: The Unexpected Path to Achieving Success, Happiness (and World Peace) (2012). Rogers. S., "The Six-Minute Solution: A Mindfulness Primer for Attorneys" (2009). Ryan, T., "A Mindful Nation: How a Simple Practice Can Help Us Reduce Stress, Improve Performance, and Recapture the American Spirit" (2012). Salzberg, S., Real Happiness at Work: Meditations for Accomplishment, Achievement, and Peace (2014). Salzberg, S., Real Happiness: The Power of Meditation (2011). Williams, M., et. al., "The Mindful Way Through Depression" (2007). Law Focused Websites Mindfulness in Law Joint Task Force DCBA/FBA Mindfulness in Law Mindfulness Law Blog University of Miami Mindfulness in Law Program Berkeley Initiative for Mindfulness in Law The Mindful Lawyer General Mindful Magazine Center for Mindfulness, UMass Medical School Mindful Awareness Research Center (MARC) UMindfulness Research & Practice Initiative Copyright Scott L. Rogers. All Rights Reserved. 7

9 Notes What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson