Tag: cognitive behavioral therapy

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT as it is commonly known, is currently the most widely utilized modality in psychotherapy.  A large body of research has confirmed the effectiveness of CBT in treating anxiety and mood disorders.  CBT is based in the understanding that thinking, feeling and actions are mutually inter-influencing aspects of human experience that in turn greatly influence an individual’s mood and anxiety level. CBT’s most powerful insight is that thinking can be chosen and shaped through a conscious, volitional process. The tools that CBT offers enable people to choose thoughts and actions in specific ways and thereby improve mood state and anxiety.  This conscious process brings one to the doorstep of Mindfulness.

CBT works on becoming aware of one’s thinking and then changing your thinking where desired. Mindfulness starts with this awareness of thought in order to transcend thinking and experience life in full consciousness.

Stated in simple terms, CBT works with thought and Mindfulness works through experience. Mindfulness is an experiential process of self-awareness.  In self-awareness we experience life fully and without anxiety.  When living self-aware we experience the fullness of who we are and experience life in a way that we have yearned for but somehow had found unattainable.  When we transcend thinking we discover our true nature is to be at peace and that living through our true self brings us joy.

Mindfulness allows us to live with internal clarity; knowing who we are and what our purpose is. Developing mindfulness is an ongoing process, much like physical exercise. It takes constant training, persistence, and dedication. But the rewards that mindfulness provides makes the endeavor very much worth the labor and effort spent in its procurement.

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