This quiz is an abbreviation of the full CLINQOL Scale (Citation: Jones &Â Drummond, 2022).
Conventional therapeutic approaches to mental health aim to use the traditional methods of challenging negative thoughts or reconditioning dysfunctional behaviours. Our approach, informed by mindfulness, is to assist people to see the essential emptiness of their thoughts, feelings and sensations, and by doing so see past them to their enduring and untouchable true nature.
The goal of enlightenment psychology is to discover the place beyond thoughts, feelings and sensations – an untouchable place of inner well-being. However to touch this requires a commitment to embrace the hero’s journey, the path past pleasure and pain, to the true nature of the self.
In taking up this challenge, we are invited to give up our innate and default attachment to everything, including the status of our life conditions. Beyond this attachment, which could (or may not) still include a wildly successful life, can be experienced the unchanging natural peaceful state of a human being – our true nature.
To experience inner well-being, we do not use the traditional methods of challenging negative thoughts or reconditioning dysfunctional behaviours, rather we teach how to see the essential emptiness of thoughts, feelings and sensations. From this we can develop both non-judgmental awareness of thoughts, and full openness to the feelings of our important life areas. Over time, this can lead us to see through the false senses of self that we have constructed and to experience the authentic and unshakeable sense of self beyond all conditions.
The process of awakening is a remarkable experience when doing it alone, but it seems to me that having a teacher allows a person to truly understand the experience and experience it fully.
It doesn’t need to be a battle to integrate awareness and mindfulness techniques…it’s the space and serenity which will enrich me…concrete techniques that don’t appear to be ‘onerous’ give me hope that I can integrate them.
Penny dropped for me – ‘ahha moment’ about not putting my happiness in anyone else’s hands. Sense of self/happiness is within – not controlled by external factors. Forgot this!
Reinforced the primary issue of living in the moment and reaching the true inner self. Keep up the good work spreading the word.
Easy to understand broken down in this way. ‘Stay in Present’. Don’t let my beliefs affect how I see ‘people’ situations etc. Declutter mind is very essential.
I am thrilled that you gave this information to the West so well and easily. Maybe it was a lot for some? It was fantastic! Thank you.
The ‘Who am I’ exercise was a very powerful one for me with a resulting ‘aha’ moment…Reinforcement of my knowing that external factors are not all they are cracked up to be. A spotlight on this. A reminder of what really matters. QOL (quality of life) exercises were extremely helpful.
The training I have received…has had a huge impact on my life. It has allowed me to see life from a different perspective, bringing a greater awareness and a freshness to the way I live from moment to moment
Everything just dropped away – kind of quite frightening…Too scared to go on a journey – now someone shows you the gates and says when do you want to go – can go anyway – and you’ll be OK.
Like an awakening – seeing things that always slipped under the radar.
A kind of restful way to live.
Since I’ve started this stuff, people feel more comfortable approaching me.
I just feel well and nothing in my external life has changed…I feel more conscious from the small to the big things.
External things don’t have any power to upset me other than that which I let it. I’m not who I thought I was. I am not what others think of me. I’m optimistic. Baggage is sliding off me. Make this available to more people.
After taking part in mindfulness training sessions I feel more in contact with my true self and hence my reality has emerged very unexpectedly and profoundly. I can see how my mind was projecting all the fear and unreality into my decisions. Now I feel more at peace and happy. This was a gift from God to me at the right time and with the right people.
Great way of looking at things – can’t wait to put them into practice.
Fantastic – Looking forward to applying it…set goals – be true to yourself – take time out to know what is important…Really impressed by how much was covered
(I saw) You can feel good for no external reason and I am relying to much on external factors to feel happy and complete.
I felt that I contacted my ‘core’ and have a chance to hold that and build better relationships.
With the emergence of the science of heroism there now exists both theoretical and empirical literature on the characteristics of our everyday hero. I seek to expand this inquiry and ask what the causes and conditions of a superhero could be. To address this I investigate the origins of mindfulness, Buddhist psychology and the assertion that its practitioners who have attained expertise in mindfulness practices can develop supernormal capabilities. I then explore any evidence that mindfulness practices have unfolded the supernormal potential of its practitioners.
I found a growing base of empirical literature suggesting some practitioners exhibit indicators of enhanced functioning including elevated physical health and resistance to disease, increased immunity to aging and improved cognitive processing, greater resilience and fearlessness, more self-less and pro-social behaviors, some control over normally autonomic responses, and possibly some paranormal functionality.
I propose in search of the superhero, that if conventional mindfulness training can already augment mental and physical capabilities, a more serious inquiry and translation of its advanced methods into mainstream psychological theory is warranted.
The field of mindfulness and the science of heroism have a common interest in the causes and conditions of selfless altruism though up to this point there has been little cross-pollination. However, there is increasing evidence that mindfulness training delivers heroically relevant qualities.
Interweaving observations and questions drawn from the science of heroism, the article explores the relevant theory, practices, and scientific outcomes of mindfulness. It finds that there is evidence that heroically relevant qualities are trainable with the suite of mindfulness techniques and that an enduring experience of selflessness and service of others (the enlightened hero) may well be within the grasp of the serious practitioner.
Very happy to be exploring in this article, the psychology of enlightenment. The goal is to extend the mainstream well-being paradigm to include uninterrupted well-being or enlightenment. It includes a deep dive into the ancient traditions behind mindfulness, the modern construct of well-being, and the latest evidence from neuroscience. You can read the full article in the APA journal Review of General Psychology: Mindfulness and Nondual Well-Being – What is the Evidence that We Can Stay Happy?
In this paper on the Mindfulness-based quality of life and well-being program (MQW), I present the results of the program I created to help people build the balance between external quality of life and internal well-being. The program highlighted the importance of getting this balance, and reported a significant impact on well-being versus the control group. You can find the link here.
The article lays out the construction, administration, and evaluation of the new Clinical Quality of Life Scale. It focuses on the combination of both mental state and important life areas like relationships, work, money, health, and leisure. The new scale is a tool for us to assess how well we are doing in achieving the balance between external quality of life, and internal well-being. It can be useful for both consumers and clinicians.
This article looks at the importance of including quality of life and well-being as a specific focus in therapy. It looks at ten domains (relationships, work, money, health, and leisure, mindfulness, self-esteem, resolution of past life events, mental style, and life management skills) and it is recommended that psychologists include some of these in their assessment, case formulation, and intervention planning.
