The author of this article has not understood mindfulness. Learning and gradually practicing mindfulness does not mean one has to forcefully stay mindful all the time with a great deal of uncomfortable effort. Rather, mindfulness is gradually developed/cultivated and that is the reason one puts aside some time to practice it daily. In other words, knowing when to let go of rigid mindfulness is part of mindfulness practice. Also, the author incorrectly quotes the recent review (Goldberg, et al., 2021) of mindfulness studies for which he has provided a link – this article concluded that interventions based on mindfulness hold 'substantial potential,' and that mindfulness interventions were similar or superior to specific active controls and other evidence-based treatments (see the conclusion and the abstract of that article). I had assumed that Scientific American would do a better job of accurate reporting - looks like I was wrong.
[+] [-] Nancy59|4 years ago|reply