Moving Beyond Mindfulness: Defining Equanimity as an Outcome Measure in Meditation and Contemplative Research

Abstract

In light of a growing interest in contemplative practices such as meditation, the emerging field of contemplative science has been challenged to describe and objectively measure how these practices affect health and well-being. While “mindfulness” itself has been proposed as a measurable outcome of contemplative practices, this concept encompasses multiple components, some of which, as we review here, may be better characterized as equanimity. Equanimity can be defined as an even-minded mental state or dispositional tendency toward all experiences or objects, regardless of their origin or their affective valence (pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral). In this article we propose that equanimity be used as an outcome measure in contemplative research. We first define and discuss the inter-relationship between mindfulness and equanimity from the perspectives of both classical Buddhism and modern psychology and present existing meditation techniques for cultivating equanimity. We then review psychological, physiological, and neuroimaging methods that have been used to assess equanimity, either directly or indirectly. In conclusion, we propose that equanimity captures potentially the most important psychological element in the improvement of well-being, and therefore should be a focus in future research studies.

Psychometric Properties of the Spanish Version of the Nonattachment Scale (NAS) and Its Relationship with Mindfulness, Decentering, and Mental Health

“…Resilience involves personal qualities that enable one to thrive in the face of adversity and is also a good measure of successful stress-coping ability (Connor and Davidson 2003). Nonattachment, according to several Buddhism and mindfulness experts, is also expressed in terms of more quickly recovering from upsets (Sahdra et al 2010), and in this sense, the NAS scale includes items which are in full agreement with the concept of resilience itself, such as BI can accept the flow of events in my life without hanging onto them or pushing them away,^or BI can remain open to what life offers me regardless of whether it seems desirable or undesirable at a particular time.^Nonattachment is based on insight into the transient nature of mental representations, so a nonattached individual should be less likely to get stuck in self-referential processing when faced with adversity, taking a more self-compassionate and balanced attitude (Desbordes et al 2015;Sahdra et al 2010). …”

Meditation, Cognitive Flexibility and Well-Being

“…The practice of mindfulness is thus propagated for its cultivation of equanimity and mental flexibility in response to the ever changing influx of experience. As such, it is seen as crucial to the reduction of suffering and sustaining mental health (Buddhaghosa 1975;Barendregt 2011;Debordes et al 2015;Wallace and Shapiro 2006). Since mindfulness relies on continuously paying attention to moment-to-moment experience of incoming stimuli, an increase of mindfulness should promote less reliance on habitual responses and foster flexibility (Moore and Malinowski 2009).…”

“…In traditional Buddhist contexts, mindfulness meditation is intended to increase awareness, tranquillity, insight, compassion and equanimity so that mental suffering is reduced and overcome (see e.g. Buddhagosa 1975;Debordes et al 2015;Goldstein 2002;Wallace and Shapiro 2006). Accumulating evidence suggests positive effects of mindfulness meditation on attentional processes and emotion regulation (see e.g.…”

How Is Stress Reduced by a Workplace Mindfulness Intervention? A Qualitative Study Conceptualising Experiences of Change

“…Acceptance of self and experience is an intended outcome of mindfulness training, and seems important to a sense of wellbeing, a proposition supported by Xu et al's (2015) study in which the positive association between mindfulness and peace of mind was mediated by self-acceptance. It has been argued that equanimity (a concept related to acceptance), defined as an even-minded mental state toward all experiences, internal and external and regardless of their valence (Desbordes et al 2014) can, over time, become an effective counter to allostatic load following chronic stress (Karatsoreos and McEwen 2011).…”