The Mindfulness Response and Naikan Philosophy

The Mindfulness Response: Transformation Through Naikan Philosophy and Gratitude

            The Mindfulness Response appreciates the Naikan philosophy teaches gratitude and helps group therapy participants build purpose in their lives. Group therapy participants talked about not feeling connected to others and not having a purpose in life. It reminded participants to be grateful for the things in our lives, our home environment, and the community.

            The Mindfulness Response borrows from many theories and Naikan to teach participants to take care of themselves first. Self-care forms the basis of all types of care. If you cannot perform your self-care, you cannot effectively care for others.

Naikan Philosophy

            Naikan philosophy originated with Yoshimoto Ishin of Japan and has its roots in Jodo Shinshu Buddhism (Krech 2010). Naikan is a self-reflection practice that uses mindfulness to inspire participants to become more self-reflective and find purpose in life. Naikan taught participants about connections to the community and that they are not alone in their struggles.  

The use of Naikan helped them realize how valuable they were to their families, friends, and community. There are three questions for this structured method that were discussed in the group therapy sessions.

What did I receive from others lately?

What did I give or return to this person?

What troubles, worries, and unhappiness did I cause this person?

            Gratitude is a skill that is cultivated over time and is done with the practice of mindfulness. It involves being thankful for and appreciating what you have. Gratitude reminds us that we have countless gifts and supports but we may have overlooked them. It keeps us aware of our strengths and how we can care for ourselves. It focuses on today and stays in the present moment.

            Group therapy participants talked about their experiences with recurring mental illness, and how they lost the ability to connect with others or care for themselves. The participants said they felt alienated because of their symptoms. As with someone who has a relapse of cancer or another recurring physical disease, it can be a shock to realize that the disease has returned. The Mindfulness Response emphasized gratitude to help the participants understand that they were connected to others because of their recurrent and severe symptoms.

            In group therapy, the presence of another person is important. The other group therapy members are witness to their distress, their troubles, and their struggles as they work to return to their previous lifestyle. Most of the participants felt comfortable expressing their concerns to each other.  Quieter participants offered less, but what they offered was incredibly valuable. The feeling of belonging and having someone hear and understand your problems creates a healing energy for the heart and soul. Regardless of whether the participation level is high or low, members found that their presence in relationships makes a difference to other people.     

            To do Naikan, the participants learned to care for themselves. Without the ability to do this, a participant becomes more focused on their problems and not on connections to others and gratitude.

The First Question: What did I receive from others?

            This question goes further into detail, and it shows how we are connected to a larger community:

            For example, if you received a ride to the grocery store to buy milk and eggs, the first response would be gratitude for the ride to the store. Second, the car and the gas for the ride came from somewhere.  The third note, the car was assembled in a manufacturing plant, and other human beings put pieces together to complete it; it was shipped to a dealer, who sold it to someone in the local area.

            Common Humanity is involved in this question. Different things connect us. Through this philosophy of gratitude, we can see how we are one part of a larger community. We are connected to others through our daily interactions. The group therapy participants talked about how they had taken things for granted and overlooked how others could support them.

            When people have recurring mental illness, they tend to disregard this connection and feel as if they don’t belong in society. Common humanity shows us how we are part of a larger whole. When you have recurrent mental health symptoms it is helpful to join a support group that talks about symptoms openly. The support from a local group empowers the participant to feel belonging. support encourages the participants to move ahead with their life goals and aspirations.

            Naikan Philosophy teaches us how people can influence one another. Naikan also teaches that there are a multitude of interactions or connections that create a situation, such as a ride in the car to get groceries. Similarly, buying milk or eggs is not just a small action. Farmers must buy the cows and chickens, place them in a barn to shelter them from cold and stormy weather, feed them, collect the milk and eggs, and transport them to a packaging plant. Other people arrange to bring the packaged milk and the eggs to market, and more people may be involved in driving the food to the store. 

The Second Question: What did I give or return to this person?

            The participants tended to overlook small interactions and how they affect other people. A smile, a hello, a nod, or an acknowledgment can change attitudes. The reassurance that a participant receives from another is invaluable when the participant takes time to listen to another participant’s daily struggles. Participants exchange non-verbal communication with an expression of empathy or a look in their eye that they too understand and have been there. Participants expressed how relieved they were to be with group members who felt similar stress. One participant told others that the group takes a load off their shoulders.

            Naikan philosophy reminds us that life is a give-and-take situation. We are not invisible when we are quiet but do make a difference in ways that we may not consider. Our actions and our expressions are important and do influence others. Naikan reminded the participants of their purpose in the group and how they are part of both the immediate community and the larger community.

            All relationships are important, whether as best friends, acquaintances, or strangers. The participants learned the value of other group members and did not take them for granted. The participants learned to appreciate each other and their interactions with others in the community.

Some Examples Include:

Listening to others

Being present

Sharing conversations, large or small

Reassurance, caring, peace of mind.

Friendship, companionship

Laughter, a joke, humor, a smile

Material things: groceries, money, shelter

            One group member who said little but participated in the group therapy assured others with written messages. The member explained that the group helped to “get the monkey off my back.” The member went on to say that there was a weight upon their shoulders and that the group has helped get rid of it. they felt lighter because of the group.

            When participants started the program, they had recurrent symptoms of depression, anxiety, and psychosis. They did not realize how the group would influence them and underestimated the power of the group. Participants talked openly about post-partum depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, relapse into substance abuse, or PTSD. The group had honest conversations about suffering and emotional pain and helped others feel relieved to hear how others had similar pain.   

            A participant told other members about being so grateful for this group. the participant went on to explain that they were so frustrated and down and didn’t know what to do, but the group helped them feel better about themselves.

The Third Question:

What troubles, worries, and unhappiness did I cause this person?

            This was adjusted for people who experience recurring mental symptoms to read: What interactions did I have, or what changes did I cause with others?

            The goal of the third question was to help participants realize the value of their interactions and how they affect others. It was a conscious choice to consider their interactions with others first and then consider any changes, worries, or troubles that they may have created. This emphasizes common humanity, and self-kindness, two concepts of self-compassion.  Setting limits with others and choosing different ways to respond when relationships become problematic can help another person grow and can be necessary.

             The fact that a person’s presence in the room can change or influence others was new to the group. People who come to group therapy feel that they don’t matter to others. However, the Naikan philosophy explains that this is not true. Even if the participant doesn’t talk much, or is quiet or shy, the relationship influences others. The group members learned that their lives made a difference to others in ways that they did not realize. The discussion emphasized that if they were not there, things would be missing in relationships with other group members. The group therapy process would be different on a day since a member was not there. This difference, in turn, influenced future interactions and expressions for the group.

            Gratitude teaches us about the quality of being thankful and the readiness to show appreciation for others. Gratitude also emphasizes the ability to return kindness. Gratitude helps us realize our present-day struggles can become gifts. One participant told the group how bad they felt, how much they struggled with symptoms, and that the discussions of gratitude during group therapy helped deal with the psychosis and depression.

            The Naikan philosophy helped participants take gratitude to another level as it was applied to their personal lives. Naikan teaches us to be aware of our expressions and our interactions. It helped participants understand the power and influence behind relationships. It taught participants the value of connection and reasons to connect to others. Naikan challenged the participants to become aware of what they said and did because it affected their family, their friends, and their community.

            The participants realized how one person’s energy can influence hundreds of others. The group talked about how one person’s idea can become an act for change, or innovation. The expression of ideas can be spoken, written, invented, or created in art, dance, music, paintings, science, and other ways.

            Naikan philosophy was used to help participants understand personal choices. Their interactions and expressions were influenced by their present-day decisions. The participants discussed whether to seek help or isolate, to stay sober and take medications as prescribed, to be honest and open about symptoms, or to try to fight off the trauma by themselves or accept help from others. One participant talked about gratitude and how the group was beneficial because “people here understand.”

            The Mindfulness Response uses Naikan and gratitude to help open discussions about personal choices.  Once the group held conversations about relationships, interactions, and personal choices, the idea of transforming strong feelings such as anger or shame into advocacy for change and becoming a mentor or role model to others was self-empowering.