Mindfulness practice, inherited from the Buddhist tradition, is increasingly being employed in Western psychology to alleviate a variety of mental and physical conditions. Scientific research into mindfulness generally falls under the umbrella of positive psychology. Research has been ongoing over the last twenty or thirty years, with a surge of interest over the last decade in particular.[23][24] In 2011, NIH's National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) released finding of a study where in magnetic resonance images of the brains of 16 participants 2 weeks before and after mindfulness meditation practitioners, joined the meditation program were taken by researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital, Bender Institute of Neuroimaging in Germany, and the University of Massachusetts Medical School. It concluded that "..these findings may represent an underlying brain mechanism associated with mindfulness-based improvements in mental health."[25] A January 2011 study in the journal Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, based on anatomical magnetic resonance images (MRI) of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) participants, suggested that "participation in MBSR is associated with changes in gray matter concentration in brain regions involved in learning and memory processes, emotion regulation, self-referential processing, and perspective taking." [26]

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Over the past 30 years there has been an increase in the number of published studies on mindfulness.[13] The current body of scientific literature on the effects of mindfulness practices is promising despite the presence of methodological weaknesses.[8][14] The current research does suggest that mindfulness practices are useful in the treatment of pain,[8] stress,[8] anxiety,[8] depressive relapse,[8] disordered eating,[8] and addiction,[15][16] among others. Mindfulness has been investigated for its potential benefit for individuals who do not experience these disorders, as well, with positive results. Mindfulness practice improves the immune system[17] and alters activation symmetries in the prefrontal cortex, a change previously associated with an increase in positive affect and a faster recovery from a negative experience.[17]

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I remember going to a new ageish spa (the sort that offers massages) and seeing a poster on the wall that advocated living in the present and experiencing the present moment as the key to contentment... or at the very least, an undisturbed mind. It sounds similar to mindfulness and it has worked in my more stressed moments. Thanks for the recommendation--I've downloaded the book to my kindle.

(Incidentally, I'd also downloaded one of the Dalai Lama's books on compassion and Buddhism just the day before.)