Saving the world

personalized communication of mindfulness neuroscience

Jenny Eklöf

pp. 323-335

in: Ronald E. Purser, David Forbes, Adam Burke (eds), Handbook of mindfulness, Berlin, Springer, 2016

Abstract

Over the past 10–15 years, medical interventions, therapeutic approaches, and scientific studies involving mindfulness meditation have gained traction in areas such as clinical psychology, psychotherapy, and neuroscience. Simultaneously, mindfulness has had a very strong public appeal. This chapter examines some of the ways in which the scientific meaning of mindfulness is communicated in public and to the public. In particular, it shows how experts in the field of mindfulness neuroscience seek to communicate to the public at large the imperative of brain fitness for the promotion of health, well-being, and happiness. The study identifies claims being made in popular outlets that, by and large, bypass traditional mass media, such as self-help books, Web sites, and online videos. By treating this material as a form of personalized science communication, this article contributes to the body of literature that understands science communication as a continuum, and the boundary between science and popularized science as the outcome of human negotiations. The study finds that processes of personalization help to build bridges between scientific findings and their supposed application, infuse science with subjective meaning, and turn expert communication with the public into a moral vocation.