ABSTRACT
As treatments for depression, mindfulness and meditation might seem to reinforce the very tendencies toward rumination, isolation, and passivity that are symptomatic of depression. The nonjudgmental acceptance that characterizes mindfulness might seem perilously close to the nihilistic resignation of a person suffering from depression. Indeed, a common misconception about meditation is that it offers an escape away from the world and into a literal or metaphorical cave, removed from the stresses and realities of life. Meditation, however, is more accurately understood as exactly the opposite: as a practice of being more present.
