Believing in the Powers of Mindfulness: A Thematic Narrative Approach and the Development of a New Scale

People's beliefs about what mindfulness can do—such as improving relationships, fostering peace, or transforming inner experience—shape how they respond to mindfulness interventions. A new scale, the Belief in the Powers of Mindfulness Scale (BPMS), was developed from participants' key beliefs, which fell into three themes: interpersonal relationships and compassion, peace and violence, and the inner world. These beliefs were tied to broader cultural ideas like expressive individualism and New Age philosophy. The BPMS showed strong internal consistency and validity. Older and more spiritual individuals practiced mindfulness more often and longer, reported greater mindfulness skills, and scored higher on the BPMS. The findings underscore the need to account for people's beliefs and cultural context in mindfulness research and practice.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Objectives: The beliefs and expectations people bring into mindfulness practice can affect the measurement outcomes of interventions. The aim of this mixed-method study was to examine the key beliefs in the powers of mindfulness-understood as non-judgmental awareness of the present moment-to transform the individual and the society, and to develop and validate the Belief in the Powers of Mindfulness Scale (BPMS). Method: = 458) completed a questionnaire that included the new scale. Results: Participants' key beliefs were thematically analysed in three transformation themes: interpersonal relationships and compassion, peace and violence, and the inner world-themes were encapsulated in the BPMS. Ideas presented in each theme were undergirded by a host of ideologies, epistemic claims, and metaphysical assumptions about the nature of mind, self, and reality-which are predicated by broader cultural trends such as expressive individualism, perennial philosophy, and New Age sentiments and ideals. The BPMS showed strong internal consistency and convergent validity, and individuals who were older and more spiritual practised mindfulness more often and for longer, and self-reported greater mindfulness skills, and scored higher on the BPMS. Conclusions: Findings illustrate the persisting importance of attending to people's beliefs and expectations in mindfulness interventions and further the call for a contextual approach that accounts for cultural factors. The newly developed BPMS may assist with the measuring of peoples' beliefs and expectations.