Mindfulness threads all aspects and domains of life. In our increasingly distracting and demanding world, it is even more important to adopt a practice or to cultivate the basic skills and elements that allow us to be more present. You’ve heard the word a million times perhaps; it has become quite saturated in our culture; however, what is mindfulness, really?
Simply stated, mindfulness reflects “paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally” (Kabat-Zinn, 1994, p. 4).
Mindfulness consists of purposeful attention to and awareness of the present moment, approached with an attitude of openness, acceptance, and nonjudgment (Bishop et al., 2004, Kabat-Zinn, 1990, Kabat-Zinn, 1994).
Still, so what? Why does that relate to me? Why should I care?
Mindfulness reflects a quality of consciousness and also, perhaps most crucially, involves one’s orientation to experience (Bishop et al., 2004).
Although the modern concept of mindfulness relates to practices such as meditation that date back millennia, we are only beginning to understand the expansive and comprehensive potential of mindfulness to impact everything from our long-term health and short-term performance to our overall wellbeing and resilience. Further, and perhaps most promisingly, a growing body of evidence indicates that increased mindfulness is something that can be attained through practice and training, with measurable improvements seen after just a few sessions and with only minutes of training each day.
I. What is mindfulness?
Mindfulness, however, is not limited simply to being attentive to one’s state and to the present moment. It also entails approaching this self-awareness with a particular attitude, a nonjudgmental, open-minded acceptance.
As author Jon Kabat-Zinn describes in his book Full Catastrophe Living, “mindfulness is developed by purposefully paying attention in a sustained and non-judgmental way, to what is going on in your body, your mind, and the world around you.”
Researchers have sought to arrive at a working definition of mindfulness for use in the field of psychology, pointing to the fact that “there has been substantial interest in mindfulness as an approach to reduce cognitive vulnerability to stress and emotional stress in recent years” (Bishop et al., 2006). Based on meetings with professionals in the field, the article proposes an operational definition for mindfulness, as well as methods for testing this definition. Significantly, the authors arrived at a two-component definition that encompasses both an awareness of one’s own physical and mental states and a particular attitude toward that awareness.
The first component involves the self-regulation of attention so that it is maintained on immediate experience, thereby allowing for increased recognition of mental events in the present moment.
The second component involves adopting a particular orientation toward one’s own experiences in the present moment, an orientation that is characterized by curiosity, openness, and acceptance.
Although the first component — involving the “self-regulation of attention” — is perhaps the element more strongly associated with the public awareness of the practice of mindfulness, the second component — often described as a nonjudgmental attitude toward the awareness of one’s state — is just as vital to attaining mindfulness’s many benefits.
a. Can mindfulness be learned?
While mindfulness is an innate ability for which most humans have a natural capacity, for most people, mindfulness does require practice and training. As with any skill, one’s mindfulness can improve significantly with time and effort, and even those who naturally score higher on mindfulness indicators can improve their mindfulness, hence unlocking even more of its many, wide-ranging benefits.
For some, the manner of being we call mindfulness comes naturally. Often, these individuals rank highly on indicators of mindfulness without ever having undergone any specific mindfulness training or even being aware that their manner of being is known as mindfulness. For others, mindfulness does not come naturally. However, this does not mean that these individuals are incapable of improving their mindfulness. They simply must work to cultivate greater mindfulness through practice and training. Research shows that this extra effort pays off, with individuals scoring lower on mindfulness indicators prior to undergoing mindfulness training often showing the greatest benefits therefrom.
While, for many, honing one’s skill for mindfulness takes time and effort, the good news is that anyone — from the earliest beginner to the most experienced Zen master — can improve his or her mindfulness with practice and attention.
b. Is mindfulness a state or a trait?
To this end, some mindfulness researchers have emphasized that mindfulness is more a state of being than it is an intrinsic character trait.
“[W]e define mindfulness as a moment-to-moment awareness of one’s experience without judgment,” authors Daphne Davis and Jeffrey Hayes wrote in the American Psychological Association’s Monitor on Psychology in 2012. “In this sense, mindfulness is a state and not a trait.”
Additionally, Davis and Hayes distinguish that “[w]hile [mindfulness] might be promoted by certain practices or activities, such as meditation, it is not equivalent to — or synonymous with — them.”
The two premises that (1) mindfulness “is a state and not a trait” and (2) mindfulness “might be promoted by certain practices or activities” lead to an important conclusion: the benefits of mindfulness can be attained to ever-greater degrees through effort and practice. More importantly, this conclusion is supported by scientific evidence, which is discussed in greater detail in the upcoming articles.
In the next article, we will discuss how mindfulness applies to cognitive and academic performance broadly and within testing environments.
Mindfulness helps you to slow
it
all
down. And when you slow it down, you begin to observe everything with newfound curiosity, awareness, and gratitude. The little things aren’t little at all.
