What is mindfulness?

Conscious Beginnings

The topic for last nights mindfulness group was the definition & foundations of it! As Mindfulness is becoming more and more part of our daily lives, here are the most important foundations.

7 Foundations of Mindfulness (by Jon Kabat-Zinn)

1. Non-judging: We have ideas and opinions about everything. Our minds constantly evaluate, label, and compare our experiences. In Mindfulness, we simply observe everything as it is without judging.

2. Patience: We are very busy and we always try to get some place else than the moment we are in. Mindfulness is about letting things unfold in their own time, and cultivating patience.

3. Beginner’s Mind/Zen mind: In the mind of the expert, there are very limited possibilities, whereas in a beginners mind there is an infinite number of possibilities. Maintain beginners mind over and over again. Our expertise gets in the way of knowing what we don’t know. Stay in not-knowing, as you have never seen this moment before.

“Have a mind open to anything and attached to nothing” (Dr. Wayne Dyer).

4. Trust: Can we trust what we know through thinking? Our senses can be tricked. Mindfulness is about trusting our awareness, our hearts, our own experiences rather than preconceived ideas of who we are.

5. Non-striving: In the Western world, we are go-getters, achievers, and doers. It is all about doing something and getting somewhere, whereas in Mindfulness there is no place to go, nothing to do, nothing to gain. You are already here, the agenda is to be awake, and what happens now is what matters the most. This moment is as good as any other, and it is all we have.

6. Acceptance: Mindfulness is about accepting the present moment as it is, not as you would like it to be. It is not about passive resignation. When we are mindful we act with clarity and wisdom rather than reacting with blind emotions. Pain is part of life, however, suffering is created by not accepting the pain.

Suffering = Pain + Non-Acceptance

7. Non-attachment / Letting go: Mindfulness teaches us to stop clinging to our attachments, whether material or sentimental, which are linked to our suffering. It is also about letting go of our judgments, distorted beliefs and conditionings that help us to grow into our authentic selves.