Mindfulness has become a pretty hot topic over the past few decades. It’s a meditative practice that focuses on being aware of your senses and feelings in the moment.
The purpose of mindfulness is to approach our senses and feelings without interpretation or judgment.
We’ll start this post by discussing how mindfulness feels, before moving onto the theory and its core components.
What does mindfulness feel like?
The feeling of mindfulness can be described as:
- Paying attention in a particular way. We become aware and non-judgmental, on purpose, in the present moment
- Bringing one’s complete attention to the present experience on a moment-to-moment basis
The side effects of this practice tends to include a sense of calm and inner peace, as we distance ourselves from positive and (especially) negative thoughts. For this reason, mindfulness techniques are regularly recommended to people dealing with chronic stress and depression.
Of course, we can benefit from mindfulness even without serious mental health issues. For example, we may not realise how stressed or anxious we are before developing a mindfulness practice.
The coloured glasses analogy helps us understand how we might distort reality in our own perception. Mindfulness is the cure that helps us see reality more clearly.
What are the three components of mindfulness?
Mindfulness, especially in the Buddhist doctrine, comes down to three main components:
- The intention to cultivate awareness and develop it over time through repetition
- Attention to the present moment by observing our thoughts, feelings and sensations in the mind and body as they appear
- An attitude that is non-judgmental, curious, and kind.
By checking each of these three boxes, we can begin our mindfulness journey.
What are the 9 attitudes of mindfulness?
Jon Kabat-Zinn, the founder of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), proposes 9 key attitudes to develop mindfulness:
- Non-judging
- Acceptance
- Patience
- Beginner’s mind
- Trust
- Non Striving
- Letting Go
- Gratitude
- Generosity
Keeping these attitudes at the forefront in our learning and practice allows us to develop a well-rounded mindfulness habit.
For more information, Jon Kabat-Zinn discusses these attitudes in detail in a YouTube video series:
What are the main schools of mindfulness?
For most people, mindfulness is a clear product of Eastern traditions. But what they may not realise is that not long after the Buddha lived, Europe developed its own mindful philosophy without any evidence of connection between the two. These two schools have been studied in more recent times and even made their way into modern psychology practices.
Mindfulness meditation from Buddhism
The Buddha is well-known for the mindfulness practice he developed and taught. When people normally talk about mindfulness and meditation, they usually mean specifically Buddhist practices.
The Buddha taught several types of mindfulness:
- Mindfulness of the body. This includes awareness of our breath during meditation, our chewing during meals and our steps while we walk. It also includes awareness of our body’s organs and by-products.
- Mindfulness of feelings. In Buddhist teaching, there are three types of unwholesome feelings: Pleasurable feelings which lead to attachments such as greed and lust, Painful feelings that lead to aversions such as hatred and fear, and neutral feelings that lead to delusion because they seem unimportant and are therefore ignored. We use mindfulness to practice non-judgment of these feelings.
- Mindfulness of consciousness. This comes down to noticing our emotions and states of mind such as joy, fear, anger, and even mindfulness itself. By acknowledging that “I am being mindful” when we’re being mindful or “I am being mindless” when we find ourselves distracted, we can practice mindfulness of consciousness.
- Mindfulness of mental objects. To clarify, objects of our mind include thoughts, ideas and conceptions. Developing this type of mindfulness involves acknowledging that these mental objects are only a representation of reality.
With his teachings, the Buddha tried to help others realise the selfless, conditioned, and impermanent nature of things. With this awareness, we can learn to let go and realise the “highest truth”.
Mindfulness Training with Stoic Philosophy
Stoic mindfulness takes a similar but slightly simpler approach than Buddhism. Meditating like a Stoic usually involves contemplating our thoughts. We should focus on things in our control and embrace everything outside our control as fate. Amor fati.
Most things are inherently neutral. Only our conscious thoughts and actions can be deemed good or bad. Good and bad actions are, in turn, determined by how well they align with our core values. And we can only perform actions in this current moment.
In terms of awareness of the present moment, Marcus Aurelius famously wrote in his personal notebook:
‘Each man only lives in this present instant… all the rest either has been lived or remains in uncertainty’.
Marcus Aurelius [3.10]
The following line from Meditations may resonate with Buddhist practitioners:
Every hour focus your mind attentively… on the performance of the task in hand, with dignity, human sympathy, benevolence and freedom, and leave aside all other thoughts. You will achieve this, if you perform each action as if it were your last.
Marcus Aurelius [2.5]
Epictetus often referred to the concept of prosoché, which we can translate to ‘attention’. He taught his students that prosoché is essential for living an ethical life. It’s also worth reminding ourselves here that, according to the Stoics, ethics should be our main goal in life.
Living with virtue is within our control and creates tranquility. Following our ethics, the ancient Stoics argued, will result in a fulfilling and joyful life.
Mindfulness in Modern Cognitive Behavioural Therapy & Clinical Psychology
Modern CBT builds on the concepts of mindfulness and cognitive distancing. In fact, Epictetus heavily influenced early CBT research, as he believed that we could use logic to identify and discard false beliefs that lead to destructive emotions.
This school of psychology employs a “mindfulness and acceptance-based” approach. Their techniques help people deal with severe mental health issues such as anxiety, addiction and depression.
More recently, a 2004 paper from a group of clinical psychologists proposed a two-component model of mindfulness:
- Self-regulation of attention to be maintained on one’s immediate experience. This allows for increased recognition of mental events in the present moment.
- An orientation toward one’s experiences in the present moment. This is characterised by curiosity, openness, and acceptance.
Psychology’s reliance on cognitive distancing techniques shows the benefits of mindfulness in both a practical and academic application.
How Do You Practice Mindfulness?
The mindfulness method may change slightly depending on which school of mindfulness you follow. Typically, the practice may include a mix of the following:
- Breathing methods
- Awareness of the mind’s workings
- Reflection practices
- Guided imagery (which involves thinking of a peaceful place or object)
- Other practices to relax the body and mind and reduce stress
Exercises like mindfulness meditation and body scan can help us identify our causes of stress. Stoic mindfulness also adds a rational component; by listing our anxious thoughts, we can clarify which we can actually do something about.
How Can I Start Being Mindful?
Now that we’ve discussed what mindfulness is, let’s run through a few ways you can apply mindfulness in your day-to-day life.
1. Meditate
Learning to meditate may be the best way to practice mindfulness. It can take 5 minutes, and all you need to do is sit quietly and follow your breath.
After meditating, you may feel more conscious and connected for the rest of your day. So why not give it a shot?
Try out our Beginner’s Guide to Meditation for a quick start to the practice.
2. Focus On One Thing At A Time
These days, multi-tasking seems to have become a part of our daily lives. We go to work and are bombarded by others’ demands via email and IM services.
Even when we plan to spend our free-time productively, we somehow end up spend our evenings scrolling through an infinite feed of memes and instagram selfies instead. We often can’t even watch a film or TV series without checking our phones!
Mindfulness and productivity both recommend that we focus on one thing at a time. What other reason could you need to give up that pesky multi-tasking habit?
Discover a sense of calm by focusing on one thing at a time.
3. Slow Down
Modern life seems to be moving at a mile a minute. We may feel that there’s no time to slow down because we need to keep moving to keep ourselves afloat. Rest assured, this mental pattern is just an illusion.
We can’t live our lives on a treadmill. Life is not just a hamster wheel full of progress and achievements. Some of the best things in life requires that we slow down once in a while to experience them.
Have you ever noticed the sweet smell after a summer rain? How about the vivid colours of a wild flower? Nature scenes make great mindfulness learning opportunities and help us reconnect with our natural selves.
Especially if you’re prone to stress and anxiety, I’d recommend taking time to slow down everyday. If that makes you even more anxious, try listing out your stressful thoughts and focusing on what you can control.
If you’re like me, you’ll probably realise how many unnecessary and unproductive thoughts you had bouncing around your mind.
Creating your own Stoic To-Do list will help you discover tranquility and freedom.
4. Eat Mindfully
Focusing your attention on food is another great example of mindfulness. From considering the nutrients of each product at the supermarket to only eating when you have an appetite, you will learn to appreciate your food in a new way.
Starting with a small portion bring all your senses to the meal, chew each bite thoroughly and eat your meal slowly. Mindful eating will allow you to feel in control of your meal and increase your enjoyment of the experience.
5. Limit your Daily Device Time
Most of us probably spend a little too much time in front of TVs, laptops and touch screens. It’s all too easy to log on, and before you know, 3 hours have passed.
But somehow, I don’t quite remember what I did all that time. Surely, I wasn’t just scrolling on Instagram that whole time?
Limiting daily device time will help us become more mindful of how we’re spending our time. And it’ll even have the added benefit of helping us sleep better, especially when we reduce their use in the evenings.
6. Move
Exercise is another great way to practice mindfulness, especially for beginners. You may not think you’ve ever meditated before. But if you’ve ever found yourself zoning out during a run or swim, many meditators would argue that you have.
Exercise became a regular part of my optimal pandemic routine after I started feeling the effects of lockdown.
Before the pandemic I found myself moving around regularly – whether on the daily commute or on regular outings with friends. 2020 help me learn first-hand how important exercise is to our overall physical and mental well-being.
Moving helps us develop a link between our mind, body and spirit. On top of that, exercise releases endorphins which just feel so good!
7. Spend Time In Nature
The final way we can learn to become more mindful is spending more time in nature. We find this connection in both Buddhism and Stoicism. For example, Siddhartha Gautama sat below the Bodhi tree meditating, when he finally achieved enlightenment and became the Buddha.
Stoics, on the other hand, believe we find tranquility by living in harmony with nature. We can learn great lessons simply by observing how nature works.
As a horse when he has run, a dog when he has tracked the game, a bee when it has made the honey, so a man when he has done a good act, does not call out for others to come and see, but he goes on to another act, as a vine goes on to produce again the grapes in season.
Marcus Aurelius [Meditations, 2.6]
Indeed, spending time in nature will help us learn such lessons and live in harmony with nature.
Mindfulness in a Nutshell
Mindfulness developed as a practice in Asia and Europe between 500 – 300 BCE with the schools of Buddhism and Stoicism, respectively. Typical mindfulness involves developing awareness of our breath and inner thoughts. Our goal here is to cultivate a non-judgmental attitude towards our distorted thoughts and perceptions.
While Stoicism and Buddhism took slightly different approaches to mindfulness, the end goal was virtually identical. We should distance ourselves from the thoughts and feelings that cause us great pain. As we can only control our actions in the present moment, this is where we should start.
Learn to meditate, focus on one thing at a time and slow down. Eat more mindfully and limit time on devices. Also, always make sure to move and spend time in nature!
Become more mindful today with ancient philosophies, modern psychology and Mind & Practice.