What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness has exploded in recent decades. From an ancient eastern tradition to a well-being staple, Mindfulness has flooded the collective consciousness. And for good reason. It is associated with reduced stress, improved mental health, emotional regulation, enhanced concentration, improved sleep, improved relationships, increased gratitude and more. Sounds great, but what is Mindfulness?

Jon Kabat-Zinn (considered the grandfather of modern Mindfulness) gives this definition:

‘Mindfulness is paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgmentally’ 

Let’s break this down.

On Purpose

Have you ever pulled into your driveway and said to yourself, ‘How on earth did I even get here?’. You know you left work, pulled onto the highway, and then… poof. Suddenly, you’ve been teleported home, scratching your head, wondering what happened to the last twenty minutes. 

You were on autopilot.

Your body was doing one thing; your mind was doing something else. Your attention was divided. But more than that, you weren’t being intentional. Your mind was wandering of its own accord. It was doing its own thing. Your mind has a mind of its own, as it were. 

You were being mindless.

This is problematic for a few reasons:

1) Many unhelpful cognitive behaviours such as worry and rumination (and other forms of ‘stinking thinking’) are done on autopilot. They occur without our awareness and without our permission. They just happen. This, of course, makes us unduly stressed, depressed, frustrated, guilty, ect... And we don’t stop because we’re not aware we are doing it. We’re not ‘awake’. We’re sleepwalking.

2) When we’re mindless we respond reflexively. We’re impulsive. This can get us in trouble. We might be snappy, eat something we didn’t want, drink something we didn’t want to drink (or too much), gamble more than we intended. We might self-harm or engage in a hundred other self-defeating behaviours. 

 3) Mindlessness is an opportunity cost. It prevents us from being intentional. It stops us from doing the things we actually want. It takes us away from the things we genuinely care about. It stops us being conscious. It stops us living our life on purpose.

Present Moment

The human mind is an incredible thing. Unlike our animal counterparts, it can contemplate the past and imagine the future. This allows us to think through and solve problems – mentally – before actioning them. We can plan ahead. However, the ability to think of the past, the future, and made up imaginary situations comes at a cost. 

A Harvard Study tracked how 2,250 volunteers felt whenever their mind wandered:  

1)    To unpleasant topics,

2)    To neutral topics,

3)    To pleasant topics, or

4)    Whenever they remained focused on what they were currently doing.

When were responders most happy? Not when they thought of ‘pleasant’ topics, but rather, whenever they focused on the present moment. What’s more, respondents spent 47% of their waking hours thinking about something other than the present moment.

The authors concluded: “…a human mind is a wandering mind, and a wandering mind is an unhappy mind. The ability to think about what is not happening is a cognitive achievement that comes at an emotional cost.”

Not only is this in keeping with thousands of years of religious tradition, but it makes sense. Our emotions occur in the present moment. Our thoughts transpire in the present moment (even if they are of the past, the future, or of an alternative reality). Our senses ground us in the present moment. Indeed, the present moment is the only thing that actually exists. It’s real. That’s why even the best fantasies, upcoming-longed-for holidays, and pleasant memories are immaterial when compared to the simple pleasure of engaging with the present moment. Ultimately, even the most delightful imaged past, present or future is a superficial joy compared with the deeply satisfying experience of a life lived in the now. 

What’s more, when we don’t pay attention to the present moment, many of our mental ‘bad habits’ of worrying (about the future) and ruminating (about the past) can get a foothold. And worry and rumination are at the very heart of anxiety and depression.  

“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God, which is why we call it the present.” (Kung Fu Panda)

Non-Judgmentally

People judge. It’s true. In fact, there are two types of judgments: judgments of discrimination and judgments of evaluation. One is necessary, the other is not.

Consider this. You see junk food. You see a salad. A carnal part of you wants to indulge in the junk food but a discerning part of you judges the salad to be better for you. You pick the salad. This is a judgment of discrimination. Were you judge something based on some objective standard, or whether something ‘fits the facts’. Jewellers do this to determine whether a stone is indeed a diamond. Butchers determine the best cuts of meat. You do this when you discriminate between a pool with water and one without. You dive in one and not the other. Judgments of discrimination are necessary.

Judgments of evaluation are not. To evaluate is to judge someone or something as good or bad, worthwhile or not, valuable or not. These types of judgments are not facts. They are added to the facts. They are opinions. Personal values. Ideas. Here are some examples:

“I’m useless”

“I’m ugly”

“I’m worthless”

“I’m not good enough”

“I hate this”

“I just know she doesn’t like me”

“He did that on purpose just to piss me off”

These judgments of evaluation are mere opinions and certainly not facts. Indeed, they can be wildly off target, creating a lot of unnecessary distress and drive us to disengage from the present moment in the form of Experiential Avoidance. They serve as a filter, diluting what is actually going on in reality.

Mindfulness is about perceiving the world as it actually is. Free of evaluative judgments of good or bad or right or wrong. It’s about observing the world, just as it is, and accepting it wholeheartedly, even if you don’t like it.

This part is very important, so I’ll say it again. Mindfulness is about observing the world, just as it is and accepting it whole heartedly, even if you don’t like it. This is true for painful experiences such as grief, anxiety, frustration, and even despair. We can judge these experiences evaluatively as painful, unpleasant, and ‘not what I want’. That’s the facts. It’s true. But we can still observe them, accept them, and allow them to be. We don’t have to fight them. We don’t have to change them. In fact, with mindfulness, we’re encouraged not to. By fighting unpleasant thoughts and emotions we tend to feed them and increase their negative impact. By accepting them and allowing them to be, we reduce their impact and learn to be free regardless of their presence.

In the words of the legendary Samarai and author of The Five Rings, Miyamoto Mushashi:

“Accept everything just the way it is.”

So, we’ve explained mindfulness. But why bother doing it? And how? Stay tuned.

References:

Forsyth, J.P. & Eifert, G.H (2007). The mindfulness and acceptance workbook for anxiety: a guide to breaking free from anxiety, phobias, and worry using acceptance and commitment therapy. New Harbinger Publications Inc.

Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994). Wherever you go, there you are: Mindfulness meditation in everyday life. Hyperion.

Killingsworth, M. A., & Gilbert, D. T. (2010). A Wandering Mind Is an Unhappy Mind. Science, 330(6006), 932.

Segal, Z.V., Williams, J.M.G., & Teasdale, J.D. (2002). Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression – A New Approach to Preventing Relapse. The Guildford Press.

Williams, M; Teasdale, J.; Segal, Z.; Kabat-Zinn, J. (2007). The Mindful Way through Depression – Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness. The Guildford Press.

The Centre for Clinical Interventions - http://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/