What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is a quality of awareness arising from:
Paying attention,
On purpose,
In the present moment,
Non-Judgmentally, to things as they are.
(Jon Kabat-Zinn, Full Catastrophe Living)
Every person already has a natural degree of mindfulness. We also have a natural tendency to be 'mindless' - losing our attention to distractions, thinking about past memories or future expectations. We can also tend to be critical and judgemental of ourselves and our experiences.
When we are 'mindless' we are more likely to miss or take for granted the joys and pleasures of everyday life and to develop physical and emotional difficulties as the result of the stresses and strains of everyday life.
Regular mindfulness meditation has a high quality, scientific evidence-base around improving peoples ability to cope with stress and manage physical and emotional difficulties.
One of the best ways to learn Mindfulness is attending an 8 week course. This provides excellent foundational skills in mindfulness meditation.