Mindfulness Meditation

Mindfulness Meditation
Mindfulness has been described as a process of bringing a certain quality of attention to
moment-by-moment experience and as a combination of the self-regulation of attention with
an attitude of curiosity, openness, and acceptance toward one's experiences.98 Mindfulness
meditation, the core practice of Vipassana meditation, has been incorporated into several
clinically-based meditation therapies.76 The capacity to evoke mindfulness is developed using
various meditation techniques that originated in Buddhist spiritual practices;99 however,
general descriptions of mindfulness vary from investigator to investigator and there is no
consensus on the defining components or processes.98
Mindfulness approaches are not considered relaxation or mood management techniques,98
and once learned, may be cultivated during many kinds of activities. Mindfulness increases
the chances that any activity one is engaged in will result in an expanded perspective and
understanding of oneself.76 In a state of mindfulness, thoughts and feelings are observed on
par with objects of sensory awareness, and without reacting to them in an automatic, habitual
way.98,99 Thus, mindfulness allows a person to respond to situations reflectively rather than
impulsively.98 Mindfulness meditation practices include the traditional Vipassana, and Zen
meditation and the clinically-based techniques MBSR and MBCT. Of the four practices
described below, the last two, MBSR and MBCT have standardized techniques (i.e., the
techniques have been described systematically in manuals and are relatively invariant
wherever, whenever, and by whomever they are taught).