What is mindfulness?

When it comes to the philosophy of mindfulness, there are many organizations and gurus (and app companies!) offering scads of information on the subject.

As such, it can feel difficult to get to the heart of what mindfulness really is all about. Especially if you’re a beginner looking for some of the basics.

So you might be thinking…what exactly is mindfulness? Is it the same thing as meditation? Do I have to be Buddhist to meditate? What if I’m just not a spiritual person? What does science say about it?

If you’re curious about one or more of these questions, we’re here to help.

Mindfulness is a way of thinking that values clear awareness of present circumstances.

In other words, it’s a state of mind that helps you focus attention on the things that are right in front of you. Rather than getting caught up in thoughts about the past, or torturing yourself with anticipation for the future.

One of the challenges of “understanding” mindfulness is that it can seem deceptively simple on the surface.

Though simple awareness can be its own reward, adopting mindfulness impacts so many aspects of your life. It helps unlock potential, improves emotional and psychological wellbeing, and frees your mind from the anxieties of contemporary life.

Generally speaking, people are healthier and happier when they are aware of their thoughts and emotions. From a high level perspective, this is the overall goal of mindfulness.

But just focusing on “being healthier” is kind of like staring directly at the sun: the sunlight is too bright to truly appreciate the beauty of the sun.

From our perspective, there are the three specific goals of mindfulness that are crucial to understanding what it is and why it is important:

Now that we’ve established a good working definition and discussed some of the most important goals of pursuing mindfulness, let’s discuss a few common misconceptions people have about mindfulness.

Now that you’ve got some core understanding down, it’s time to adopt mindfulness into your daily routine. You’ve got this!

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