Introducing mindfulness: Meeting experience as it is

What is mindfulness?

People often ask what mindfulness is. I think Jon Kabat-Zinn provides a really clear outline, defining it as “the awareness that arises by paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgementally”.¹ Meditation teacher Rob Nairn’s definition has also stayed with me over the years: mindfulness is “knowing what is happening while it is happening, no matter what it is”.²

My understanding of mindfulness has changed over time. When I first began practising, experiences such as boredom or restlessness during meditation felt like signs that I must be doing something wrong. I assumed mindfulness involved achieving a particular state of calm or quiet.

Over time, however, I came to appreciate that mindfulness is not about emptying the mind of thoughts or feelings. Rather, it is about being open to one’s experience in the present moment, without judgement.

The mind, given half a chance, will spend much of its time revisiting the past or planning for the future. Mindfulness practice supports a return to the present moment, which is where life is actually happening. Sometimes the mind remains busy, even in formal practice. Yet noticing busyness, restlessness, or boredom is itself an expression of mindfulness.

The role of compassion in mindfulness

Compassion and kindness feel like important dimensions of mindfulness. As we cultivate these qualities, we begin to relate more gently to our experience in the present moment.

The mind naturally judges much of what it encounters, both internally and externally. It grasps at what it finds pleasant and rejects what it finds uncomfortable. Often, this judging quality is turned inward, and we can be surprisingly harsh with ourselves.

Bringing compassion into mindfulness practice can soften this tendency. Rather than struggling against our experience, we learn to meet it with a little more understanding. Kindness does not mean liking everything that arises, but it can temper how we are with whatever is present.

In this way, mindfulness becomes not just a matter of attention, but of how we attend to ourselves and our lives.

Mindfulness in a busy life

Formal mindfulness practices, such as sitting meditation, can be valuable. At the same time, the reality of modern life is that these are not always easy to sustain.

Mindfulness can also be practised by bringing awareness to everyday activities. Knowing what you are doing while you are doing it can be grounding, particularly during a busy workday.³

Simple practices can help. Taking time at lunch to walk outside can create a pause. Bringing attention to the physical experience of walking, the sensation at the soles of the feet, the movement of the arms, or the feel of air on the face, can support a return to the present moment.

Mindfulness can also be woven into time spent sitting. Noticing the feeling of contact with the chair, the support of the back, or the feet resting on the floor can help ground attention in the here and now.

Mindfulness does not ask us to withdraw from our lives or to achieve a particular state of mind. Instead it is an invitation to gently turn towards experience as it is. Over time, this simple act of paying attention, with kindness, can subtly change how we relate to ourselves and the world around us.

 

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1. Jon Kabat-Zinn, YouTube video, published February 23, 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPNEmxWSNxg
2. Rob Nairn, Diamond Mind, 2nd ed. (Cape Town: Kairon Press, 2002), 30.
3. Jo Confino, “15 Practical Ways to Find Your Zen at Work,” Huffington Post, published January 8, 2016, updated January 11, 2016, https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/practical-ways-to-find-your-zen-at-work_n_568aa168e4b014efe0dafc4e