What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness can mean multiple things to multiple people. Lately, it has become a "Tik-Tok Psychology" trend, so the actual definition or practice has become pretty blurred. When you Google "mindfulness", the results will mostly be for how to achieve or practice mindfulness. As mentioned in the "Welcome to the Psychology of Mindfulness" post, the definition from Oxford Languages is:

1.) The quality or state of being conscious or aware of something.

2.) A mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while

calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily

sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.

Mindfulness Definition, Oxford Languages from Google.com, 2023

The definition of mindfulness varies from source to source, but the basic meaning remains the same. That basic meaning is this:

"The quality or state of being mindful is being conscious and aware of oneself while living and being present in the present moment."

Every person possesses the ability of mindfulness, they just have to learn to access and use this ability. That can be done in several ways, including; meditation and reflection. Most people do both of these things while exercising and don’t even realize that they are practicing mindfulness, yet they regularly notice and report the benefits.

Meditation is the practice of using techniques in order to train one's awareness and attention to achieve emotional and mental clarity and stability. There has been a historical misperception that only practitioners of certain religions meditate, however, that is inaccurate. Religions do practice meditation, but non-religious people can and do practice meditation.

If you are interested in meditation here are some tips to start meditating:

6 Tips to Help You Start Meditating, Insider, 2020

There are several types of meditation, including mindfulness. Check out "5 Types of Meditation..." by Insider to learn about and how to practice a few different types of meditation.

Mindfulness meditation is just the practice of being 100 percent present and involved in the activity that you are doing, so that can literally be any of your daily activities. You just have to clear your mind and focus on the activity that you are currently doing. The perfect example yet again is: while you are working out. To correctly work out and also avoid injuries while you work out, you need to focus. You focus on your stance, your breathing, and the task you are performing. All of these are part of being mindful and are done while you are working out.

For those that don’t work out, think of a task that takes all of your focus and attention while you are performing that task. That can be walking your dog, playing guitar, even painting, or another artistic pursuit. It can and usually works best when it is a task you enjoy getting lost in. Make your hobbies work even better for you just by being more mindful while you partake in those hobbies.

Positivity is contagious. Spread it.™