The classic definition often given for Mindfulness was coined by Jon Kabat Zinn, the founder of the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction program (MBSR). He stated that mindfulness is “the awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgementally.” And indeed this encapsulates exceptionally well what mindfulness is all about at its core. As we step into mindfulness, we are invited to pay attention to the world around us and within us with intention and purpose, but importantly we do so with a non-judgemental, curious attitude for what we experience.

Mindfulness is an invitation to take a step back from our busy lives and to be with ourselves fully, present in the here and how, with awareness and an open attitude of inquiry into what is going on in our internal and external world.

Mindfulness is an opportunity and a choice that we can take in any moment of any day to know our minds and know ourselves that little bit better. In mindfulness we bring our attention to what is happening within us and outside and around us and to be with that experience fully, without judgement and with curiosity and care. Renowned mindfulness researchers and teachers Christina Feldman and Willem Kuyken remind us in their book Mindfulness: Ancient Wisdom Meets Modern Psychology that “mindfulness is intrinsically ethical” and that its purpose is “to support people to suffer less and lead meaningful and rewarding lives.” In a nutshell, mindfulness is about supporting human wellbeing.

It can be important to note here as well what mindfulness is not. As mindfulness has come more to the forefront of modern culture some misconceptions have occasionally arisen. Mindfulness isn’t about just relaxing or trying to feel good or eradicate negative feelings. It is not a quick fix for our problems, nor is it a denial or suppression of negative thinking or difficult emotions. While feeling calmer, positive and relaxed can certainly come from the practice of mindfulness, it is much more a process of knowing ourselves better, turning towards our entire experience, the pleasant and the challenging, with compassion and care for ourselves as we grow our awareness on a new path of wellbeing in our lives.

Mindfulness has ancient roots, with its origins tracing back to Eastern philosophical and spiritual traditions such as Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism. In the late 1800s, British scholar and linguist Rhys Davids made a translation of a Buddhist technical term ‘sati’ from the Pali language which was translated as ‘mindfulness’. A direct translation of the term ‘Sati’ is ‘remembering’. When we look at mindfulness as a remembering we can see that it is a natural and possible state for all of humanity, the possibility that we can come back home to ourselves and to a remembering that we can always access an awareness of our present moment experience in the here and now whenever we want.

During the 19th and 20th centuries, mindfulness was gradually introduced to Western countries and modern-day psychology through the work of various scholars, spiritual teachers and travellers who experienced and learned about mindfulness practices in the East. In the 1970s the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction programme (MBSR) was established by Jon Kabat Zinn and in the decades that followed, mindfulness became a significant area of study in contemporary science. Mindfulness in our modern world can be seen as a blend of Eastern tradition with Western psychological investigation, and it remains an ever-growing area of interest and study. Mindfulness based programmes are now widely utilised in medicine, education, therapy, coaching, sports and workplaces around the world to support physical, mental, social and emotional wellbeing.