Mindfulness
Often traced to the Pali term sati, meaning 'awareness' or 'remembering to attend.'
Mindfulness is the practice of paying deliberate, non-judgmental attention to present-moment experience, whether the breath, bodily sensations, thoughts, or surroundings. Rooted in Buddhist contemplative practice, it has been adapted into secular clinical programs and is widely used for stress, anxiety, and general wellbeing.
Jon Kabat-Zinn, who founded the influential Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program, defined mindfulness as paying attention in a particular way, on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally. Decades of subsequent research have studied its effects on attention, emotional regulation, and physical health markers.
Jon Kabat-Zinn's frequently cited working definition describes mindfulness as paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally, a formulation drawn from, but deliberately simplified away from, the Buddhist concept of sati, which carries additional connotations of ethical discernment. A common misconception treats mindfulness as clearing the mind or achieving mental blankness; the actual instruction in nearly every tradition is closer to the opposite, noticing whatever is present, thoughts included, without immediately reacting to it.
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Related Terms
Meditation
Meditation is a family of practices that train attention and awareness, typically by focusing on a single object such as the breath, a mantra, or bodily sensation, or by cultivating an open, receptive awareness of whatever arises. Traditions vary widely, from concentration practices to open monitoring and loving-kindness meditation.
MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction)
MBSR is an eight-week, secular clinical program developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts in 1979, combining mindfulness meditation, body scan practice, and gentle yoga. It was originally designed to help patients manage chronic pain and has since been studied for stress, anxiety, and general wellbeing.