Are there both formal and informal mindfulness practices?

Formal mindfulness practices usually refer to a period of time set aside exclusively for mindfulness meditation. Informal mindfulness practices are any activity that brings us into awareness of the present moment.  The revered teacher Thich Nhat Hahn refers to these as a mindfulness bell.  An example would be to place your awareness on a single [...]

By |2018-06-02T23:50:53+00:00June 2nd, 2018||Comments Off on Are there both formal and informal mindfulness practices?

Are there different types of mindfulness?

Yes and no.  The quality of mindfulness changes with the development of one’s practice.  At first we summon energy to be mindful.  Later we find it occurs naturally, as a natural experience within our system, as just the way we respond to things.

By |2018-06-02T23:50:14+00:00June 2nd, 2018||Comments Off on Are there different types of mindfulness?

How does being mindful help me?

Wow, great question.  Being mindful assists us to experience things based on the present moment rather than the past or projections into the future.  Being mindful opens us to a more clear and accurate experience.  It makes us more spacious and enables us to have a greater capacity to respond rather than react.

By |2018-06-02T23:49:34+00:00June 2nd, 2018||Comments Off on How does being mindful help me?

Can I develop mindfulness without meditating?

Yes.  It is a natural state of mind.  There are many exercises and practices to cultivate mindfulness.  However, if you hold the intention to develop mindfulness, meditation is the primary method used.  

By |2018-06-02T23:57:21+00:00June 2nd, 2018||Comments Off on Can I develop mindfulness without meditating?

Are mindfulness and insight meditation different?

There is a qualitative difference between them.  Mindfulness is a necessary condition for insight.  When we practice mindfulness meditation we create a momentary refuge from the ordinary consciousness of craving and aversion. In this state, first we gain insight into our personality, and later we gain insight into how we adhere to the appearance of [...]

By |2018-06-02T23:46:30+00:00June 2nd, 2018||Comments Off on Are mindfulness and insight meditation different?

Is mindfulness just a form of awareness?

Mindfulness is based on a non-personalized awareness.  If we personally identify with an object of awareness it becomes me or mine.  We then have a positive or negative reaction to it.  Our awareness needs to be properly developed to support the cultivation of mindfulness.

By |2018-06-02T23:45:50+00:00June 2nd, 2018||Comments Off on Is mindfulness just a form of awareness?

Did mindfulness meditation originate with the Buddha?

No.  Mindfulness is a natural state.  It did not originate from a teaching or a teacher.  In his teachings, the Buddha offered us a practical method for developing mindfulness in his primary discourse, the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, the Satipatthana Sutta.

By |2018-06-02T23:44:09+00:00June 2nd, 2018||Comments Off on Did mindfulness meditation originate with the Buddha?

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness is often defined as nonjudgmental moment-to-moment awareness. While this is essentially true, it is a tad misleading.  We would define mindfulness as having neither a positive nor negative reaction to our experience. It is superficially about judgment and more fundamentally about how our body-mind system (namarupa) responds to internal and external experience.

By |2018-06-02T23:55:28+00:00June 2nd, 2018||Comments Off on What is mindfulness?
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