Literally, the word 'mindfulness' means ‘awareness’ of the things happening within us and around us. To define it more precisely, we can say that mindfulness is clear and single-minded awareness of what actually happens to us and within us at each moment.
Mindfulness has following components:
(i) Clear and single-minded awareness – This implies that at the stage of mindfulness, your awareness is totally focused and not wavering to different objects.
(ii) Awareness is about what happens to us – The focus is on self only.
(iii) Awareness is also about what happens within us – meaning that the focus is on what goes through our mind.
(iv) At the successive moments of perception – The awareness is constant with our perception.
The philosophy behind mindfulness is that if we remain focused on the present moment, it saves us from the agonies or ill-happenings of the past, and worries and anxieties of the future.
It is widely believed that the tradition of mindfulness has roots in Buddhism though its reference exists in traditional Indian texts too.
Dimensions of Mindfulness:
A person practicing mindfulness may have following experiences during moments of mindfulness:
(i) Non-judgmental: Mindfulness involves witnessing passing thoughts and present moment without evaluating them or putting them in any category. This develops a quality of being non-judgmental in its practitioner.
(ii) Non striving: The practitioner of mindfulness does not try to achieve any specific goals and hence learns not to get attached to materialistic objects.
(iii) Acceptance: The person practicing mind-fullness learns being open and accepting.
(iv) Patience: Mindfulness practitioner learns patience with himself, people around him, situations around him at the present moment.
(v) Openness: Being open-minded is outcome of practice of mindfulness.
(vi) Letting Go: The person practicing mindfulness learns not to get attached to any thought, feeling or experience.
(vii) Gentleness and Generosity: Practice of mindfulness leads to feelings of gentleness and generosity is its practitioner.
(viii) Empathy and Gratitude: Mindfulness leads to the development of qualities of empathy and gratitude in a person practicing it.
