What is Mindfulness?
Definition of Mindfulness
Being mindful means remembering to pay attention
and relate to present moment experience (e.g. sight, sound, body sensation, thought, feeling) with an attitude of
kindness, a beginner’s mind, and wisdom.
Why is it important to pay attention to the present moment?
1. Our mind can easily time-travel to the past (with guilt) and future (with excessive worries). Living well in the present enables us to learn from the past, improve on the present, and move on meaningfully towards the future.
2. Paying attention to the present moment allows us to appreciate the beauty around us that is ever-present. Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh says, “The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you’re attentive, you’ll see it.”
3. Giving full attention to the present moment in communication is the foundation for building relationships. This is important in the era of the cell phone and iPad, whereby many are lost in the cyber world, instead of relating and caring for the people around us, here-and-now.
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In this website, you’ll be learning various ways to pay attention to present moment experience, which includes external (e.g. sight, sound) and internal (e.g. body sensation and movement, breathing, thought, emotion) events.
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Not only that, you’ll also be guided to pay attention/ be aware/ relate to the present moment with an attitude of kindness (gentle, warm, friendly), a beginners mind (non-judgmental, curious, open), and wisdom (an understanding of how the mind works and ways to ‘happify’ life through attention training).
