Everyday Mindfulness

...But I am never sure about how much of mindfulness is about focus on right now, and how much is awareness and acceptance of mental states and stories about the future / past etc. They go together, to be able to accept you'll need to first be aware and that awareness of the thoughts brings you in ...

JonW wrote:"There's a big difference between seeing that every moment is an invitation to be mindful and aiming to be mindful 24/7.

This is very good: "every moment is an invitation to be mindful"

Mindfulness should not end when one gets off the meditation cushion. The ultimate purpose is being mindful all the time. Practice in the form of formal mindfulness meditation helps achieve that purpose. Those who think that mindfulness is only liked to the "formal" meditation sessions are ...

In addition to the good reply by "Matt Y" I would like to add that thoughts rarely stop, it is only the awareness of the thoughts that stops. What happens is that quite likely you become fused to the thought without even being aware of it. For example in that moment you'll be thinking: &qu...

...Do people focus on their body in some way and just observe what thoughts and emotions come up during that? Or just focus on what seems strongest, e.g. if you are feeling very angry perhaps that's what you start with?... The latter for me seems more natural: focus on what is most salient in that ...

It is most likely related to anticipatory anxiety. You are probably afraid that you might not be able to meditate on your breath in the 'good way' (whatever that means). My advice is that your pounding heart is something that is happening in that moment, mindfully pay attention to it as you would wi...

I'll answer quickly and let you do the research yourself as a useful exercise: Focus may be a part of mindfulness, but if you believe that focus is all there is about mindfulness then you're way way off. It is much more than that.

... I still decided to expand my knowledge on the topic. I am currently reading Mindfulness in Plain English by Bhante Henepola Gunaratana and Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon-Kabbat Zinn. I will definitely check out the book you've recommended and the 8-week course. Between the 2 books, I str...

not_neo wrote:If possible, could you suggest methods, books or material that could help me get closer to the kind of mindfulness you spoke about? Because that's the one I aspire to achieve.

There are many examples, this is one that may be useful: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1 ... 4.app2/pdf

not_neo, you seem quite smart and your question is very relevant. I think every person who is serious about learning mindfulness will eventually ask himself/herself similar questions and will have similar doubts - it is a part of the learning process. Mindfulness is not about focus or concentration....