Mindfulness and Spirituality

[arguseyed]

Would mindfulness be considered a spiritual practice? I know it's derived from Buddhism, but are they interchangeable terms?

[JonW]

In my view, no, they are not interchangeable terms.
It's highly possible to fold mindfulness into spirituality (or vice-versa) but mindfulness also stands up on its own (without any spiritual connotations/baggage).
These days it's mostly (overwhelmingly so) taught from a purely secular POV.
Personally, I think the word 'spirituality' has become so overused it's almost meaningless these days. It seems to mean something different to every person.
Secular suits me just fine.
Cheers,
JW

[arguseyed]

I usually am unsure of what to call my practice of mindfulness. Recently someone tried to push me into a Buddhist chanting group and called it a philosophy. I wouldn't call mindfulness a philosophy either, but I replied and said that I was practicing mindfulness. She said that the group she follows borrows concepts from mindfulness, but the way she was telling me about it seemed like practicing something to get to a certain outcome.

Could I say mindfulness is my self-care practice instead of it being a spiritual practice?

[monkey]

I usually am unsure of what to call my practice of mindfulness. Recently someone tried to push me into a Buddhist chanting group and called it a philosophy. I wouldn't call mindfulness a philosophy either, but I replied and said that I was practicing mindfulness. She said that the group she follows borrows concepts from mindfulness, but the way she was telling me about it seemed like practicing something to get to a certain outcome.

Could I say mindfulness is my self-care practice instead of it being a spiritual practice?

You can say whatever you want about it! And I don't mean that in a flippant or defensive way, just that it is yours, your practice and so you can describe or not describe it however you want.

I have times when I feel that I am more into a Buddhist conception of the practice and times when I feel more that it is basic psychological self care, and times when I find that all too much and think of it as just having a sit down for a while. But it doesn't really matter so much to me any more to define it I think, and I guess I've realised that it changes anyway.

[JonW]

'I have times when I feel that I am more into a Buddhist conception of the practice and times when I feel more that it is basic psychological self care, and times when I find that all too much and think of it as just having a sit down for a while. But it doesn't really matter so much to me any more to define it I think, and I guess I've realised that it changes anyway.'

Beautifully put.