What do you think of mindfulness without meditation?

[francogrex]

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 unfortunately deluded.

[JonW]

"The ultimate purpose is being mindful all the time."

All the time? Good luck with that.
Aiming to be mindful all the time would be setting yourself up for certain failure. We can bring mindful attention to the moment or we can notice when we're not being mindful. But we don't need to aim at the impossible.
There's a big difference between seeing that every moment is an invitation to be mindful and aiming to be mindful 24/7. All the difference in the world.
Sogyal Rinpoche put it best: "Remember to remember, when you remember."
Jon

[francogrex]

"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"

[Mudlotus]

I've been into Buddhism and Taoism for years now. As far as I can see it only helped lessen my internal dialogue. Hypothetical comments, mental resistance and hypothetical stories and arguments about situations had definitely ceased for the most part.

I thought that was it; mostly an intellectual stance. Meditation was something silly with no real value outside the hour or so you would do it. I didn't know the science back then. But a year ago I had a personal crisis and I was forced to try meditation. A revelation. All the ideas of not being swept away by emotions, thoughts and problems are becoming a reality more and more.

There's no substitute for that.
Mindfulness without meditation is salt without a meal.

[quirky_friend]

mudlotus I'm hoping that over time I can learn to ride with the anxiety driven judgment that has been such a big feature of my head since this episode.
I figure it will take time...

[BreatheCalm]

I agree that meditation is the foundation to mindfulness practice. I think it would be difficult to cultivate a deep and long lasting practice simply by trying to be mindful during the day. Meditation is where the clarity and insight arise that encourage us to keep going on the path. It is also where the much publicised physiological changes occur. However, being mindful in our everyday lives is also very important.

Once we have a firm foundation of daily meditation practice (whether that is 15 minutes or an hour) and are used to bringing awareness into our daily lives, mindfulness becomes a natural way of being. Maybe then it is not so important to meditate every day - but you'd probably want to keep it up as it would be increasingly effortless and worthwhile. For me, meditation is the glue that holds it all together and I look forward to my daily practice.

However, I do think that little and often is the best place to start with meditation. If beginners aim for really long sessions every day, they may become disheartened when they can't keep it up. 15 minutes or so would be a start and then it will probably naturally grow from there as their practice deepens.