Foundational Attitudes of Mindfulness

There are a number of interrelated qualities and attitudes that support and strengthen mindfulness. We mention them here to round out your understanding of what mindfulness entails, and flesh out important aspects of these concepts in the following sections. You can also listen to Jon Kabat-Zinn describe most of these qualities in greater detail in the Mindfulness Resources section at the end of this module (See also Wolf & Serpa, 2015, Chapter 1).  

• Curiosity: Bringing a genuine interest to what’s going on in a given moment. An attitude of curiosity can immediately change an experience, allowing us to explore what’s there with openness instead of resistance. This can start with simple questions about experience like “What is this?” “What’s going on right now?” or “What else is here that I’m not yet aware of?”

• Acceptance: The willingness to turn toward a situation and see it as it is. Acceptance doesn’t mean resignation, nor does it require liking a difficult situation. But before we can respond effectively to a situation we need to see it fully and acknowledge, “This is the way it is right now.”

• Nonjudging: It’s practically impossible to prevent the mind from making continual judgments about our moment-to-moment experience. This is happening all the time just under the surface of our awareness (e.g., “This is nice, I want more of it,” “I don’t like that, get it away from me,” “This is boring, I want something more interesting”). However, when we learn to notice these judgments as they are happening, it becomes much easier to let them go without them controlling our responses in unhelpful ways. We simply learn to notice the mind’s reactions, and to not judge the judging.

• Nonstriving: Emphasizing being over doing. This means being fully present with what’s happening now without the need to change it. You don’t need to make anything happen. Doing more and achieving more actually isn’t the answer to feeling enough, because you already are enough. And when you understand that you already are enough, your actions become more effective. Less frantic striving; more authentic thriving.

• Kindness: Whether toward ourselves or others, kindness is a softer and more effective response than judgment or harshness. Mindfulness and kindness reinforce each other, particularly as we begin to understand how the human mind works. For example, understanding how a particular context can prime the mind for experiencing anger, we’re more likely to respond with kindness because we can see the hurt or perceived threat behind the emotion.

• Gratitude and Generosity: An awareness of the abundance already available to us. These interrelated qualities promote wellbeing and work against the psychological perceptions of scarcity and discontent.

• Letting Go, or Letting Be: It’s normal to want to hold on to positive experiences or to push away negative experiences. However, these reactions often create unneeded stress and pain. There’s a paradox here in that many people come to mindfulness practices to get rid of stress, anxiety, pain, or depression, and that letting go of the need to change these states actually facilitates their improvement.

• Patience: Training the mind to be patient allows us to take advantage of what each moment has to offer. Impatience creates unnecessary distress, and negatively colors the experience of this moment. Patience works against the frequent urge to race ahead to the next thing, allowing us to appreciate the natural unfolding of life.

• Trust: Cultivating a sense of trust in oneself, including the natural wisdom of the body. Consider how the body knows how to breathe itself, how the heart beats itself, and how all the other complex and miraculous processes in the body work without our having to consciously direct them. Trust also includes the awareness that you are the expert on yourself. Trust in self extends to trust in our relationships, in the beauty of life as it unfolds, and in our own wisdom, values, and sense of purpose.

• Beginner’s Mind: Practicing seeing things (situations, other people, ourselves) with fresh eyes; not allowing preconceived ideas or experiences to cause us to overlook the reality before us. It’s normal for the mind to think “I’ve already seen this; what’s next?” or “I already know this; give me something new.” A beginner’s mind can bring back a sense of wonder and appreciation to familiar situations that we might otherwise miss out on.