Mindfulness and Mental Health

attention to the internal and external experiences occurring in the present moment, and is often taught through a variety of meditation exercises’1. It includes a kind of meta-awareness, self regulation of attention (to immediate experience) and a certain mindset e.g. being non-reactive, non-judgemental and accepting. This practice has been derived from Buddhism which originated in India in the 6th Century BC2. The Four Noble Truths in Buddhism include the presence of suffering (Diagnosis), its cause (Aetiology), that it can be ended (Prognosis) and the Eight-Fold Noble Path (Prescription). The Eight-Fold Noble Path includes Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness (Sati), Right Concentration, Right Aspiration, and Right View. Mindfulness is also one of the seven factors of enlightenment. These include Mindfulness, Investigation of reality, Energy, Rapture, Tranquility, Concentration and Equanimity. Mindfulness in the Buddhist practice is like overseeing a situation (for example, a cowherd sits in a relaxed manner and watches his cows over a distance). In the practice of mindfulness there is also a sense of restraint i.e. bare attention and avoiding to get carried away by associations, projections, evaluations, proliferations etc (distractions); focus on here and now and on being non-judgemental. There should be no craving, ill will or ignorance regarding the object of mindfulness. In order to practice or develop mindfulness one could focus on body e.g. breath, posture etc.; sensations or feelings; mind (Chitta) e.g. mental states; and phenomena (Dhammas) e.g. hindrances and aggregates. Mindfulness and Mental Health