Mindfulness means paying attention with flexibility, openness and curiosity. There are three elements in that definition:
- It is an awareness process and it is not a thinking process: awareness or paying attention to one’s experience in the present moment as opposed to being caught up in one’s thoughts.
- It has an an attitude – openenness and curiosity: even if the experience is difficult, painful or unpleasant, one can be open to it and curious about it instead of running from it or fighting with it. This also implies it is non-judgmental.
- It involves with flexibility of attention: the ability to consciously direct, broaden or focus one’s attention on different aspects of one’s experience.
