2: Foundations of Meditative Mindfulness

A few things are important to note upfront: neither a precise technical definition of mindfulness nor a broad consensus regarding the underlying concepts necessary to sustain mindfulness currently exist. The umbrella term ‘mindfulness’ covers a wide range of practices, activities, and personality traits. Mindfulness, as the main subject of this book, has been derived from the Eastern notion of mindfulness adapted for Western therapeutic studies (Bishop et al., 2004; Kabat-Zinn, 2013). According to one definition, mindfulness is the ability of an individual to be fully present in the moment and pay attention to what is going on around (Kabat-Zinn, 2013). Focussing one’s attention on own breath or something else (e.g. visualising white light) is a way to look at the disciplined practice of mindfulness. Early definitions of mindfulness have grown to cover a large range of concepts and acts (Kabat-Zinn, 2011).