1: Introduction

There has been a surge in public interest in mindfulness over the last decade, especially in Western societies, where mindfulness is not rooted in religious traditions. The original meaning of the word ‘mindful’ refers to a psychological state in which a person is conscious or aware of something. For example, in business English, there is a popular expression ‘I’m mindful of your time’ describing someone’s concern over the (limited) time which another person may have available (for a meeting, for instance). However, the term ‘mindful’ is being increasingly used nowadays to also describe how a person focuses their awareness on the present moment, particularly in the course of therapeutic medicine or meditation. A mindful person can be more aware of their inner ‘self’ in the space they occupy, their thoughts and feelings, sensations in their body, and their immediate surroundings in that particular moment in time. This meta-awareness can enable a person to see things more clearly; that is, all of the events relating to one’s mind, body, and surroundings can be observed without mental noise or without the need for further elaboration. Thus, mindfulness is increasingly regarded as a non-judgmental awareness of and attention to a present moment, involving cognition, emotion, and sensations without fixation on past or future thoughts (Kabat-Zinn, 2013). Mindfulness has been viewed as both a state, achieved by mindfulness practices, and a trait in terms of one’s proclivity to be mindful in daily life (Kiken, Garland, Bluth, Palsson, & Gaylord, 2015).