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The Mechanics of Mindfulness in a Nutshell
Mindfulness is a concept that can be hard to grasp.
I mean, sure, we know it is about “being in the moment,” “paying attention,” “non-judgment,” and so on. But do you know what actually happens with your cognitive processing when you are “being mindful”?
I think that calling the cognitive events by their names can be helpful for anyone who practices formal meditation or “casual” mindfulness. Until recently, however, I didn’t have the language to elaborate on that. When defining mindfulness in conversations, I simply referred to it as “present moment awareness.”
When I came across a book called The Mind Illuminated by John Yates, I was amazed by how he could explain the cognitive events that mindfulness consists of in a plain, straightforward language. What you will read below is largely based on this book — however, the very terms I will be using may not exactly correspond.
I hope this will help you understand what actually happens in the mind when you are “being mindful.”
Mindfulness arises from a certain balance. It is a balance between two main cognitive functions that operate within our consciousness. Let’s call the first one “focused attention.” The other is “background awareness.”
