What Is Mindfulness ?

Mindfulness is an ancient Buddhist practice which is very relevant for life today. Mindfulness is a very simple concept.  Mindfulness  means paying attention in a particular way:  on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgementally.  This increases awareness, clarity and acceptance of our present-moment reality. Mindfulness does not conflict with any beliefs or tradition, religious, cultural or scientific.  It is simply a practical way to notice thoughts, physical sensations, sights, sounds, smells - anything we might not normally notice.  The actual skills might be simple, but because it is so different to how our minds normally behave, it takes a lot of practice.I might go out into the garden and as I look around, I think "that grass really needs cutting, and that vegetable patch looks very untidy".  My young daughter on the other hand, will call over excitedly, "Mummy - come and look at this ant!"  Mindfulness can simply be noticing what we don't normally notice, because our heads are too busy in the future or in the past - thinking about what we need to do, or going over what we have done.