The 9 Attitudes of Mindfulness: A Path to Greater Awareness
In his book “Full Catastrophe Living,” Jon Kabat-Zinn outlines seven Attitudinal Foundations of Mindfulness, which has since expanded to include nine. These Attitudinal Foundations are ways to approach our mindfulness practice to optimize our experience. Cultivating these attitudes in your mindfulness practice will help us find more presence and purpose in our mindfulness practice and our daily lives.
Here are the 9 Attitudinal Foundations of Mindfulness:
1
Beginner’s Mind
Beginner’s mind is a willingness to see everything as if for the first time, as if you are a beginner. You most likely experienced beginner’s mind the last time you did something new and felt curious, captivated, and interested. The more we engage in an activity, the more we become accustomed to it and, consequently, less consciously aware of what we’re doing. When our days feel monotonous, like we’re on autopilot, we’ve lost touch with our beginner’s mind.
Our perspective is often like looking at the sky through a straw. The more we do something, the more we form preconceptions and judgments about it, which prevents us from experiencing things as they are. We can’t always travel to new places, skydive, bungee jump, or scuba dive to find novelty and joy, so we must cultivate that in our daily lives by savoring the small moments of joy. Imagine what it would be like to look at a sunset, go for a walk, or eat a meal without our internal monologue clouding our experience. Beginner’s mind allows us to see the richness of the present moment in our everyday lives.
2
Trust
Trust is developing a basic trust in yourself and your experiences. Bringing an attitude of trust into our mindfulness practice involves letting go of the need to force anything and instead allowing things to unfold organically in the present moment. It is trusting that we have everything we need within ourselves so that we don’t seek answers or guidance externally.
3
Nonjudgment
Nonjudgment is cultivating an impartial awareness of the present moment. A habit of the mind is to judge. We may judge our internal experience (i.e., thoughts or bodily sensations) or our external experience (i.e., sounds, other people, etc.). We are constantly evaluating things in terms of being good or bad, right or wrong, pleasant or unpleasant. Judgments about our experiences prevent us from seeing things as they are, akin to wearing glasses with dirty or clouded lenses: our ability to see things clearly is limited when we judge our experience. The problem is that our judgments, more often than not, are not always accurate. “Usually they are merely uninformed private opinions, reactions and prejudices based on limited knowledge and influenced primarily by our past conditioning.” Instead of ignoring or suppressing judgments that inevitably come up in our mindfulness practice, try to create some distance from the process and observe your judgments without reacting to them, taking the stance of a witness.
4
Letting Go
Letting go means eliminating any attachment to your internal or external experience. It means detaching from any particular thoughts, feelings, or experiences, both pleasant and unpleasant. In our mindfulness practice, thoughts will inevitably pop into our minds and capture our attention. Although these thoughts may appear repeatedly, it is important to allow them to come and go at their own pace without clinging to our resisting them.
5
Patience
Patience is letting your meditation practice be whatever it is without rushing it, allowing things to unfold in their own time. Mindfulness and meditation require a lot of patience because these practices starkly contrast our fast-paced daily lives. Patience is sitting and being present even when nothing particularly interesting happens, when there is no instant gratification. It is breaking out of our addiction to busyness.
6
Acceptance
Acceptance is a willingness to be with whatever arises during our mindfulness practice. Acceptance means to honor the reality of the present moment, even as we notice the possibility for change. Unpleasant thoughts, feelings, or bodily sensations may come up in our mindfulness practice, but resisting those experiences tends to increase those experiences. Acceptance does not mean agreeing with or liking our circumstances but rather acknowledging the reality of our circumstances and finding a way to make peace with them.
7
Nonstriving
Nonstriving means letting go of any goals or expectations for our mindfulness practice. In our productivity-driven and goal-oriented society, this non-goal-oriented approach can be challenging. Common misconceptions about mindfulness and meditation cause us to go into our mindfulness practice expecting a specific outcome: that we will feel calm or relaxed, get “better” with practice, etc. When we approach mindfulness expecting a certain outcome, we prevent ourselves from seeing things as they are actually happening. The purpose of mindfulness is to cultivate awareness of the present moment without attachment to any specific outcomes.
8
Gratitude
Gratitude is appreciating the moment exactly as it is. More broadly, gratitude is bringing attention to all the good in your life. We can find gratitude for many simple pleasures in any moment: the automatic functioning of our bodily processes, the fact that we are alive and breathing, the time we have carved out to sit and be present, etc.
9
Generosity
Generosity is giving yourself and others the gift of your full presence and attention. We can start with ourselves because we can’t pour from an empty cup. Kabat-Zinn describes this perfectly:
What is being suggested here is that you practice sharing the fullness of your being, your best self, your enthusiasm, your vitality, your spirit, your trust, your openness, above all, your presence. Share it with yourself, with your family, with the world.
It’s worth noting that while these Attitudinal Foundations are described here in the context of a mindfulness practice, they extend beyond formal meditation and apply to various aspects of life. By embodying these attitudes, we can cultivate a mindset that promotes self-awareness, compassion, and overall well-being.
If you’re curious to learn more about the Attitudinal Foundations or developing a mindfulness practice, read more about mindfulness training, or contact us to get started. Our experienced psychotherapists incorporate a mindfulness-based approach to psychotherapy. They can provide you with the necessary tools, techniques, and personalized guidance to help you harness the power of mindfulness and navigate life’s challenges with greater clarity and resilience.
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