German Contributions to Mindfulness Research, Part 1: Context and Concept of Mindfulness

Excerpt

Mindfulness has never been an easy concept to grasp, and to talk about mindfulness is usually even more difficult than experiencing it. Moreover, along with its rapidly growing popularity, whatever is meant by “mindfulness” seems to become even more fuzzy and evasive. One reason for this development might be that the application of mindfulness stretches further every day, and with every new application, the concept changes a little. Mindfulness is often seen as invariant, as being always the same, whether practiced in a Buddhist monastery in India in the first century bc or in a course on management skills in Wisconsin in 2012. One may think that “observing the breath” is “observing the breath,” whether long ago or today. But, this is probably only half of the truth. The other half is that the results of mindfulness practice are also determined by motivational factors, such as intention and goals (see Schmidt 2011). While the practice of nonjudgmental observation of all present moment experiences may well be the same throughout time and culture, the intention related to such a practice is highly dependent on its context. It makes a difference whether one seeks spiritual growth and insights, wants to improve coping abilities in the face of a difficult clinical condition, or aims to develop skills for successful professional communication. It is in this sense that it might be helpful to always address mindfulness in the respective context, especially if we want to avoid diluting the meaning associated with the term “mindfulness.” …