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Mindfulness is about gaining more control over our attention and awareness and how we are processing information.
A lot of mindfulness practice is about directing one's attention and awareness to the present moment - how we are processing current stimuli. However, mindfulness can also include becoming more aware of how we process information about the past (memories) and the future (goals).
Mindfulness practice has been shown to improve the interaction between brain networks responsible for balancing introspection and externally focused attention.
Bremer, B., Wu, Q., Mora Álvarez, M. G., Hölzel, B. K., Wilhelm, M., Hell, E., Tavacioglu, E. E., Torske, A., & Koch, K. (2022). Mindfulness meditation increases default mode, salience, and central executive network connectivity. Scientific Reports, 12, 13219. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-17325-6
Foci of mindful awareness
Foci of mindful awareness
During mindfulness practice, awareness can be directed towards a number of different things.
For a more detailed explanation of this see my other site Mindfulness Pathways.
Body and acting
(basal)
Body and acting
(basal)
Interoception - awareness of information from your body (breathing, comfort/discomfort, heat/cold, tension/relaxation, etc.)
Proprioception and kinesthesia - awareness of information about the relative position and movement of your body in space (e.g. walking meditation, yoga, tai chi)
Senses and attending
(external path 1)
Senses and attending
(external path 1)
Exteroception - awareness of sensory stimuli from outside your body (sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touch, temperature)
Attention and distraction ('prosocheception'?)- awareness of what you are attending to, awareness of distraction and mind-wandering
Feelings and motivating
(internal path 1)
Feelings and motivating
(internal path 1)
Emotions ('pathoception'?) - awareness of your own emotional state (emotional naming, mixed/complex emotions, emotional change)
Motivation ('epithymioception'?) - awareness of your active needs, goals, intentions, desires or drivers
Environment and occurring
(external path 2)
Environment and occurring
(external path 2)
Contextual/situational awareness ('topoception'?) - awareness of elements in your immediate environment and your location
Events and occurrences ('phenomenoception'?) - awareness of changes in your environment as they happen
Mind and thinking
(internal path 2)
Mind and thinking
(internal path 2)
Conceptual awareness ('symboloception'?) - awareness of how you are representing phenomena in your mind and in communication (e.g. language and symbols)
Metacognition - awareness of your own thought processes, meaning schemas and cognitive biases
People and interacting
(external path 3)
People and interacting
(external path 3)
Theory of mind and empathy - awareness of other people, their feelings, needs and intentions, and of your attitudes towards them
Social awareness - awareness of connections to and the dynamics between yourself and other people, commonalities and differences, interdependence
Knowledge and believing
(internal path 3)
Knowledge and believing
(internal path 3)
Meaning and interpretation ('hermeneuception'?) - awareness of the meaning schema (mental models) that we use to interpret and interact with the world around us (including how we interpret our role and purpose in the world)
Truth, absolutes and precepts - awareness of the things which we hold to be true without the requirement of proof and in all contexts
Oneness and transcending
(apical)
Oneness and transcending
(apical)
Wholeness and harmony - awareness of the essential interconnectedness of all things
Limitations and uncertainty - awareness of the limitations of your experience, understanding and beliefs, and acceptance of whatever lies beyond those limitations
External and internal mindfulness paths
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