Fostering Mindfulness

As a way of being in the world, mindfulness is the innate capacity we all have to pay full and conscious attention to something in the moment without judging. It’s the quality of presence we bring to everything we do. In other words, it's the curious and moment-by-moment awareness we bring to what's happening in our inner terrain – our thoughts, feelings and bodily sensations - and it’s the awareness we bring to the environment around us, including an understanding of our interconnectedness with all things. 

Formal mindfulness practice is how we pursue states and traits of mindfulness and it is more readily available to us when we practice on a regular basis. In this sense, it’s helpful to think of mindfulness as a skill that can be cultivated and strengthened over time through various formal and informal practices. 

~  Shelley Murphy, Fostering Mindfulness 

Mindfulness has been shown to support personal, interpersonal, and social transformation.  It contributes to greater awareness, kindness, empathy, compassion, and perspective taking. It reduces stress, anxiety, depression, and burnout and contributes to both physical and psychological resilience. 

Mindfulness also has the potential to be a catalyst for equity, social justice and collective healing and change. Research has shown that mindfulness reduces prejudice and bias by bringing our awareness to the wider social context, to the layers of our conditioning, and to the implicit biases that impact our thought patterns and behaviors. With greater awareness, compassion and a deep commitment to action, we are more likely to become mindful agents of positive social and systemic change. 

To find more information about the latest advances in mindfulness research: https://goamra.org/ (American Mindfulness Research Association (AMRA)