Be an impartial witness to your own experience. A form of wisdom, patience shows that we accept the fact that, the beginner's mind. Staying open and curious allows us to be receptive to the new, to trust. Develop basic trust with yourself and your feelings.
Building basic confidence in yourself and your feelings is an integral part of meditation training. It's better to trust your own intuition, even if you make some mistakes along the way, than to always look outside of yourself for direction. Be open and receptive to what you can learn from other sources, but ultimately, the intention is to find your own wisdom from within and trust that it will develop. Not trying hard is not the same as not working hard.
It's more about being present with intention and leaving aside the results. This is the most difficult mindfulness attitude to adopt because almost everything we do we do with a purpose or goal in mind. Mindfulness attitudes are qualities and characteristics that we bring to our attention and form our way of thinking. When we sit down to meditate or cultivate an informal practice, we may discover that mindfulness attitudes emerge organically.
You can learn more about the 9 mindfulness attitudes in Jon Kabat-Zinn's video series on mindfulness attitudes published by Minds Unlimited and linked in the title of each attitude below. There are three elements to living consciously: the intention, the practice and the attitude that we bring to our practice. These are beautifully summarized in Jon Kabat-Zinn's early definition of mindfulness;. There is increasing scientific evidence and research that demonstrates the many benefits of the regular practice of mindfulness.
For a more in-depth discussion of acceptance, I recommend reading my article on how to practice acceptance for mindfulness. When they occur to you, it's very important to recognize them as critical thoughts and to remember that the practice involves suspending judgment and simply observing what comes up, including your own thoughts of judgment, without persecuting them or acting on them in any way. Be patient with yourself and consider your intention without straining or forcing anything, whether it's your goals or your mindfulness practice. For example, if you decide that you're focusing on gratitude today, it's probably more effective than focusing on the vaguer concept of mindfulness.
As soon as you collapse in your preferences, your strong attachments to what should and should not happen, you lose presence and lose the balance of your mind. Trusting yourself and your intuition is at the core of the concept of trust within the nine attitudes of mindfulness. If you'd like to learn more about mindfulness attitudes, you may be interested in my 8-week online program. Because mindfulness can seem like a massive topic, choosing a single “mindfulness sub-topic” to focus on among the 9 attitudes can be an effective way to grow your practice.
Now that you know the 9 attitudes of mindfulness, I invite you to enroll in the 8-week digital program and discover how to intentionally cultivate them through a series of formal and informal practices. At a certain point, your mind may say something like: “This is boring,” “This isn't working,” or “I can't do this.” Cultivating the attitude of letting go, or of non-attachment, is fundamental to the practice of mindfulness.
