originated in eastern meditation practices" "paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally" "bringing one's complete attention to the present experience on a moment-to-moment basis" according to steven f. hick, mindfulness practice involves both formal and informal meditation practices, and nonmeditation-based exercises. formal mindfulness, or meditation, is the practice of sustaining attention on body, breath or sensations, or whatever arises in each moment. informal mindfulness is the application of mindful attention in everyday life. nonmeditation-based exercises are specifically used in dialectical behavior therapy and in acceptance and commitment therapy. definitions arising in modern teaching of meditation since the 1970s, most books on meditation use definitions of mindfulness similar to jon kabat-zinn's definition as "present moment awareness". however, recently a number of teachers of meditation have proposed quite different definitions of mindfulness. shinzen young says a person is mindful when they have mindful awareness, and defines that to be when "concentration power, sensory clarity, and equanimity working together." john yates (culadasa) defines mindfulness to be "the optimal interaction between attention and peripheral awareness", where he distinguishes attention and peripheral awareness as two distinct modes in which one may be conscious of things. buddhism according to american buddhist monk ven bhante vimalaramsi's book a guide to tranquil wisdom insight meditation, the term mindfulness is often interpreted differently than what was originally formulated by the buddha. in the context of buddhism, he offers the following definition: mindfulness means to remember to observe how mind's attention moves from one thing to another. the first part of mindfulness is to remember to watch the mind and remember to return to your object of meditation when you have wandered off. the second part of mindfulness is to observe how mind's attention moves from one thing to another. other uses the english term mindfulness already existed before it came to be used in a (western) buddhist context. it was first recorded as myndfulness in 1530 (john palsgrave translates french pensée), as mindfulnesse in 1561, and mindfulness in 1817. morphologically earlier terms include mindful (first recorded in 1340), mindfully (1382), and the obsolete mindiness (c. 1200). according to the merriam-webster dictionary, mindfulness may also refer to "a state of being aware". synonyms for this "state of being aware" are wakefulness, attention, alertness, prudence, conscientiousness, awareness, consciousness, and observation. models and frameworks for mindfulness practices two-component model a two-component model of mindfulness based upon a consensus among clinical psychologists has been proposed as an operational and testable definition, : the first component involves the self-regulation of attention so that it is maintained on immediate experience, thereby allowing for increased recognition of mental events in the present moment. the second component involves adopting a particular orientation toward one's experiences in the present moment, an orientation that is characterized by curiosity, openness, and acceptance. in this two-component model, self-regulated attention (the first component) "involves bringing awareness to current experience—observing and attending to the changing fields of "objects" (thoughts, feelings, sensations), from moment to moment – by regulating the focus of attention". orientation to experience (the second component) involves maintaining an attitude of curiosity about objects experienced at each moment, and about where and how the mind wanders when it drifts from the selected focus of attention. clients are asked to avoid trying to produce a particular state (e.g. relaxation), but rather to just notice each object that arises in the stream of consciousness. the five-aggregate model an ancient model of the mind, generally known as the five-aggregate model enables one to understand the moment-to-moment manifestation of subjective conscious experience, and therefore can be a potentially useful theoretical resource to guide mindfulness interventions. this model is based upon the traditional buddhist description of the skandhas. the five aggregates are described as follows: material form: includes both the physical body and external matter where material elements are continuously moving to and from the material body. feelings: can be pleasant, unpleasant or neutral. perceptions: represent being aware of attributes of an object (e.g. color, shape, etc.) volition: represents bodily, verbal, or psychological behavior. sensory consciousness: refers to input from the five senses (seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting or touch sensations) or a thought that happens to arise in the mind. this model describes how sensory consciousness results in the generation of feelings, perception or volition, and how individuals' previously conditioned attitudes and past associations influence this generation. the five aggregates are described as constantly arising and ceasing in the present moment. cultivating self-knowledge and wisdom the practice of mindfulness can be utilized to gradually develop self-knowledge and wisdom. in this regard, buddhist teachings provide detailed instructions on how one can carry out an inquiry into the nature of the mind, and this guidance can help one to make sense of one's subjective experience. this could include understanding what the "present moment" is, how various thoughts, etc., arise following input from the senses, the conditioned nature of thoughts, and other realizations. in buddhist teachings, ultimate wisdom refers to gaining deep insight into all phenomena or "seeing things as they are." historical development buddhism mindfulness as a modern, western practice is founded on zen and modern vipassanā, and involves the training of sati, which means "moment to moment awareness of present events", but also "remembering to be aware of something". early buddhism sati is one of the seven factors of enlightenment. "correct" or "right" mindfulness (pali: sammā-sati, sanskrit samyak-smṛti) is the seventh element of the noble eightfold path. mindfulness is an antidote to delusion and is considered as a 'power' (pali: bala) which contributes to the attainment of nibbana. this faculty becomes a power in particular when it is coupled with clear comprehension of whatever is taking place. nirvana is a state of being in which greed, hatred and delusion (pali: moha) have been overcome and abandoned, and are absent from the mind. according to paul williams, referring to erich frauwallner, mindfulness provided the way in early buddhism to liberation, "constantly watching sensory experience in order to prevent the arising of cravings which would power future experience into rebirths." according to vetter, jhanas may have been the original core practice of the buddha, which aided the maintenance of mindfulness. according to thomas william rhys davids, the doctrine of mindfulness is "perhaps the most important" after the four noble truths and the noble eightfold path. t.w. rhys davids viewed the teachings of gotama buddha as a rational technique for self-actualization and rejected a few parts of it, mainly the doctrine of rebirth, as residual superstitions. zazen the aim of zazen is just sitting, that is, suspending all judgmental thinking and letting words, ideas, images and thoughts pass by without getting involved in them. contemporary vipassana-meditation in modern vipassana-meditation, as propagated by the vipassana movement, sati aids vipassana, insight into the true nature of reality, namely the three marks of existence, the impermanence of and the suffering of every conditioned thing that exists, and non-self. with this insight, the practitioner becomes a so-called sotāpanna, a "stream-enterer", the first stage on the path to liberation. vipassana is practiced in tandem with samatha, and also plays a central role in other buddhist traditions. according to the contemporary theravada orthodoxy, samatha is used as a preparation for vipassanā, pacifying the mind and strengthening the concentration in order to allow the work of insight, which leads to liberation. vipassanā-meditation has gained popularity in the west through the modern buddhist vipassana movement, modeled after theravāda buddhism meditation practices, which employs vipassanā and ānāpāna meditation as its primary techniques and places emphasis on the teachings of the satipaṭṭhāna sutta. anapanasati, satipaṭṭhāna, and vipassana anapanasati is mindfulness of breathing. "sati" means mindfulness; "ānāpāna" refers to inhalation and exhalation. anapanasati means to feel the sensations caused by the movements of the breath in the body. the anapanasati sutta gives an exposition on this practice. satipaṭṭhāna is the establishment of mindfulness in one's day-to-day life, maintaining as much as possible a calm awareness of one's body, feelings, mind, and dhammas. the practice of mindfulness supports analysis resulting in the arising of wisdom (pali: paññā, sanskrit: prajñā). samprajaña, apramāda and atappa in contemporary theravada practice, "mindfulness" also includes samprajaña, meaning "clear comprehension" and apramāda meaning "vigilance". all three terms are sometimes (confusingly) translated as "mindfulness", but they all have specific shades of meaning. in a publicly available correspondence between bhikkhu bodhi and b. alan wallace, bodhi has described ven. nyanaponika thera's views on "right mindfulness" and sampajañña as follows: he held that in the proper practice of right mindfulness, sati has to be integrated with sampajañña, clear comprehension, and it is only when these two work together that right mindfulness can fulfill its intended purpose. monitoring mental processes according to buddhadasa, the aim of mindfulness is to stop the arising of disturbing thoughts and emotions, which arise from sense-contact. according to grzegorz polak, the four upassanā (foundations of mindfulness) have been misunderstood by the developing buddhist tradition, including theravada, to refer to four different foundations. according to polak, the four upassanā do not refer to four different foundations, but to the awareness of four different aspects of raising mindfulness: the six sense-bases which one needs to be aware of (kāyānupassanā); contemplation on vedanās, which arise with the contact between the senses and their objects (vedanānupassanā); the altered states of mind to which this practice leads (cittānupassanā); the development from the five hindrances to the seven factors of enlightenment (dhammānupassanā). stoicism the greek philosophical school of stoicism founded by zeno of citium included practices resembling those of mindfulness, such as visualization exercises. in his discourses, stoic philosopher epictetus addresses in particular the concept of attention (prosoche), an idea also found in seneca and marcus aurelius. by cultivating it over time, this skill would prevent the practitioner of becoming unattentive and moved by instinct rather than according to reason. christianity mindfulness traditions are also found in some christian spiritual traditions. in his rules for eating, st. ignatius of loyola teaches, "let him guard against all his soul being intent on what he is eating, and in eating let him not go hurriedly, through appetite, but be master of himself, as well in the manner of eating as in the quantity which he eats." he might have been inspired by epictetus' enchiridion. transcendentalism mindfulness practitioner jon kabat-zinn refers to thoreau as a predecessor of the interest in mindfulness, together with other eminent transcendentalists such as emerson and whitman: the collective experience of sages, yogis, and zen masters offers a view of the world which is complementary to the predominantly reductionist and materialistic one currently dominating western thought and institutions. but this view is neither particularly "eastern" nor mystical. thoreau saw the same problem with our ordinary mind state in new england in 1846 and wrote with great passion about its unfortunate consequences. the forms of asian religion and spirituality which were introduced in the west were themselves influenced by transcendentalism and other 19th-century manifestations of western esotericism. transcendentalism was closely connected to the unitarian church, which in india collaborated with ram mohan roy (1772–1833) and his brahmo samaj. he found that unitarianism came closest to true christianity, and had a strong sympathy for the unitarians. this influence worked through on vivekananda, whose modern but idiosyncratic interpretation of hinduism became widely popular in the west. vipassana meditation, presented as a centuries-old meditation system, was a 19th-century reinvention, which gained popularity in south-east due to the accessibility of the buddhist sutras through english translations from the pali text society. it was brought to western attention in the 19th century by the theosophical society. zen buddhism first gained popularity in the west through the writings of d.t. suzuki, who attempted to present a modern interpretation of zen, adjusted to western tastes. jon kabat-zinn and mbsr in 1979, jon kabat-zinn founded the mindfulness-based stress reduction (mbsr) program at the university of massachusetts to treat the chronically ill. this program sparked the application of mindfulness ideas and practices in medicine for the treatment of a variety of conditions in both healthy and unhealthy people. mbsr and similar programs are now widely applied in schools, prisons, hospitals, veterans centers, and other environments. mindfulness practices were inspired mainly by teachings from the eastern world, particularly from buddhist traditions. kabat-zinn was first introduced to meditation by philip kapleau, a zen missionary who