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From DBT Skills Training Handouts and Worksheets, Second Edition  by Marsha M. Linehan. Copyright 2015 by Marsha M. Linehan. Permission 
to photocopy this handout is granted to purchasers of this book for personal use only (see copyright page for details).Mindfulness Handout 1a  
mindfulness Definitions
Wha T iS minDfulneSS ?
••intentionally living with awareness in the present moment.  
(Waking up from automatic or rote behaviors to participate and be present to our own lives.)
••Without judging or rejecting the moment.   
(Noticing consequences, discerning helpfulness and harmfulness—but letting go of evaluating, 
avoiding, suppressing, or blocking the present moment.)
••Without attachment to the moment.  
(Attending to the experience of each new moment, rather than ignoring the present by clinging to the past or grabbing for the future.)
Wha T are m inDfulne SS Skill S?
••Mindfulness skills are the specific behaviors to practice that, when put together, make up mindfulness.
Wha T iS minDfulne SS pracTice?
••mindfulness and mindfulness skills  can be practiced at any time, anywhere, while doing 
anything. Intentionally paying attention to the moment, without judging it or holding on to it, is all that is needed.
••meditation  is practicing mindfulness and mindfulness skills while sitting, standing, or lying 
quietly for a predetermined period of time. When meditating, we focus  the mind (for example, 
we focus  on body sensations, emotions, thoughts, or our breath), or we open  the mind (paying