Ian Gawler: Out on a Limb: June 2025

28 June 2025

Mindfulness in Practice and in Life. What to do and the hallmarks of doing mindfulness “right”

Mindfulness is much more than a way of practicing “meditation”. It is a way of being; of being in the world, and with the world. So in this series of posts examining how best to practice meditation, and how to know if we are doing it "right", now we examine the practice of mindfulness more closely and identify its hallmarks.

Mindfulness is a modern-day buzzword; great practice, a word often used vaguely. In the previous post, we explored a range of definitions and identified the one that informs our practice the best. This definition is the one I have used in other writings and in retreats and Meditation Teacher Trainings: “Mindfulness is paying attention to your present moment experience, free of judgement and commentary.”

So now, the practice itself; but first

Thought for the day:

The Dalai Lama is someone

Who has completely fused himself with his work.

His personal life and his work are perfectly integrated,

So much so that there is no separation between his personal life,

His work life, his spiritual life or his home life.

And since he has never separated out

A particular set of functions and relegated them

To the category of a job, he does not have a job.

What is marvellous is how he carries

His full self with him wherever he goes.

He seems the same in any setting.

He has no off-duty personality.

He is who he is, the same whether he is at home or at work.

There must be an immense feeling of freedom in that kind of life.

Mindfulness is much more than a way of practicing “meditation”. It is a way of being; of being in the world, and with the world. We get some sense of what this is like from the above quote regarding the Dalai Lama.

Having the good fortune to meet with His Holiness a few times, and attended quite a few of his teachings, several things stand out. People always smile when they are with the Dalai Lama; even George Bush! He always seems the same – openly happy, engaged, personable with an air of wisdom. When he does teach, that wisdom and a closely related kindness are very apparent.

So the key to this?

Well one key is mindfulness... the ability to give one’s full attention to whatever one is doing.

Full attention. Not hindered by past or future. Not distracted.

Not anxiously holding onto some pre-conceived idea of what “should” happen.

Informed, yet open, aware, fully engaged, flexible, humorous and content.

Giving full attention.

The point is, when we do this, whatever it is we are doing becomes complete. If we give our full attention to what we are doing in any particular moment of time, then that moment will be full and complete. We could not get anything more out of that moment of our lives – if it is full and complete.

So whether in joy or sorrow, happy or sad, elated or depressed; if we give any moment our full attention, then that moment of our life will be full and complete. We got the most from it. We did not miss a thing. What more can we do? Nothing.

But then the next moment of our life comes along... Are we distracted, or engaged? Fully engaged??? If fully engaged, then another moment full and complete.

The more time we spend giving our full attention to what we are doing in any particular moment of time, the more we build up a full and complete life. We have not missed it; this precious life.

So this capacity to give our full attention to what we are doing in any particular moment of time, is a training. A mind training. Mindfulness. And we practice mindfulness in formal sessions so we can take this skill into our daily life.

We practice by choosing one particular thing to focus our mind upon, and then steadily, we develop the ability to remain undistracted. This requires the help of our awareness – of which we shall speak more in the next post. But here, it is our awareness that notices when our mind wanders or becomes distracted, and brings it back to the breath; over and over again.

This is the practice.

This is the mind training.

Learning to hold our attention on whatever it is we choose.

On some level it may seem boring.

But going to the gym could seem boring.

We need to remind ourselves of the benefits.

Find ways to enjoy the practice, and maybe reward ourselves as we notice progression.

Now to assist all this, mindfulness is much easier in a relaxed body, with a somewhat stable mind. This is another reason why in the 5 stages of Mindfulness-Based Stillness Meditation we recommend Relaxation before Mindfulness. Relax the body, and the mind; become more stable, and everything else, including mindfulness becomes easier...

Also, to begin this practice takes some effort. It is not a casual business. As we progress the effort lessens, but initially, lots of coming back to the breath.

So it is also wise to approach mindfulness with a gentle sense of humour. When at the start, you realise how easily you can be distracted, when you realise how much time you spend mindlessly, a sense of humour helps. This is the way we are. Anyone with an untrained mind finds this practice challenging to begin. Equanimity is a friend...

Finally, how do we know when we have accomplished mindfulness?

When we can hold our attention at will on whatever it is we choose.

Sure, modern science is measuring a wide range of positive benefits that flow on from this practice, but for ourselves, it is easy.

Focus our attention and remain undistracted.

This is the essence of mindfulness. Number of mindfulness research papers over time

And a hint... this is a great practice to focus upon and develop in a retreat setting. There are good options for this; the next Ruth and I will be offering is a weekend in the Yarra Valley, Friday 14th to Sunday 16th November - details below.

May your mindfulness flourish :)

COMING EVENTS

OUR NEXT MEDITATION RETREAT

Ruth and I will be joined by the wonderful Melissa Borich…

For your part? Simply make the time and come along…Relax. Immerse yourself in the natural beauty of the Yarra Valley with its big trees, fresh air, beautiful grounds, the Little Yarra River, and sublime meditation sanctuary.

You can simply let go, and let be…

DEEP NATURAL PEACE Long weekend mini retreat November 2025

Towards the end of the year, an ideal opportunity for some time out, some gentle introspection and reflection, letting go of the busyness and finishing the year on a meditative high.

TIMES: Friday 14th November starting at 11am to 3.30pm Sunday 16th November 2025

VENUE: The Yarra Valley Living Centre, 55 Rayner Crt, Yarra Junction, Victoria, Australia

DETAILS and BOOKINGS: Visit our website: Click Here

Meditation Teacher Training – Module 3: Imagery

11am Saturday 1st to 3.30pm Wednesday 5th November, 2025 (inc Melbourne Cup holiday on the 4th for Victorians)

So many people in so many domains recommend the benefits of guided imagery. This training will position you to be able to offer your community something of great value – a reliable way to help your participants to better understand how their thinking minds and emotions work, and how they can mange them so much better – for their own good and the good of others. This training is also manual based and will enable you to deliver a much-needed program.

Of great personal value, this training is suitable for those new to teaching meditation, and for those wanting to go further. Highly experiential, it will provide a review of the first module that will have given more attention to the basics of how to develop, manage and deliver a meditation program or course. Here we will give some attention to theory, research, delivery, session structures, promotion, finances, the special challenges of online courses, but the emphasis will be on experiencing the key practices of imagery, and working on how to best present a course focusing upon guided imagery.

As a feature, ongoing mentorship and peer support is available through a specific group led by Ian, Ruth and Melissa for people who have completed one or more of our trainings.

Additional information is available via this link

How to apply for THIS Meditation Teacher Training:

1. The first step is to visit our website, download the Meditation Teacher Training application form and return it to our Retreat Manager, Mel Crow.

2. Mel will then arrange a short phone conversation to clarify what the training offerS, discuss your needs, answer any questions and ensure the program is suitable for you.

3. Once accepted for the training, you pay a deposit or full fee to reserve your place.

4. Full payment is due 3 weeks prior to the commencement of your training.

You can register for any of the residential programs through our website

19 June 2025

Mindfulness. The best of many definitions, and - am I doing it right?

Mindfulness. Surely this is the branding success of the modern meditation era!

It seems everyone knows of mindfulness. Many practice it; many institutions welcome its application. The evidence-base is vast.

So when it comes to your own practice, we go back to the common question linking this series of posts: how do I know when I am doing it right? If you are new to this series of posts, you might like to go back and read the earlier posts where the rationale of asking such a question is examined; but then we come to a real challenge...

Mindfulness, maybe more than any other word in the meditation domain, is often used very loosely. So if we want to know if we are doing “it” right, first we need to know what “it” is!

Now, I do have a working definition. It is the one from my latest book on meditation Blue Sky Mind. It is the one I have used in other writings and in retreats and Meditation Teacher Trainings: “Mindfulness is paying attention to our present moment experience, free of judgement and commentary.”

For me, and for those who have contemplated it and applied it in their practice and their lives, this definition, coming as it does from Jon Kabat-Zinn and his team, seems reasonably clear – descriptive and practical.

Yet we need to acknowledge there are many other definitions and be really clear how we are using the word ourselves. Then, as we develop our mindfulness, we can evaluate our progress with clarity and confidence., but first

Thought for the day:

If you want to understand the mind,

You should sit down

And observe it.

Munindra, Vipassana teacher

Being one who values definitions, I have collated a range of definitions of meditation – see Blue Sky Mind again, and contemplation - see recent blog - but this is the first time to have gathered definitions of mindfulness.

1. Jon Kabat-Zinn’s most commonly quoted definition

Mindfulness is the awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgementally.

One can see the problem... “Mindfulness is the awareness”! So are they the same? We shall explore the connection with awareness soon, in a future post.

2. Oxford Dictionary

Taking heed or care; being conscious or aware.

Quite brief, and not much clarity...

3. Psychology

a) Awareness of one’s internal states and surroundings.

The concept has been applied to various therapeutic interventions—for example, mindfulness-based cognitive behaviour therapy, mindfulness-based stress reduction, and mindfulness meditation —to help people avoid destructive or automatic habits and responses by learning to observe their thoughts, emotions, and other present-moment experiences without judging or reacting to them.

Adapted from the American Dictionary of Psychology.

Again, mixes mindfulness and awareness, but does provide some pointers to its application.

b) And another from a paper by Scott Bishop: A kind of non-elaborative, non-judgemental, present centred awareness in which each thought, feeling or sensation that arises in the attentional field is acknowledged and accepted as it is. These authors propose a two-part model: 1. Self-regulation of attention so it is maintained on immediate experience, and 2. An orientation that is characterised by curiosity, openness and acceptance.

This carries echoes of the above, still features awareness, but points to the application of mindfulness more clearly.

4. Buddhist definitions - with acknowledgement of Alan Wallace and his excellent book The Attention Revolution.

Mindfulness is a Buddhist practice.

The elegance of branding “mindfulness” has been this word has circumvented the baggage the word meditation was carrying.  

“Meditation” for many had both strong religious connotations, along with a very dubious hippy feel – courtesy of the Beatles and the counterculture of the ‘60s.

“Mindfulness” has been branded as a secular pursuit; a way of training the mind that has immediate and practical benefits for a wide variety of applications.

All true, and widely acceptable.

However, in Buddhism, there are different takes on mindfulness:

i) The Buddha actually spoke of “sati”, the Pali word for mindfulness (in Sanskrit: smrti). He said mindfulness had the capacity to distinguish between the wholesome and the unwholesome, between beneficial and non-beneficial tendencies.

So, non-judgemental?

ii) The Four Foundations of Mindfulness. In this major teaching, the Buddha details and guides a detailed investigation through contemplative insight of the origination, presence, causal efficiency and dissolution of 4 domains of our experience: the body, feelings, mental states and phenomena at large. Large books have been written, and long retreats conducted following these guidelines.

iii) In the Theravadan tradition, upon which the very popular Vipassana mindfulness program is based, mindfulness is defined as moment-to-moment, non-judgemental awareness of whatever arises.

This equates with non-conceptual awareness, or bare attention. It involves present time awareness and stays forever in the present. Here, if you remember your first teacher, that is memory. If you become aware you are remembering your first teacher, that is mindfulness.

iv) In the Mahayana tradition, mindfulness is the mental faculty of maintaining attention continuously on a familiar object, without forgetfulness or distraction. Here, since mindfulness prevents the attention from straying from its chosen object, it acts as the basis for the single-pointed focused attention known as samadhi.

v) Asanga, one of the great commentators on the teachings of the Buddha, defined mindfulness as the non-forgetfulness of the mind with respect to a familiar object, having the function of non-distraction.

vi) While his brother, Vasubandhu, simplified it to: not losing the object of the mind.

So – a range of definitions...

Great food for contemplation; contemplation being the secret to developing clarity and understanding.

One could well contemplate the question

“What is mindfulness?” 

Having been doing that for many years, I come back to the existent definition I use and cheekily call "the best definition".

Why?

Because it does not confuse mindfulness with awareness; it is clear, practical and easy to use as a guide to our practice and our lives.

The best definition:

Mindfulness is paying attention to our present moment experience, free of judgement and commentary.

So “paying attention to” is concentration; and here, we are concentrating upon a particular thing – our present moment experience. And we are doing this in a particular way - free of judgement and commentary. That is the simplicity of mindfulness practice!

How would you define mindfulness? What makes sense for you?

Next post we will examine the practice of mindfulness more closely and identify its hallmarks, but a sneak preview – it has to do with our relaxation, our stability, the vividness of our practice and the underlying quality of equanimity.

Be mindfull. Be happy :)