What is mindfulness?
Mindfulness as a word can be misleading as it does not mean a mind which is filled with thoughts. Nor does it mean a mind that is empty of thought. Instead it refers to present-moment awareness. It is a state in which you are focused on what is happening to you in the now. In open focus the practitioner trains her awareness on external sights, sounds and sensations. In closed focus he trains his awareness on a single feature: the breath, a number sequence, or a phrase repeated over and over.
Mindfulness and meditation
Mindful practice is really meditation. The only difference is that many types of meditation (but not all) come out of Hinduism, Buddhism or Christianity. Mindfulness, so-called, emphasises a secular practice. Used in the loose sense, ‘mindfulness’ (meaning present moment awareness) can also be achieved through music, yoga, tai chi, qi gong, the Feldenkrais method, and Binaural beats.