Mindfulness is commonly mentioned, but often misunderstood. It's often discussed as one thing, but it's really best to think of mindfulness as a category that includes a wide range of practices.
Mindfulness is a lot like the word “sports” or “the arts”: there are many activities and disciplines that fit under its umbrella. If someone said, "I'm going to make art later," you'd understandably wonder, "What kind?" We should ask ourselves the same thing when people talk about practicing mindfulness.
We can begin to understand the category of mindfulness a little better when we learn about two of the broader subcategories of mindfulness: focused attention and open awareness practices. By understanding the basic differences between these two groups, we can begin to think about where our own practice fits in, or where we want to start.
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focused attention
Focused attention practices ask you to maintain awareness of a single focal point for the duration of your practice. There are many different things you could focus on, including your breath, a candle flame, sounds coming and going in your environment (or a specific sound), and the feel of your feet on the ground.
Most introductory practices focus on the breath with the idea that it is always with you so you can always access it. However, many people struggle with breathing as a focal point when they first begin practicing mindfulness. You may struggle trying to control your breathing, feel a little panicked, or have other unpleasant experiences.
If that is the case for you, it may be wise to begin your practice with another object of attention. Alternatively, if you want to work with your breath, you can try paying attention to it in a more loose, distant or relaxed way, perhaps simply feeling how your body moves and sways with the natural rhythm of your breathing.
Focused attention practices are great for helping us hone our cognitive skills. We may find that it is easier to maintain our attention on other tasks over time, concentrate more easily on our work, and reap other rewards from greater self-regulation and concentration.
Open Awareness
Open awareness practices invite you to relax your attention and be aware of whatever arises in your experience. Rather than asking you to focus on one thing, open awareness practices create an inner space where everything that happens here and now can be consciously experienced.
We try to be alert to what is happening around us and, within us, relaxed. When thoughts arise, we try to be aware of the thoughts themselves. When emotions arise, we try to be aware of the experience of the emotion.
When we become aware of things in our environment, we simply experience what is happening. Thoughts, feelings, sensations and the world around us stop being a distraction. Instead, they are invited to practice: they become experiences to be aware of in themselves.
When first starting out in open awareness practices, it can be helpful to mentally note what is coming up to help you stay in the moment. Instead of getting caught up in a train of thought about a relationship struggle, you can say to yourself, “I can feel my mind wanting to think about my relationship struggles” or “I can feel a feeling of fear coming up right now. . ”
Open awareness practices are particularly good at helping us develop equanimity with the ups and downs of life. They can help us better regulate our emotions and feel less trapped and emotionally overwhelmed. They can also help us have more choice about our internal experiences by learning to step back and simply observe them.
Essential Mindfulness Readings
There are still other types of mindfulness. Some practices focus on being aware of the mind itself or practices that involve inducing various emotional states such as loving kindness. However, the distinction between focused and open practice is one of the most fundamental to understanding and appears even in these other methods. With this understanding, may your mindfulness practice become more focused and open.
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