Mindfulness is defined as non-judgemental awareness of the present moment.

It has become a buzz word in modern western psychology. Taken from eastern Buddhist practices, it is now seen as a cure-for-all with reams of international papers published monthly promoting its effectiveness as a therapy. There are courses, degrees and qualifications in mindfulness and many psychologists are preaching it as a skill that one can learn and use when they have feelings of depression, anxiety, stress or otherwise.

It is great to see a concept like this having such a positive impact on people’s psyche and I am a firm advocate of mindfulness in therapy but…are we missing the point? Having practised living mindfully for the past number of years, I would say that is much more a way of living than a skill to use at one’s discretion. It is something that needs to be incorporated into one’s daily lifestyle if it is to be accepted as really worthwhile.

Mindful living doesn’t have to be performed in a Buddhist monastery on top of hill in China and it need not bring with it any hippy connotations of being ‘far out.’ Mindfulness is as simple a concept as embracing the moment that you’re in and living it to the fullest regardless of how good or bad you perceive things to be. If you can take a deep breath, feel how you are feeling in each and any moment, then there is more right with you than wrong with you; this is the mindful living philosophy.

Take this moment - this one moment in your hectic day - to see how you are. Take a deep breath, acknowledge your existence…and embrace it.