Mindfulness is based on enhancing the brain’s ability to be aware of itself and live the present moment to the fullest.

Already at the dawn of psychology William James left us with the reflection that our ability to regulate our focus of attention is the basis of will and good judgment. However, James already warned us that it is easier to define full attention than to embody it.

In any case, this notion of full attention or directed attention predates psychology as a science and even other tools of human thought such as philosophy.

The origins of Mindfulness

To speak of mindfulness as a Western discovery, a product of the evolution of our modern society, is to sin at the very least of naivety and clearly of misunderstood pride.

Mindfulness, as we know it in the West, clearly draws on the sources of the East, above all Buddhism , and more specifically Zen Buddhism, a school integrated into what is known as Mahayana Buddhism or the Great Vehicle.

Already in the eighth century, Master Linji, founder of a Zen school in northern China , encouraged attention to experiences as they appear today. And without going any further, the Vietnamese Zen master and monk Thich Nhat Hanh, well known in the West today, already spoke of mindfulness in the 1970s, referring to mindfulness as the energy of being concentrated in the present.

In other words, since the dawn of psychology, the capacity of the human mind to reflect on itself, to focus on its own activity and thus be able to tune in to the emotional states and thoughts that run through us has been at the centre of the debate and has been the key to all models of psychotherapeutic approach and personal growth .

On the other hand, from worlds as far away from psychological reflection as many schools of Eastern meditation may be, especially within Buddhism, both Hinayana and Mahayana, the development of this capacity for self-awareness in the human being has been the cornerstone of their knowledge.

It seems clear, therefore, that today, no one doubts this principle any more. And that the concept of mindfulness is already widely accepted in all areas of psychology and health sciences .

However, this full attention (mindfulness) would be crippled if we forget another Buddhist key, which is at the root of the Mahayana Buddhist concept of meditation, namely compassion.

The Buddhist Perspective

In Buddhism, compassion, in the sense of the Tibetan bodhisattva (also Mahayana Buddhism) is the desire for others to be free from suffering and the causes of suffering .

It is based on valuing the feelings of others, especially when we have gone through the same difficulties. And even if we have never gone through what others are going through, we can put ourselves in their shoes and feel how terrible it must be. As we imagine how much we would like to be free of it, we yearn with great strength that others can be free, too.

That is why in Vitaliza we affirm that there is nothing more intelligent to get out of my suffering than to welcome, gather, embrace and restore the suffering of the other . And we thank all of you who walk by our side in the retreats and meetings that we have been celebrating under the heading of “Sharing in Full Consciousness” for your effort and dedication to create spaces of embrace and communion, where minds rest, hearts open and souls connect smiling in unison.

The editions of our meetings “Compatiendo en Consciencia Plena” scheduled for 2019 will take place in Artzentales (Bizkaia) on April 4-9, June 20-23 and August 29 / September 1. For more information, please visit the Vitaliza website, in the agenda section, or contact us using this information.