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Mindfulness is everywhere. Everyone from Gwyneth Paltrow to the US military has extolled the virtues of this ancient spiritual practice.

But what, exactly, is mindfulness? And can it help us deal with the stress of everyday life?

Or should we be skeptical about its secularization and commercialization?

A psychiatry researcher, a Tibetan Buddhist monk, and a practitioner-turned-scholar all have different answers.

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness and meditation — two different but interconnected practices — are present in several ancient faiths, including Hinduism and Jainism.

But mindfulness, which dates back 2,500 years, is most commonly associated with Buddhism.

According to the Venerable Thubten Dondrub, a resident teacher at Adelaide’s Buddha House, the practice is about keeping your mind focused on an object — and that could be your breath or a “virtuous” thought.

“[It’s about asking] ‘Is my mind on the object or not? Is it fully on the object?'” he tells ABC Radio National’s Soul Search.

He says it’s also about abandoning negative behaviors and states of mind, such as anger.

Of course, this level of focus can be incredibly difficult to maintain.

Our brains naturally race at a million miles an hour, with ideas, memories, anxieties, and other thoughts constantly popping up.

But Ven Dondrub says to achieve mindfulness, you must keep reining your thoughts back in.

“If my mind keeps wandering off the topic — the object of meditation — then I’m not going to get anywhere,” he says.

“I can be sitting … so-called meditating for an hour, but most of the time my mind’s everywhere. It’s not all that beneficial.”

It should be noted that ‘mind wandering’ can also be constructive. It’s thought to play a role in generating new ideas, planning goals and helping unlock creativity.

So don’t feel deterred if you start off trying to be mindful, but your mind ends up wandering instead.

What are the benefits?

The physiological and psychological benefits of mindfulness have been studied for decades.

American professor and scientist Jon Kabat-Zinn is a leading figure in this field.

In 1979, he pioneered an eight-week program known as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) for people living with chronic pain.

The course drew on Dr Kabat-Zinn’s experience with Zen meditation and yoga, and it offered a secular, rather than spiritual, version of mindfulness.

Multiple studies have shown MBSR can reduce experiences of anxiety, depression, and stress among participants, and increase levels of self-compassion.

This is something that Harvard neuroscientist Sara Lazar has long been fascinated by, ever since a physical therapist recommended she try yoga.

“After two or three classes, it really had a profound impact on me,” she says.

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Is mindfulness simply awareness? Or something deeper?  (Pexels: Karolina Grabowska)

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