Definition of Mindfulness

Kenji Noguchi, modified 9 Years ago at 9/26/15 12:08 PM
Created 9 Years ago at 9/26/15 12:08 PM

Definition of Mindfulness

Posts: 2 Join Date: 9/26/15 Recent Posts
I am a researcher working on research creating a scale of trait “mindfulness.” I really appreciate if you can fill out a questionnaire using the following link. It will take about 10 minutes to complete.

https://usmep.co1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_2gVnefJyNtOufdz

In the meantime, how do you define “mindfulness?” If you can put your personal experience of mediation (e.g., how many years, how frequently, what type of meditation practices) with your answer, it is greatly appreciated. I think each person has different understanding of this concept and I am curious to see how people think of mindfulness based on their own experience.
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Chris M, modified 9 Years ago at 9/26/15 4:52 PM
Created 9 Years ago at 9/26/15 4:52 PM

RE: Definition of Mindfulness

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I'd probably participate in your study if you provide some more information up front. What institution(s) are you working from? What is the purpose of your study? What are your qualifications? Is this undergraduate, graduate or private research? Just saying what you said is not at all inviting me to help you. I need to know more beforehand.
Matt, modified 9 Years ago at 9/26/15 5:55 PM
Created 9 Years ago at 9/26/15 5:55 PM

RE: Definition of Mindfulness

Posts: 316 Join Date: 1/14/14 Recent Posts
Chris Marti:
I'd probably participate in your study if you provide some more information up front. What institution(s) are you working from? What is the purpose of your study? What are your qualifications? Is this undergraduate, graduate or private research? Just saying what you said is not at all inviting me to help you. I need to know more beforehand.


I second Chris's comments.

But for my own exercise, I'll post a reply here:

Mindfulness: Having a plan for what to do with respect to anticipated present moment events, remembering the plan, being aware enough of actual present moment events to follow through on the plan.

I'm into Vipassana.  Over the last year and a half I've had two 10 day silent retreats, and home-sat 1-2 hours a day.

Before Vipassana over the prior 10 years, I put in about 500 hours into a sports related activity that I feel has been mindfulness related.

AND, I hope you answer Chris's questions.
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CJMacie, modified 9 Years ago at 9/26/15 7:37 PM
Created 9 Years ago at 9/26/15 7:29 PM

RE: Definition of Mindfulness

Posts: 856 Join Date: 8/17/14 Recent Posts
Chris Marti:
I'd probably participate in your study if you provide some more information up front. What institution(s) are you working from? What is the purpose of your study? What are your qualifications? Is this undergraduate, graduate or private research? Just saying what you said is not at all inviting me to help you. I need to know more beforehand.


If you simply enter that link, you'd find an intro page that answers these questions, except for about the particular researcher; but it also states:
    "Questions concerning the research should be directed to Kenji Noguchi at (228) 214-3284 or at kenji.noguchi@usm.edu"

You'll let us know what you find out?

[Edited added the following:]

And those questions the OP asks after the link --
"In the meantime, how do you define “mindfulness?” If you can put your personal experience of mediation (e.g., how many years, how frequently, what type of meditation practices) with your answer, it is greatly appreciated. I think each person has different understanding of this concept and I am curious to see how people think of mindfulness based on their own experience."
The last (4th) page of the survey lets one enter that stuff. (The 1st 3 pages are scale 1-5 questions, with a lot redundancy - to check for consistency -- the usually psychological quasi-scientific apparatus.)
Kenji Noguchi, modified 9 Years ago at 9/27/15 10:51 AM
Created 9 Years ago at 9/27/15 10:51 AM

RE: Definition of Mindfulness

Posts: 2 Join Date: 9/26/15 Recent Posts
Thank you for the feedback, everyone.
I should have provided more information...
I am working at the University of Southern Mississippi as Associate Professor. The data will be used for publication at a scientific journal. Your data will be treated anonymously. I am collecting data to validate a newly developed questionnaire on mindfulness from experienced practitioners. 
Once the paper is published, I am happy to post the paper (it may take a year or two though).
I really appreciate your help. If you have any more suggestions/questions, please feel free to ask me.
Thank you very much.
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Chris M, modified 9 Years ago at 9/27/15 2:32 PM
Created 9 Years ago at 9/27/15 11:05 AM

RE: Definition of Mindfulness

Posts: 5475 Join Date: 1/26/13 Recent Posts
Chris Macie --

If you simply enter that link, you'd find an intro page that answers these questions, except for about the particular researcher; but it also states:
    "Questions concerning the research should be directed to Kenji Noguchi at (228) 214-3284 or at kenji.noguchi@usm.edu"

You'll let us know what you find out?

I did visit that link before posting anything. What's there is all well and good but I think researchers have a deeper responsibility to inform their subjects of their qualifications, purpose and intended results before expecting folks to follow links, join up or cooperate. My comment was more about ethics than anything else. There are, IMHO, obligations and informational requirements that should be met. For example, had I wanted members here  to take a survey I would have posted fairly extensive information about my qualifications, my reserach interests, and what I expect from participants before asking them to follow any links. Keep in mind, landing on a malicious link in today's risky Internet world can engender cybersecurity risks. In other words, if you want me to participate it is up to you, the researcher, to provide potential subjects with pleanty of grounding information. 

And, of course, you can always do as you please and just ignore my comments. 
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CJMacie, modified 9 Years ago at 9/28/15 3:38 PM
Created 9 Years ago at 9/28/15 3:37 PM

RE: Definition of Mindfulness

Posts: 856 Join Date: 8/17/14 Recent Posts
[quote=Chris Marti]
...
And, of course, you can always do as you please and just ignore my comments. 
...


Does the issue really need to be personalized like this?
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Chris M, modified 9 Years ago at 9/29/15 4:59 AM
Created 9 Years ago at 9/29/15 4:59 AM

RE: Definition of Mindfulness

Posts: 5475 Join Date: 1/26/13 Recent Posts
Does the issue really need to be personalized like this?

It wasn't meant just for you Chris. That was a general disclaimer meant for anyone reading the post. It's an obvoius point, of course, and people probably ignore my comments more than they read them, anyway   emoticon

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CJMacie, modified 9 Years ago at 9/29/15 7:32 AM
Created 9 Years ago at 9/29/15 7:26 AM

RE: Definition of Mindfulness

Posts: 856 Join Date: 8/17/14 Recent Posts
Chris Marti
Does the issue really need to be personalized like this?

It wasn't meant just for you Chris. That was a general disclaimer meant for anyone reading the post. It's an obvoius point, of course, and people probably ignore my comments more than they read them, anyway   emoticon


I suspect many might feel that way. Judging from my own experience, the urge to respond, or enter a discussion often arises from 1) urge to broadcast something triggered by, but not necessarily directly relevant, or contributing to the developement of a thread -- tangent or off-topic; or 2) some irritation, need to straighten something-out, correct it. Both s/w reactionary.

On the other hand, I've gotten well used to having composed something I thought was quite the cat's meow, but which seemed to fall into a black hole. (Maybe it finds nibbana -- rays of light with nowhere to land; "consciousness with no surface" (a Than-Geof-ism).)

People, I think, do read, scan a lot without needing to add (or subtract) from it. And then there's so much going by here, that s/t gets fatiguing, or one gets fed up with this or that type of thread; and going in and out of phases of interest / indifference relative to certain types of topics, types of discussions (irrespective of the specific topic), even certain players or when pairs or groups get locked in to some back-and-forth.

In all, expecting attention is risky; a good alternative is to attend to one's own phases of mood, of need, less dramatically, more like simply passing clouds.

Mr. Buddha had a good take: whatever one expects, anticipates, plans for, counts on,... it will never turn out just so. ... So, just like some practices, take a good breath, let it go, and start again. I've suspected that's why the breath is such a good object of meditation / concentration: it's always been there, as far as I can remember; will always be there, for as long as it matters; and constantly expresses two fundamental lessons: after every inhale (taking something on), there must be exhale (letting something go); then after that, the only thing left to do is begin again...

Interesting just to watch, e.g. one's own patterns of writing stuff; e.g. I tend to wind off into some kind of concluding moral-of-the-story. S/t wonder if my mother, the only child of a Lutheran minister, passed on this knack for sermonizing.

Daoism has this idea perhaps related to 'rebirth' and/or the paramis -- that one's born with a certain curiculum, something specific to work-out this time around.
... (It's a slow night)
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Vince, modified 9 Years ago at 9/29/15 2:40 PM
Created 9 Years ago at 9/29/15 2:40 PM

RE: Definition of Mindfulness

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I think the most commonly used definition of mindfulness is present moment awareness of oneself, one's thoughts and internal states, one's external surroundings, and/or any interaction that may be taking place between these.  Apparently the Buddha taught a different definition of mindfulness, which is simply the act of keeping something in mind, for example an intention to release tension when it arises or to remain focused on the breath.  I like to practice a combination of both, although it seems the first definition is implied in the second.

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