Mindfulness meditation practices are a set of attention-based, regulatory, and self-inquiry training regimes used for wellbeing and psychological health. This article examines the construct of mindfulness in psychological research and reviews recent nonclinical work. Instead of proposing a single definition, mindfulness is interpreted as a continuum of practices involving states and processes that can be mapped into a multidimensional phenomenological matrix expressed in a neurocognitive framework. This matrix serves as a heuristic to guide next-generation research hypotheses from cognitive/behavioral and neuroscientific perspectives. The review identifies significant gaps in the literature and outlines new directions for research.
Many people go through life on autopilot, unaware of their conscious experiences. In a moderated discussion, neuroscientists Richard Davidson and Amishi Jha and clinical mindfulness expert Jon Kabat-Zinn explore how consciousness relates to mental and physical health, how mindfulness training can make the mind more flexible and adaptable, and recent neuroscience findings on transforming consciousness through contemplative practice. This is an edited transcript of the February 6, 2013 event at the New York Academy of Sciences.