The 3 pillars of Mindfulness

The 3 pillars of Mindfulness

The Wellness Log is built upon three basic mindfulness concepts: Intention, Attention, and Attitude.

Intention

The first concept is intention.

By setting an intention, you are focusing on what you intend to do or create.

This intention might be a state of mind that you want to keep as your focus, such as gratitude. It might be something you intend to accomplish, such as a project. Or it could be something you intend to focus on throughout the day, such as your breath.

Attention

The second concept is attention.

Where is your attention or your focus? Are you aware of where your attention is going?

Being aware of your attention is a very powerful and useful tool in developing mindfulness. You might have the intention of focusing on joy for the day. And then you may find that your attention is going toward all the ways that you are angry at someone, or how frustrated you are with a problem at work. So your attention and intention are out of sync with each other.

Attitude

The third aspect of mindfulness is attitude.

Your attitude influences your reactivity to yourself and others, to the state of tension or relaxation in your body, or the control you have over your state of mind.

If you notice that your intention for the day is to focus on joy, but your attention keeps drifting to anger at others, and your attitude is one of judgment or blame toward yourself for failing in your intention, then you have created suffering for yourself, and your body is tense and your emotions are fraught. So attitude is also a very important aspect of mindfulness. In this practice, developing an attitude of self-compassion can be affirming and transformative.

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