chapter 3
Basic Mindfulness Skills.
An operational working definition of mindfulness is: the awareness that emerges through
paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally to the unfolding
of experience moment by moment.
—Jon Kabat-Zinn (2003)MINDFuLNESS SKILLS: WHAT ARE THEY?
Mindfulness, also known as meditation, is a valuable skill that has been taught for thousands of
years in many of the world’s religions, including Christianity (Merton, 1960), Judaism (Pinson,
2004), Buddhism (Rahula, 1974), and Islam (Inayat Khan, 2000). Beginning in the 1980s, Jon
Kabat-Zinn began using nonreligious mindfulness skills to help hospital patients cope with chronic
pain problems (Kabat-Zinn, 1982; Kabat-Zinn, Lipworth, & Burney, 1985; Kabat-Zinn, Lipworth,
Burney, & Sellers, 1987). More recently, similar mindfulness techniques were also integrated into
other forms of psychotherapy (Segal, Williams, & Teasdale, 2002), including dialectical behavior
therapy (Linehan, 1993a). Studies have shown mindfulness skills to be effective at reducing the
odds of having another major depressive episode (Teasdale et al., 2000); reducing symptoms of
anxiety (Kabat-Zinn et al., 1992); reducing chronic pain (Kabat-Zinn et al., 1985; Kabat-Zinn et
al., 1987); decreasing binge eating (Kristeller & Hallett, 1999); increasing tolerance of distressing