Extending Mindfulness to Everyday Life

Abstract

The great spiritual traditions agree that the cultivation of mindfulness is central. Without mindfulness we live in a state of distorted perceptions and fantasies, acting inappropriately with reference to our own true nature and the reality of the immediate situation, and consequently creating stupid and useless suffering. This article is oriented toward those readers already convinced of the value of cultivating increased mindfulness, so I shall not attempt to prove its value here: I have discussed this elsewhere (Tart, 1986), as well as the way modern psychological knowledge supports it. Although the traditions advocate developing mindfulness in all situations of life, advocacy, skillful training, and emphasis are not the same thing. Much traditional Buddhist practice, in particular, effectively puts its emphasis on formal sitting without engaging in extensive and specific training for mindfulness in everyday life. Because traditional Buddhist practice is a major influence on people interested in meditation, the apparent lack of means for generalizing mindfulness to everyday life can be a serious problem for many Westerners, especially because most of us want to enliven all of life through our growth practices, not retire to a life of solitary meditation. This article discusses ways in which elements of a less well-known mindfulness cultivation tradition, the Gurdjieff training, may be used to increase mindfulness in everyday life situations and to facilitate the generalization of mindfulness from intensive meditation sessions to everyday life. Some specific training exercises are presented, as well as the principles of devising such exercises.