Mindfulness as 'bare attention'

I am reading Peter Tyler’s book Christian Mindfulness: Theology and Practice (SCM, 2018). He distinguishes between two kinds of mindfulness in current usage. The first is ‘bare attention’: what the American mindfulness pioneer Jon Kabat-Zinn described as ‘paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally.’ The second is what Tyler calls ‘heartfulness’, which is mindfulness practice aimed at moral development and in particular the development of compassion. 

Although the techniques are the same, Tyler regards heartfulness rather than basic mindfulness as an essential element in the Christian spiritual journey. Another way of putting this is that Christian meditation uses the same process as in other meditative traditions, notably Buddhism, but differs in the conscious focus on opening oneself to the presence and activity of God as known in the Christian tradition.

Christianity does have its own mystical tradition, developed by the Desert Fathers in the early centuries and then largely forgotten in the West until the later 20th century. I see the recovery of the mystical tradition as essential. I recall the striking observation of the German theologian Karl Rahner: ‘The devout Christian of the future will either be a ‘mystic’, one who has ‘experienced’ something, or he will cease to be anything at all.’

This is not to disparage basic mindfulness. I believe that the practice of mindfulness meditation is worthwhile in itself (and clinically beneficial, for example in managing the symptoms of ADHD). One of the books that has influenced me most is ‘Wherever You Go, There You Are’ by Jon Kabat-Zinn (Piatkus, 1994). He says that although the practice has its roots in the Buddhist meditation tradition, it is essentially unconnected to any particular religion or belief system.

To help me remember Kabat-Zinn’s thinking, I summarised his book in 12 statements and I remind myself of these often. Two of them draw on the American classic Walden by the 19th century transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau.

1. The spirit of mindfulness is to practise for its own sake.
2. Be exposed right from the start to relatively extended periods of practice.
3. A calmness develops with intensive concentration practice that has a remarkably stable quality.
4. Only that day dawns to which we are awake. (Thoreau)
5. To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts. (Thoreau)
6. Try to live so as to cause as little damage and suffering as possible.
7. Non-doing simply means letting things be and allowing them to unfold in their own way.
8. If you really aren’t trying to get anywhere else in this moment, patience takes care of itself.
9. Generosity is an inward giving, a willingness to share your own being with the world.
10. Voluntary simplicity means intentionally doing only one thing at a time and making sure you are here for it.
11. When we can be centred in ourselves, we can be at home wherever we find ourselves.
12. There is no successful escaping from yourself in the long run, only transformation.

This moral seriousness has a lot to recommend it as an attitude to life. It may not be specifically Christian but it strikes me as consistent with a Christian approach.