Attitudes of a Peaceful Mind

Mindfulness & Meditation · By Angela S. McLean, LMFT

It is difficult to describe a happy, peaceful person. What are they like, and what does it feel like to be one? To be honest, most of us have never really met one, but if you had, how would you know it?

The teachers of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction have drawn from ancient wisdom and given us attitudes to cultivate when you practice mindfulness and meditation. They are helpful because they give us words and concepts to describe our goal. They also give us a picture of what a peaceful person may be like or how they might think.

Consider the seven attitudes below, based on Jon Kabat-Zinn's list in the foundational work Full Catastrophe Living.

1. Non-Judgment – The opposite of typical habits of labeling things as good or bad, right or wrong, fair or unfair. Instead, simply be aware of experiences as they happen in the moment, as an impartial witness.
2. Patience – A form of wisdom that understands the nature of change and accepts that things must unfold in their own time. Rather than trying to fill up our time with activity or force changes upon ourselves or others, a patient attitude is completely open to each moment and accepts it fully as it is.
3. Beginner's Mind – A willingness to see everything as if for the first time. This allows you to notice the extraordinary in ordinary moments, as a young child might. Becoming free of expectations based on past experiences often gives us the ability to experience a truer version of the day to day.
4. Trust – A basic trust in yourself, your own feelings, and your intuition. As you become more fully yourself, you learn to listen to and trust your own being.
5. Non-Striving – An awareness of where you are now. The opposite of our typical state of pushing toward a goal, improving something, or getting somewhere we are not currently. Instead of trying so hard that we create anxiety, one simply allows oneself to be oneself while doing the task at hand.
6. Acceptance – Seeing things as they actually are in the current moment rather than wasting energy denying or resisting what is already fact. This does not mean you have to like everything or passively resign yourself to current circumstances. Only be willing to see things as they are.
7. Letting Be – A way of letting things be as they are rather than holding on to pleasant experiences and trying to prevent or get rid of unpleasant, painful, or frightening ones. The suggestion is to observe your own mind grasping and pushing away. Simply recognize this and then let go of the impulse on purpose, just to see what happens if you do.

I find it helpful to reflect on these seven attitudes and review them in my mind as often as I can remember. As I practice my own meditation and observe my own mind, the wisdom in these principles continues to teach on new levels every day.

Reference: Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness by Jon Kabat-Zinn

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