Here and Now: The Wisdom and Practice of Mindfulness

Remember we briefly introduced mindfulness as a contemplative practice in Lecture 2? But what really is mindfulness? How do we practise it? How does it benefit our personal wellbeing? What is the science behind it? These are some of the questions we’ll be exploring in Lecture 3.

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Try this exercise for our in-class discussion this week (but don’t watch the pre-class video till you’ve tried it): Find a quiet place (e.g. your room) and just sit down without doing anything but attending to your own thoughts for 6 minutes. No use of your phone, no listening to music, no distractions. After the 6-minute period, ask yourself: Did you enjoy your ‘just-think’ time? Were you able to concentrate on your own thoughts throughout the period?