ABSTRACT
The idea of mindfulness originates in Zen Buddhist philosophy (Suzuki, 1969) and is concerned with a meditative awareness of the current moment and each moment as it unfolds. The idea is that the person, through a meditative approach, comes to a quieter place within themselves and with the world where there is a focus simply on `what is' rather than on judgements, outcomes or over-identi®cation with persons, objects or events. Meditative practices associated with Zen Buddhism have been incorporated in different ways into a number of approaches to psychotherapy. For example, Gestalt psychotherapy has, from its inception, emphasized both phenomenology and awareness, requiring the psychotherapist to develop skills of observation in the present moment (Yontef, 1993; Polster and Polster, 1974) as well as ways of inviting the client to develop those skills for themselves. For example, the client might be invited to pay attention to their breathing and then simply to notice what is happening in their body, the sensations that arise, as well as feelings and thoughts. Awareness can be focused on the internal world (the inner zone) or the external world (the outer zone). Through such practices calmness increases, and the client will usually notice things that previously had been out of awareness, thus providing increased possibilities for experimentation or action.
