ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines a Buddhist approach to mindfulness. As mindfulness is primarily something you do and not a scientific theory, psycho-educational tool or mental health intervention, non-academic reader in mind. The Buddha taught individual men and women how to make progress towards Enlightenment. He said his only concern was 'suffering and the end of suffering', so his teachings are addressed to the individual and to their psychological, social, spiritual and existential suffering. The Buddhist word for this is prapanca. It helps make a distinction between what we might call 'integrated thinking' and 'alienated thinking'. It helps us understand that it's not thought that's the problem; it's how aware or unaware our thinking is. Prapanca means 'mental proliferation'. The practice of mindfulness unifies our energies and gives us access to a much more direct and full-blooded experience of life.
