ABSTRACT
The concept of acting mindfully and making wise decisions runs throughout mindfulness literature (Didonna, 2009) and practice. The first step in achieving this is for clients to be aware of their thoughts, emotions and sensations and to view these as passing mental events. This is not to say that they are unimportant, but rather that they are transient. The next stage is to be able to bring themselves into the moment and participate in their actual lives. From this perspective they can see a range of alternatives in how to respond. Thus they are not just reacting automatically to their experiences: they are aware of the urge to respond, and they have choices about whether or not they are making a wise decision. In helping clients to achieve this skill, clinical researchers have developed the idea of different states of mind (Linehan, 1993b; Crane, 2009).
