The Benefits of Being Present: Mindfulness and Its Role in Psychological Well-Being

Many philosophical, spiritual, and psychological traditions emphasize the importance of the quality of consciousness for the maintenance and enhancement of well-being. Despite this, it is easy to overlook the importance of consciousness in human well-being because almost everyone exercises its primary capacities, that is, attention and awareness. The relation between qualities of consciousness and well-being has received little empirical attention. One attribute of consciousness that has been much-discussed in relation to well-being is mindfulness which has roots in Buddhist and other contemplative traditions where conscious attention and awareness are actively cultivated. This research demonstrate the importance of constructs of mindfulness to a variety of forms of psychologicalwell-being(Brown and Ryan).