We are exposed to many stimuli during the day while eating, commuting, chatting with a friend, dealing with simple or complex tasks, and often everything happens so fast in our lives that we may not even be aware of many things, from the taste of the food we eat to the air we breathe. In such cases, the control of our lives is like in the hands of an automatic pilot (Brown and Ryan 2003). Contrary to this, the concept of mindfulness, with its Turkish name, mindfulness, advocates paying attention to and noticing the returns of the moment lived in line with a certain route by avoiding judgments as much as possible (Kabat-Zinn 2012). Mindfulness is defined as experiencing the present moment by focusing on what is now. In other words, one's consciousness is awake in the present moment. It is a way of paying special attention to the moment one is in, without judgment, and of taking responsibility for the quality of personal relationships, ties within the family, work, environment and world, and most importantly, the bond with oneself. In short, it can be defined as “momentary awareness”. It is experiencing the rise and fall of the level of cognition, without identifying with it, with openness and acceptance. The way out of autopilot is to focus our attention on the present moment and become aware of our life at that moment.
When we look at the history of humanity, mankind has always suffered from time and tried to discover ways to relieve this pain. An inevitable aspect of living in our bodies is our exposure to disease, old age, and death. When faced with adverse circumstances, we suffer and struggle emotionally as well as physically challenged. Even when we are satisfied with our lives, we suffer when we do not get what we want, when we experience a loss and have to deal with things we do not want. From birth to death, we are constantly trying to feel better (Siegel, R.D., Germer, C.K., Olendzki, A., 2009). Having a high level of conscious awareness; It ensures good mental health, high relationship satisfaction and effective coping with pain (Brown et al., 2007). Mindfulness was positively related to positive emotions and life satisfaction, and negatively related to negative emotions. r. Being conscious is effective in providing and increasing well-being. Being aware of experiences vividly and clearly contributes directly to well-being and happiness (Brown & Ryan, 2003). It has been proven by research that mindfulness is associated with well-being (Baer et al., 2008; Brown & Ryan, 2003; Falkenström, 2010; Howell, Digdon, Buro, & Sheptycki, 2008). Being mindful captures instant experiences and functions that are clear and alive. Mindfulness can be important for an individual to separate from automatic thoughts, habits, and unhealthy behavior patterns. Thus, the individual's regulation of his own behavior, which is associated with increasing well-being, may play a key role (Brown & Ryan, 2003; Ryan & Deci, 2000).
The concept of mindfulness, that is, mindful awareness, dates back to 2500 years ago. Mindfulness is not new, it is actually part of what makes us human. Mindfulness is a special skill, especially in the midst of emotional turmoil. No matter how much we talk or write about this concept, mindfulness experts talk about the only way to understand mindfulness is to experience it. This is because mindfulness is an intuitive and personal journey of discovery. Mindfulness is the state of awareness that results from consciously directing attention to the present experience in an open, gentle and nonjudgmental way, focusing attention on the present moment and observing inner life. Considering the definition of the concept of mindfulness, the main components of this concept are focused attention, introspection, non-questioning and acceptance. Mindfulness meditations, in which attention is focused on breathing, physical perceptions, sensations, feelings and thoughts, have been used for therapeutic purposes in Asian countries for many years. It has been supported by different studies that individuals with a high level of conscious awareness are more successful in planning, managing the processes they plan in the best way, correcting the mistakes they encounter, and evaluating the processes. Attitudes in mindfulness are expressed by Kabat-Zinn (2001) as follows: Being patient, letting it flow, not being prejudiced, trusting, being generous, being strong, being simple and being concentrated.
Being Patient. : Conscious awareness One of the basic ethical attitudes is patience. If you are patient, the applied mindfulness-based meditation practices will continue more slowly and maturely. As long as you are patient, everything will be resolved in time. Being in a hurry can often cause suffering as well as uselessness.
Non-Judgement: A part of our mind constantly evaluates our experiences, compares them with other experiences, and holds them together. In the light of this information kept in mind, some expectations arise. Our prejudices often cause us to develop negative attitudes. The concept of non-judgment, or conscious non-judgment, indicates impartiality. Refuses the application of appraisal labels such as good/bad, true/false, or valuable/worthless. It entails avoiding an experience or allowing it to live as it is without trying to change it. Awareness encourages not to judge events, and, contrary to judging events, it predicts both the events and the processes brought about by events to be accepted as they are (Wahbeh et al., 2011: 220).
Trusting: Trust is a concept that represents the order and integrity of everything. When the individual trusts himself or something else or a process, an ideal, he will be able to find a strong stabilizing element in this trust. This trust intuitively guides the individual and protects the individual from external harm or self-harm (Kabat-Zinn, 2001).
Generosity: Generosity, self-observation and questioning of the individual It is an important tool for The best place to start generosity is with the individual. The important thing in this attitude is to share the best self, enthusiasm, vitality, spirit, trust, openness, and most importantly, the individual's existence with the individuals around him, with himself and finally with the world (Kasser, 2005: 358359).
Strong Being: When an individual feels inadequate, insecure or hurt, they think they are vulnerable. This thought hurts both himself and the people around him. The key to conscious awareness is to live and accept the moment. The truly strong individual does not feel the need to emphasize his power to himself or to others. It's hard for a really strong individual to have an opinion on everything. it's not in it either. Strong individuals may need help from time to time, need emotional support, strong individuals may also have tough times and they have feelings too, they can cry, they don't try to appear invincible to others, and their feelings are always open. These features, which look like weakness, are actually where the strength of the individual lies (Key, 2004: 68 7.7. Simplicity69).
Simplicity: An impulse within us constantly includes other things in the present moment. Over time, the individual must learn to say "no" to these impulses because conscious awareness requires living in the present moment, not in the past or the future. Experiences are in the past, and it is uncertain how and in what way the future will be lived, even whether it will be lived. Filling the present time with the past and the future causes that time to be wasted and the individual remains unconscious (Sagın, 2012: 185). In order to keep your life simple, it is important to be able to say “no” first. Even doing that is a tough discipline on its own and well worth the effort. Simplicity reminds us of what matters, that everything is interconnected, and that every choice has far-reaching consequences.
Concentration: Concentration is the most valuable element of awareness. An individual's attention can only be strong when the mind is calm and stable. Concentration can be defined as the capacity of the mind used to maintain unwavering attention to an object of observation. The stillness and calmness that concentration practices bring together form the basis of awareness culture. The deeper the concentration, the deeper the awareness potential.
Conscious awareness plays an important role in people's ability to know themselves and to direct them as they wish, in all areas of their lives, in education, in health. Conscious awareness helps individuals to reach their planned results by recognizing their good and bad, strengths and weaknesses. Planning, executing, controlling and arranging the desired process is only possible with awareness. Applying mindfulness practices regularly and integrating them into your life, controlling yourself and guiding by arranging as you wish. It allows you to have the ethane. On the other hand, in order to have the ability of conscious awareness, individuals should first try to know themselves patiently, and leave the events to time and flow. The individual, who is free from prejudices, must also learn to trust himself, the process and his ideals.
Mindfulness practices applied in individual and group therapies include practices that enable the person to focus on the present moment. With these practices, the person learns the strategies to cope with their problems, to accept internal and external experiences and to get away from these problems (Hayes, Luoma, Bond, Masuda, & Lilis, 2006). Awareness allows not to change unwanted feelings and thoughts, but to accept them as they are (Davidson et al., 2003; Kabat-Zinn, 2003). Mindfulness practices begin by sitting in a comfortable chair and focusing on breathing. During the breathing, the state of being in the moment is tried to be felt and brought into focus. This exercise is the main center of mindfulness-based therapy and is performed with the aim of increasing self-awareness, self-control and reducing stress in individuals (Schonert-Reichl & Lawlor, 2010). Germer mentions 3 basic components of mindfulness practices:
1. Stop: First of all, slowing down or stopping whatever you are doing invites awareness. For example, slowing down while walking allows you to notice the objects you pass by and what is going on around you. When you're arguing with someone on the phone, being quiet for a moment and bringing attention to your breath allows you to get on top of things.
2. Observe: To observe is to relate intimately to lived experience. A participant observer will bring attention to the rhythm of breathing and bodily sensations in order to understand what he or she is feeling and notice whether it is an emotion such as fear, anger, sadness that emerges at that time.
3. Return: When you notice that you're distracted, gracefully bring it back into focus. It has been supported by many academic studies that mindfulness practices have positive results on individuals, such as the individual who is in nature and wants to be aware of his surroundings, repeatedly bringing his attention to the sounds, smells, and colors in the forest (Davis & Hayes, 2011). Mindfulness practices, non-judgmental and reacting to thoughts and feelings
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