Key points

The English word "mindfulness" overemphasizes thought and neglects bodily awareness.

Ancient traditions used citta, meaning “heart-mind,” not the isolated intellect implied by “mind.”

True presence begins with interoception and proprioception.

Everywhere we turn, we are told to be more mindful. Apps promise to get us there. Corporations offer trainings. Therapists prescribe mindfulness to treat anxiety , depression , and stress . The word itself has become a kind of secular prayer. Yet when I really think about it, I wonder if the word might be steering us in the wrong direction.

The term suggests that we should be full of mind. But the mind is already full. It is racing, strategizing, worrying, planning, and explaining. What we often need is not to fill the mind, b

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