Is mindfulness about states or awareness?
Short Answer
It’s primarily about awareness and relationship to experience. States come and go; awareness can become more stable. Chasing states often creates tension, while training awareness tends to produce healthier states naturally.
Why This Matters
Integration is where mindfulness becomes useful: better communication, less impulsivity, clearer priorities, and faster recovery from stress. Without integration, mindfulness stays trapped as a “practice time” experience.
Where This Changes
If mindfulness is used as avoidance (“I’m mindful so I don’t have to act”), it stops helping. The practice should increase clarity and responsibility, not detachment from real problems.