Mindfulness meditation is a reflective practice in which people attend to present-moment experience in a nonjudgmental and accepting manner. Attention is directed to the breath, bodily sensations, thoughts, or external stimuli as they arise, without trying to change or elaborate on them.

The practice has roots in Buddhist traditions yet has been adapted into secular programs such as mindfulness-based stress reduction. Participants learn to notice the wandering of the mind and to return gently to the chosen focus. Over time the stance of open, nonreactive awareness can extend beyond formal sitting into daily activities.

Research links regular mindfulness practice to reduced rumination, lower perceived stress, and modest improvements in attention and emotion regulation. Brain-imaging studies report changes in regions associated with self-referential processing and interoception. The effects are generally moderate and depend on consistent practice; mindfulness is not a rapid cure for serious psychiatric conditions.

Paying deliberate, nonjudgmental attention to what is happening right now is the core of the method.