Welcome!
Welcome
Welcome to The Free Mindfulness Project - Home to a growing collection of free-to-download mindfulness meditation exercises. Our sister site is Words to Sit With: a home for contemporary, free-to-share mindfulness poetry.
The aim of The Free Mindfulness Project is to provide easy and free access to mindfulness meditation exercises by inviting the wider mindfulness community to share their resources here. The focus of this site is mindfulness as practiced in mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) and other closely related approaches.
If you would like to access the collection of mindfulness exercises, go to the Free Resources section.
For opportunities to practice mindfulness live, go to the online mindfulness section.
Retreats, Training and a 2024 International Conference
If you are interested in attending mindfulness retreats, becoming a mindfulness teacher or incorporating mindfulness into your work, organisations such as The Mindfulness Network are well placed to support your journey. This year they are hosting the International Mindfulness Conference, "As the world and our society rapidly evolve, this is the moment to come together and explore how mindfulness can move beyond its current boundaries, reaching into areas of critical need and serving as a positive force for change." There will be bursaries available and online ticket options.
The British Association of Mindfulness-based Approaches (BAMBA) provides a list of affiliated training organisations that adhere to recognised standards.
For retreats grounded in Buddhist traditions, delivered at low cost and with bursaries available, Gaia House is a well-respected destination.
What is mindfulness?
Mindfulness can be described as paying attention to what we are experiencing in this moment, and doing so with a particular attitude: One of curiosity, openness, acceptance and warmth. Simply observing what we are experiencing, right now, and bringing a warm curiosity to whatever arises. In formal mindfulness practices our intention is often to centre our awareness on one particular experience, such as the sensations involved in breathing or the sounds that we can hear, or to widen our awareness to incorporate a range of experiences simultaneously, or to watch where our attention goes without getting caught up in particular experiences. Mindfulness is also something that we can bring to any aspect of our day to day life, cultivating the same qualities of curiosity, acceptance and warmth.
If you have a few moments, why not ask yourself;