No Self, No Problem: How Neuropsychology Is Catching Up to Buddhism

by Chris Niebauer

Mindfulness in this context is defined as being fully in the present moment, observing what is happening in the world around you along with the world inside you—your thoughts, feelings, sensations. Practitioners are often taught to watch the machinations of the mind without attaching too much importance to them in the form of a judgment—which, if you remember, is one strength of the left brain. Mindfulness teachers explain that when a thought arises, one can notice it rather than attaching to it, bringing one's attention back to the present moment rather than following that thought chain into a story about reality. The practice of mindfulness is about being in and observing reality rather than thinking about reality—like being a watcher of events in the present, both inside and outside. This begs the question, who is doing the watching? Could it be the right-brain consciousness? We will return to this question, but in the meantime we can see that practicing mindfulness is a way of being in the world that lessens your identification with the left-brain interpreter. Because our interpreter is so constant, we have to practice being mindful.