Mindfulness practices come in a variety of forms. Two of the most popular goes by the names Focused Attention and Open Monitoring (and related monikers). While they overlap in many ways as mental training exercises, they zero in on different core capacities. To help explain this, mindfulness can be viewed as a quality of mind that effectively balances attention and awareness to meet the needs of the moment and these two practices home in on each in different ways.

For example, there are times when the faculty of attention is primary, as when focusing on what a client is telling you or reviewing a complex set of facts. At such times, awareness of the ambient environment, while still crucial (what if someone knocks on your door), can be dialed down. At other times, as when in court where a more open and receptive state of awareness is helpful to navigate a complex terrain involving a judge, jury, opposing counsel, a witness and your own client, a laser-beam focus on a single object is less adaptive.

As discussed in previous columns, the popular Focused Attention practice tends to favor the training of attention while the Open Monitoring practice is one that favors the cultivation of awareness. Notwithstanding this somewhat overly simplistic analysis, both practices develop and reinforce both capacities. This is because they are always working together, with a shift in one impacts the other.