The Four Foundations of Mindfulness

The Buddha taught what are often called the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, in which you systematically learn how to pay attention to and investigate what arises in your mind, whether the experience comes from one of your five body senses or from the mind generating thought. The four modes of investigation he prescribed are:

Knowing how any experience feels in the body (First Foundation),

Noting the pleasant-, unpleasant-, or neutral-feeling tone that accompanies every moment’s experience (Second Foundation)

Witnessing your mental state and your emotions in the moment (Third Foundation)

Opening to the impersonal truth of life that is revealed in this moment (Fourth Foundation)