Mindfulness Simplified: A Review of Modern Applications of Mindfulness and Its Appearance During ‘Work from Home’

Abstract

Mindfulness has been applied differently since its emergence in the modern world. This paper sheds light on the recontextualization and simplification of mindfulness and mindfulness-based applications, particularly with the rise of ‘Work from Home’ during and after the COVID19 pandemic. This review contributes to the conversation on and understanding of how mindfulness practices have been infused into day-to-day life and simplified to accommodate the fast-paced modern working life. This paper first reviews the definitions of mindfulness over the years from dictionaries and research papers, then covers the emergence of critiques on the contemporary secular context of mindfulness. Lastly it examines the modern application of mindfulness and how digitalizing the practices has supported in time their expansion during times of crisis. The review concludes that the recontextualization of mindfulness seemed necessary to increase accessibility to its theories and practices, even though it has faced its own share of criticism depending on where and how mindfulness was introduced.