Image by Wordswag - words by Michael de Groot
Right Mindfulness traditionally is the seventh part of the Eightfold Path of Buddhism, but that doesn’t mean it is seventh in importance. Each part of the path supports the other seven parts, and so they should be thought of as connected in a circle or woven into a web rather than stacked in an order of progression.
I first became aware of the Eightfold Path by listening to an episode of the Ten Percent Happier Podcast with Dan Harris. His guest way Brother Pháp Dung who explained more about this.
https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/brother-phap-dung-320
I started with Right Mindfulness as although this is number 7 in the list. Don’t ask me why I am starting with that one, I guess it’s the one I am most familiar with!
The following text I borrowed from Tricycle.org
Right mindfulness is to be diligently aware, mindful, and attentive with regard to (1) the activities of the body (kaya), (2) sensations or feelings (vedana), (3) the activities of the mind (citta) and (4) ideas, thoughts, conceptions, and things (dhamma).
The practice of concentration on breathing (anapanasati) is one of the well-known exercises, connected with the body, for mental development. There are several other ways of developing attentiveness in relation to the body as modes of meditation.
With regard to sensations and feelings, one should be clearly aware of all forms of feelings and sensations, pleasant, unpleasant and neutral, of how they appear and disappear within oneself. Concerning the activities of mind, one should be aware whether one’s mind is lustful or not, given to hatred or not, deluded or not, distracted or concentrated, etc. In this way one should be aware of all movements of mind, how they arise and disappear.
As regards ideas, thoughts, conceptions and things, one should know their nature, how they appear and disappear, how they are developed, how they are suppressed, destroyed, and so on.
These four forms of mental culture or meditation are treated in detail in the Satipatthana Sutta (Setting-up of Mindfulness).