Some questions you may have before reading this book

 -          I have never practiced mindfulness or meditation, how long will it take me to see the effect of my practice?

You have already experienced mindfulness in your whole life but might not notice it! Mindfulness is all about being aware of what is going on inside and outside of you: what you are doing, your thoughts and emotions, or your surroundings. Deliberate mindfulness practice will strengthen your ability to be more conscious in your daily activities and your test-taking process.

Also, the book offers thought experiments and examples, so you can easily have insights into the inner working of your mind and see the truth for yourself.

-          How does mindfulness practice help me better take a test or an exam?

When you deliberately practice mindfulness, you train your mind to stay more fully in the present. You thus develop the ability to be fully engaged in whatever you are doing. Your productivity will be enhanced, and your mistakes will be reduced significantly. Thus, your test score will be maximized. 

-          How does mindfulness practice help me better study?

You will be more focused and experience more sense of satisfaction right at the moment you are studying. You will be less likely to follow stray thoughts and negative emotions.  Harvard researchers found that wandering minds are directly related to unhappiness and dysfunction. According to the researchers, people spend about 46.9 percent of their waking hours thinking about something other than what they are doing.  So, mindfulness is more than a practice. It’s a way of living fully and happily. The happier you are, the better your study becomes.

 -          I don’t have time for mindfulness practice!

 You can “apply” mindfulness practice to your daily studies or your work right away! In fact, your practice and your daily activities are not separated. When you approach your work as a way to practice mindfulness, you will see your work quality greatly improved; also, your mindful way of working strengthens your practice. You don’t have to make the mindfulness practice another goal in your already-busy life.

 -          Is mindfulness a type of meditation?

 Yes.

Meditation is often referred to as formal meditation practices such as sitting or breathing meditation while mindfulness is often mentioned as meditation in action, that is, the quality of being aware when one performs an activity. Formal meditation practice will help you become more mindful of what you do. Because the two concepts are interrelated, you will see both the words "meditation" and "mindfulness" in the book. Elsewhere in the book you will also see the word “Zen”, a meditation tradition insists in sitting (the body) and coming back to this moment (the mind).

 —-*—-