While Dr. Langer conducted some of the earliest research on meditation, her work has focused mainly on mindfulness without meditation. She discovered that becoming mindful is much easier than most people realize. Mindlessness is pervasive. Most people much of the time are mindless. They are simply “not there.” The problem is that when you’re not there you’re not there to know that you’re not there. The simple process of noticing new things is the key to being there. When we notice new things we come to see the world with the excitement of seeing and experiencing it for the first time, but with the comfort that of our previous life experience brings to the activity.
Our research, conducted in the lab and in the field, shows that a focus on novelty and engagement are the simplest ways to produce mindfulness in all aspects of life, every day.