The Buddhist Teaching of Mindfulness (sati in Sanskrit) has become omnipresent- used in many activities from psychotherapy to sports training.Of course it is still used as well for spiritual development through meditation.If one goes a little deeper in the teaching we find mindfulness of several dimensions-mindfulness of thoughts ,mindfulness of emotions,mindfulness of bodily sensations etc.The one that has always perplexed me is mindfulness opf dharma- another Sanskrit word meaning many things but particularly the teachings of the Way).That still left me wondering what that means-do you have to keep thinking about the principles of Buddhism.That seems counterproductive as it just brings you back to your mind.So with my characteristic chutzpah(correcting the Buddhist scholars!?) I propose a modification-mindfulness of the “hal”(spiritual state ).

“What does this have to do with Islam ” you may well ask,particularly the Salat.Most of us are taught that the salat is obligatory-five times a day, n’est-ce pas?But that is a heavy load for some and a superegoic way of practicing the religion(note the blending of psychology and spirituality!).So instead,I propose mindfulness of the hal before and during salat-that includes the wudu(purification) before.We know from the hadith that Ayesha ra reported when the call to prayer came the state of the Prophet pbuh would change.Interesting.He was connecting with the Divine presence.That is the real purpose of the salat,More so than just fulfilling our duties.That is being mindful of the hal of the salat.We can enter this hal as well.In all likelihood,not as powerfully as our Prophet pbuh but in the same spirit.If you do this,you will notice the effect.It also becomes a lot easier to do your obligations.It’s called positive reinforcement in behavioural psychology.