In modern culture you cannot go far without coming across some kind of reference to mindfulness. Whether it be a book in a store, a poster on the street advertising a class or a course, advertising on social media, or a Youtube clip, mindfulness seems to be everywhere. We hear the word so often that we assume we know what it means. But what DOES it mean?

Many of the Christian mystics had ecstatic experiences of the Divine within their contemplations and meditations. To name just a few, these include Mother Julian of Norwich, whose visions as she lay on her (almost) death bed inspired her to write her book, Revelations of Divine Love; Hildegard of Bingham, who often turned her ecstatic visions into beautiful choral pieces; Teresa of Avila; and the poet Thomas Traherne. Even Blaise Pascal, the seventeenth-century mathematician, inventor, and physicist, had a two-hour ecstatic experience one night.