**Acknowledgements**

degree of control back to the person—not control over other things, as such—but the control to respond to things that happen. In other words, one is able to achieve personal empowerment and stability in life. It is interesting to note that this quality has been observed in people both with and without mental illness, which emphasises that mindfulness is a skill that can

This beauty is not limited to a new relationship with thoughts, emotions and feelings. To the contrary, the body is constituted as the source of knowledge of the mental and physical state but also as a mechanism to modify that state, for example, through breathing. This is of great relevance to the well-being of people where, on the one hand, there is a greater acceptance of the body, and, on the other hand, the body is not seen as something foreign to oneself. As was

'I had never felt my body, how my lungs and heart work. I experienced my breathing'.

The practice of mindfulness does not only have an impact at the individual level; it also allows one to appreciate the other from a place that is free from judgement and evaluation. Specifically, it has been demonstrated how children, after training in mindfulness, demonstrate more pro-social and empathic behaviours. This aspect is central in programmes that actively involve compassion towards oneself and others as central elements in practice. One of the key elements is recognising the shared humanity or the interconnected nature of our lives [47]. A number of studies have shown how the practice of mindfulness increases the development of positive emotions and behaviours related to compassion, gratitude and generosity, in children, adolescents, adults and senior citizens alike [42, 48–50]. The following account of an adolescent who participated in a mindfulness workshop in school serves as an

'I am very good at getting upset and fighting, but now, when I'm getting into a fight, I can calm myself down; I breathe, close my eyes, and that has helped me to get along better with

The perception of beauty through mindfulness also influences the way in which we perceive the environment. Recent studies have argued for the effect that the practice of mindfulness could have on care for the environment [51]. Specifically, it has been suggested that improved psychological well-being, centred here and now, promotes the satisfaction of non-material needs, which impacts directly and indirectly on the adoption of sustainable behaviours. In fact, being more aware of how my behaviour impacts on others and on the environment could help self-regulation. Nonetheless, there is another element that has received less attention in the relationship between mindfulness and sustainable behaviours [52, 53], which is that the contemplation of nature itself can reveal both things: a new point of view on what is perceived and potentially an insight into the self through what is observed. This aspect recalls the prac-

For instance, it is not infrequent that participants, after mindfulness training, report how a tree that was always present near their place of residence, had never really been seen by them before and how they were surprised by its beauty. Thus, the contemplation of beauty could be

a means of getting to know oneself, as much as it could appreciate its beauty.

be trained in all individuals [46].

218 Perception of Beauty

example of the above:

tice of nembutsu, as discussed previously.

others'.

pointed out by a participant in one of our groups:

This study was partially funded by the Chilean National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development, FONDECYT (project no. 1150846), and supported by the Fund for Innovation and Competitiveness (FIC) of the Chilean Ministry of Economy, Development and Tourism, through the Millennium Scientific Initiative, Grant N° IS13000.
