It is when our faculty of mindfulness is
aroused that concentration is generated that help us to attend to
the content of our experience as it becomes manifest in the
immediate present. Reminding ourselves that our mind have wander
away from what we are supposed to be do is just another function
mindfulness play in our meditative practices and daily way of
life.
MN 10 Satipatthana
Sutta: Frames of Reference states:
"And how does a
monk remain focused on the body in & of itself?
[1] "There is the case where a
monk — having gone to the wilderness, to the shade of a tree, or to
an empty building — sits down folding his legs crosswise, holding
his body erect and setting mindfulness to the fore [lit: the front
of the chest]. Always mindful, he breathes in; mindful he breathes
out.
"Breathing in
long, he discerns, 'I am breathing in long'; or breathing out long,
he discerns, 'I am breathing out long.' Or breathing in short, he
discerns, 'I am breathing in short'; or breathing out short, he
discerns, 'I am breathing out short.' He trains himself, 'I will
breathe in sensitive to the entire body.' He trains himself, 'I
will breathe out sensitive to the entire body.' He trains himself,
'I will breathe in calming bodily fabrication.' He trains himself,
'I will breathe out calming bodily fabrication.' Just as
a skilled turner or his
apprentice, when making a long turn, discerns, 'I am making a long
turn,' or when making a short turn discerns, 'I am making a short
turn'; in the same way the monk, when breathing in long, discerns,
'I am breathing in long'; or breathing out long, he discerns, 'I am
breathing out long' ... He trains himself, 'I will breathe in
calming bodily fabrication.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out
calming bodily fabrication.'
The above passage shows us that
mindfulness is also about the practice of ‘Now’. No doubt terms
such as calling to mind, remembrance and recollection are
mindfulness as Memory as well.