Our usual approach to things is divided between subject and object, the mind is knower, and the other things are the object of knowing. The mind has a long perpetuated habit of looking outwardly, and it does not have the capacity to look to itself. You can see a colour or a feature with your eyes, there is no need for any specific effort. You can hear the sound, you can smell a smell, you can taste, you can touch, all these sensory organs can go to its object almost automatically and there is no need for extra effort. Then all of these sensory perceptions or [this] sensory mind sends the image to your inner mind. That is mostly a nature of thought, which does not have a direct approach to the object, but it deals with the image of it. And when you’re dealing with the image of it, you mix up the time, the space, and the actual [object] and the image; all this together, and that is our thought process. So the sensory mind and the inner mind, all of these are all the time engaged to see the external objects, the external things which are knowable. Now to know the mind means you are not looking to any outside object, you are looking to your own consciousness, the instrument which sees or looks to the object; it shall have to look at itself. We can see the other person's face very easily; we cannot see our own face unless there is a mirror to reflect it. Similarly, if you do not have powerful mindfulness to watch the arising, developing, decaying and disappearance of a thought process or a mindset it is very difficult to watch. These days the meditation teachers talk about mindfulness, mindfulness has so many different ways of being understood, but usually, mindfulness means to be alert, to be awake, and to see the process of your own mind. If you do some practice then you will understand how it is difficult, in the usual state we do not notice it because we are not making any effort to see the mind. Now it is difficult to verbalise, as I mentioned the Buddhist people use the expression mindfulness, Jiddu Krishnamurti used to use the expression of observation, awareness, or awakening; but sit down silently for a few moments and give up all the external objects for knowing and just reflect how the thought, how the consciousness is working, a part of consciousness sees back to the working of consciousness, then it is not an easy job, as I mentioned, you may sit hours together but you are not able to catch your mind even for a small moment.

-- 5th Samdhong Rinpoche, Lobsang Tenzin