This article proposes a cognitive account of mindfulness derived from the quantum mechanics theory of symmetry. Contributing to theory development, we show how our definition of mindfulness in terms of symmetry restoration sheds new light on the intimate connection between mindfulness and creativity, a connection well documented in both Langer’s and Chinese models of mindfulness. Contributing to research, we have suggested that our cognitive approach fosters a research paradigm that (a) makes theory-driven predictions and (b) makes it possible to have direct comparison across different models of mindfulness. For demonstration, we conducted an empirical study that made direct comparison between Langer’s cognitive and Chinese relational mindfulness. Implications of this study for theory and research in mindfulness are discussed

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