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Just to move on from this answer in the question Is practising mindfulness ever a bad idea?
Are there particular things that it is a bad idea to be mindful of? Are there thoughts, feelings, emotions etc.. that one would be better advised not to apply mindfulness to? What are they? Or can every aspect of human existence be included productively in mindfulness.
In Noble Eightfold Path, Right Mindfulness is a factor in the path. This implies that there are Wrong Mindfulness, things you shouldn't be mindful of.
Consider:
The definition (the four frames of reference)
"And what is right mindfulness? There is the case where a monk remains focused on the body in & of itself — ardent, alert, & mindful — putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world. He remains focused on feelings in & of themselves... the mind in & of itself... mental qualities in & of themselves — ardent, alert, & mindful — putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world. This is called right mindfulness...
"This is the direct path for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow & lamentation, for the disappearance of pain & distress, for the attainment of the right method, & for the realization of Unbinding — in other words, the four frames of reference."
— DN 22
As well as:
Abandoning the wrong factors of the path
"One is mindful to abandon wrong view & to enter & remain in right view: This is one's right mindfulness...
"One is mindful to abandon wrong resolve & to enter & remain in right resolve: This is one's right mindfulness...
"One is mindful to abandon wrong speech & to enter & remain in right speech: This is one's right mindfulness...
"One is mindful to abandon wrong action & to enter & remain in right action: This is one's right mindfulness...
"One is mindful to abandon wrong livelihood & to enter & remain in right livelihood: This is one's right mindfulness..."
— MN 117 http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sacca/sacca4/samma-sati/
Essentially you need to be mindful of Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood, if you are not mindful of those things you are not practicing Right Mindfulness. If you are mindful of wrong views and wrong intentions for example, it is also not Right Mindfulness.
Yes there are. Being mindful of "signs" that turn the mind to anger (or lust etc.) is unwholesome. E.g. someone irritates you and you insist on attending (upaṭṭhāna) to that particular experience (a product of your mind!), instead of focusing on something more positive.
Mindfulness in and of itself is a neutral factor of feeding, the question is what you feed.
