Mindfulness is paying attention with intention. When you sit for a formal meditation it helps train the mind and one’s attention to concentrate more fully, whether it is on our breath, thoughts, body, or surroundings – this then reflects back into our everyday life – we become more aware of how we interact with the world around us, ourselves, enjoying all of it right now.
Meditation is the practice of this conscious attention. When the mind is consciously, fully focussed, aware and attentive; that can be called meditation. The ‘practice’ of meditation is when one uses on of these techniques to help keep the mind in that conscious, aware state.
These practices, combined with accepting and calmly and kindly letting go when thoughts arise - which they do constantly - but with regular practice we just learn to watch them and being kind to ourselves we let them go. The practice of meditation then transfers into our everyday life; we learn to understand our thoughts and the emotions that arise from them have less of a hold on us.