In techno-centric smart cities, smartness is a technologically induced and enabled state where urban dwellers' future must be migrated. This form of smartness is, in short, machine-oriented, externally managed by a few players, invading the civil space of cities and is void of citizens' voice and agency over its directionality. The global awareness of the inadequacy of these visions in protecting citizens' rights and their ability to deliver livable, resilient and sustainable urban systems has led to a counter-smart movement. Cities' authorities, urban scientists, technology developers, and citizens gradually realise that building smarter systems takes more than technology. The Mindful Smart Cities framework is developed with similar awareness and a deep understanding that, in reality, techno-centricity is not a sin per se; it is a paradigm. It can change. However, changing paradigms requires a worldwide systemic change at various layers. By offering an action-oriented road map, Mindful Smart Cities provides a therapeutic and alternative pathway for transforming smart cities and citizens' lives from the inside out. In this vision, a city that uses technology in all its shapes and forms to improve the human condition without reducing humanity's life experience into some algorithmically curated and controlled state of being is called 'Mindful Smart Cities'. And anyone actively improving the quality of human life is an important part of the equation and, therefore, seen as a Mindful, Smart Citizen.