Learn / What Is Mindfulness Meditation?: Billy Wynne
Key Points
Just a few decades ago, mindfulness meditation was considered an esoteric, “new age,” or downright weird activity. Now, you would need to be living in a cave to miss reference to it. It has become so mainstream that it is on the verge of becoming cliché. Meanwhile, misperceptions about the practice abound, with common beliefs ranging from it being an exceedingly difficult and demanding discipline to it being little more than lazy navel-gazing.
In a prior article, I summarized the persuasive evidence that mindfulness meditation can improve mental health, cognition, and overall wellness. In this article, I will explain what mindfulness meditation is and what it is not, with the goals of dispelling the mystique surrounding it and bringing this timeless practice down to earth and into your daily life.
What is Mindfulness?
It may be clearest to start by defining the mindfulness part of mindfulness meditation. Put simply, mindfulness is the practice of paying attention to the present moment without judgment. In this brief definition, you can discover four vital elements:
What Mindfulness is Not
So many ideas about mindfulness have flooded into our culture that it is important to take a moment to “myth bust.” Here are a few corrections to common misperceptions about mindfulness:
What is Meditation?
While we can engage with mindfulness anywhere, meditation is time we dedicate specifically to the purpose of deepening this practice. It’s the difference between the way we exercise our muscles all day versus the time we might spend in the gym lifting weights.
Even within meditation, there are various forms – walking, lying down, etc. – but the most common, and the one we will focus on in this series, is seated meditation. We will delve into the details of these techniques in much greater detail, but the hallmark of seated meditation practice is finding stability of the body so that we can begin stabilizing the mind. There are forms of meditation that are characterized as “just sitting,” but usually it is recommended to engage our minds by focusing on a simple aspect of our experience, starting with the breath.
While meditation often occurs in groups, and this can be quite helpful, it usually involves turning inward to investigate our own, unique experience and the nature of our own mind. With meditation, we can begin to see, perhaps for the first time, how our mind influences our perception of our circumstances and the ways we respond to it. In this way, as the clutter of our thoughts and judgments can begin to dissipate, we may discover a new way of being in the world and the boundless possibilities that offers. If mindfulness meditation has any “message” for us, it is simply to appreciate our opportunity to be here, now.
Next Steps
Having addressed the “What” of mindfulness meditation in this article and the “Why” in the previous one, my next installment in this series will focus on the “How.” I hope that, with what’s been presented so far, your interest is piqued and you are ready to jump in to this healing, invigorating, and joyful practice.
YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6V2lEtKy7rY
Fung, Joey. The Role of Nonjudgment in Mindfulness. Psychology Today. 2016 Sept 24. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mindful-being/201609/the-role-nonjudgment-in-mindfulness
Schaffner, Anna Katherine. Living with the Inner Critic: 8 Helpful Worksheets. Positive Psychology, 2020 Oct 15. https://positivepsychology.com/inner-critic-worksheets/
Binda DD, Greco CM, Morone NE. What Are Adverse Events in Mindfulness Meditation? Glob Adv Health Med. 2022 Apr 19; 11:2164957X221096640. PubMed: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9024164/
Selva, Joaquin. The History and Origins of Mindfulness. Positive Psychology. 2017 Mar 13. https://positivepsychology.com/history-of-mindfulness/
We believe everyone deserves access to accurate, unbiased information about mental health and addiction. That’s why we have a comprehensive set of treatment providers and don't charge for inclusion. Any center that meets our criteria can list for free. We do not and have never accepted fees for referring someone to a particular center. Providers who advertise with us must be verified by our Research Team and we clearly mark their status as advertisers.