The Truth Behind Common Misconceptions About Mindfulness Meditation
Mindfulness is not about relaxation, getting rid of thoughts or religious, and It's not a quick fix, but a long-term commitment to promoting well-being.
Mindfulness meditation has seen a significant increase in popularity over the past decade, attracting people from diverse backgrounds to learn the practice of mindfulness to connect with their emergent experience with openness and curiosity.
However, as with anything in life, misconceptions are bound to arise about mindfulness, particularly given its rapid growth and hype surrounding mindfulness practice.
So it is not uncommon for people to start a course to learn how to practice mindfulness meditation with a misunderstanding of what mindfulness meditation entails.
From my experience with teaching mindfulness both for general well-being and for individuals who would be referred to mindfulness to help with some psychological difficulties, the following are the most common misconceptions I have come across about what mindfulness involves.
Mindfulness is solely about relaxation – There is a common misconception that mindfulness is only about relaxation, and some people might strongly disagree or even be surprised to hear that mindfulness is not primarily aimed at relaxation. On the contrary, the primary focus of mindfulness is on awareness of our experience, not relaxation. The central goal of mindfulness practice is not to relax but to cultivate an all-encompassing awareness by learning to recognise, approach and be present with our internal experiences, whether they are tense, agitated, relaxed, calm or peaceful. Relaxation often comes as a by-product of this ability to be with what is arising internally. Therefore, if you begin practising mindfulness meditation with the idea of getting relaxed, this can actually hinder your ability to learn how to cultivate presence of mind with whatever arises. For instance, Kabat-Zinn (1994) defined mindfulness as, “Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally” (p. 4). While I personally and when I teach, use the following definition of Choden and Regan-Addis (2018), “knowing what is happening while it is happening, without preference” (p. 17). While Looking at different representations and definitions of mindfulness, Bishop et al. (2004) argued that mindfulness has been broadly defined as,
“Nonelaborative, non-judgmental, present-centred awareness in which each thought, feeling, or sensation that arises in the attentional field is acknowledged and accepted as it is” (ibid. p. 232).
Mindfulness Means Getting Rid of Thoughts – Another misconception about mindfulness meditation is that it is about eliminating thoughts and making the mind go blank. This is not the case. On the contrary, mindfulness meditation has nothing to do with blocking or suppressing thoughts but rather observing them without getting involved or chasing after them. In mindfulness meditation, instead of striving for a blank mind, we learn how to become aware of our thoughts and use our awareness to unhook ourselves from being identified with them. This enables us to observe and notice how thoughts arise, unfold and eventually dissolve when we do not grasp onto them rather than actively trying to remove them.
Mindfulness is Religious – While mindfulness meditation originated as a Buddhist contemplative practice, and mindfulness programs like Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy draw on mindfulness practices, particularly from the Buddhist Theravada tradition, these programs are secularised. So mindfulness practice does not require becoming affiliated with any particular religious or philosophical perspective. As originally conceived by Jon Kabat-Zinn as an intervention to promote well-being, mindfulness practices can be practised by people of all spiritual or religious backgrounds, regardless of their beliefs.
Mindfulness is Similar to Therapy Groups – Although mindfulness has been incorporated into psychotherapeutic approaches like Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Dialectical Behavioural Therapy, mindfulness programs and courses are not intended as therapy or therapy group. This might be confusing, as one of the most popular mindfulness programs developed is Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, which can lead people to believe it is a form of psychotherapy. The aim of mindfulness courses/programs is to create a safe environment where people can learn mindfulness skills and share any obstacles related to mindfulness practice that might be encountered in a supportive group format. The group itself is not intended as a therapy group but as a support system where individuals can share difficulties they meet while practising, how others might also be experiencing similar difficulties and learn from each other’s sharing. This is in contrast to therapy groups or psychotherapy. The focus in mindfulness is not on exploring difficult issues or past experiences and receiving emotional support from the group or therapist to resolve these issues. Mindfulness practice is about bringing awareness to current experience and not meant to replace therapy but rather to offer a different approach to promoting well-being.
Mindfulness is Not a Quick Fix to Resolve Problems – When facing distress or difficulties, it is natural to seek relief from our discomfort as quickly as possible. We may be struggling with uncomfortable sensations or thoughts or obsessively caught ruminating about something. In such situations, we might look for ways that might help us cope better with these situations and from what we see and hear on social media, mindfulness might seem like the perfect fit. A promising rapid and effective alleviation for our stress. Although research shows that mindfulness has benefits (Goldberg et al., 2022), mindfulness practice is an act of will and requires hard work and commitment to achieve benefits. Thus, it is important to approach mindfulness practice with the right attitude.
Mindfulness practice is not as simple as sitting down to meditate and instantly experiencing peace of mind. It is a long-term commitment that requires practice, similar to learning a new skill like playing a musical instrument. If you are learning to play a musical instrument, you do not expect yourself to learn in a few lessons. You need to be committed and enthusiastic and put diligent effort into it. The same with mindfulness. Expecting quick results or having a narrow, goal-oriented view can lead to impatience, which hinders the cultivation of mindfulness. The true heart of mindfulness is the ability to acknowledge and be present with our experience, whether pleasant, unpleasant, neutral, tense, agitated, relaxed, calm, or peaceful.
Bibliography
Bishop, S. R., Lau, M., Shapiro, S., Carlson, L., Anderson, N. D., Carmody, J., . . . Devins, G. (2004). Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 11(3), 230-241. https://doi.org/10.1093/clipsy.bph077
Choden, & Regan-Addis, H. (2018). Mindfulness-based living course. New Alresford: John Hunt Publishing.
Goldberg, S. B., Riordan, K. M., Sun, S., & Davidson, R. J. (2022). The empirical status of mindfulness-based interventions: A systematic review of 44 meta-analyses of randomised control trials. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 17(1), 108-130. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691620968771
Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994). Wherever you go, there you are. New York, NY: Hyperion.
Kabat-Zinn, J. (2013). Full catastrophe living: How to cope with stress, pain and illness using mindfulness meditation (Revised and updated ed.). New York, NY: Random House USA Inc.
Segal, Z. V., Williams, J. M., & Teasdale, J. D. (2012). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Guildford Publications.