The difference and connection between mindfulness and meditation essay

Mindfulness is a state of mind that intentionally focuses attention on the present moment without judgment. Meditation is the most commonly used systematic practice method for various physical and mental adjustment goals, including mindfulness. However, this definition is not the only standard answer in the industry. Under different cultures, genres, and application scenarios, the boundaries between the two will change. There is no need to forcefully pursue a unified definition.

When I helped a friend's studio provide public welfare counseling for workplace anxiety two years ago, I met several students who confused the two. Some people said that they set an alarm every day and sat cross-legged for 20 minutes to meditate. Why couldn't they help but watch short videos for half an hour at work? After a few words from the leader, they were internally consumed all day long. "There is no effect of mindfulness at all." To put it bluntly, we equate the two, thinking that as long as we assume a meditation posture, we have practiced mindfulness.

If you really want to clarify the boundary between the two, you have to first look at the definition in which context you are talking about. In the traditional meditation system of Theravada Buddhism, mindfulness is the core branch of the Eightfold Path. It is a stable state that practitioners need to cultivate over a long period of time. It requires being aware of current thoughts, emotions, and physical feelings, without chasing or rejecting them. ； Meditation (also known as meditation) is the path to achieve this state. It is also subdivided into different directions such as samatha meditation and insight meditation. There are even meditation exercises dedicated to practicing compassion and visualization, which are not originally aimed at the state of mindfulness. In today's mainstream secular application scenarios, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) pioneered by Dr. Kabat-Zinn takes "mindfulness meditation" as its core practice content, and many popular sciences directly bind the two, leading ordinary enthusiasts to misunderstand that "mindfulness is meditation."

Let’s take the most life-like example: You are squeezing the subway after get off work. You don’t watch short videos or think about what to eat at night. You just quietly feel the hardness of the soles of your shoes on the ground, the drumbeat of the music in your headphones, and the itch of the green vegetable leaves carried by the aunt next to you brushing against your arm. Even if it is in your mind When the thought "Will today's report be rebuffed" pops up, you just know "Oh, I'm thinking about work" and don't think about it, nor do you scold yourself for "why is your mind wandering again?" - at this time, you are in a state of mindfulness, but you are not meditating at all. On the other hand, if you sit on a yoga mat for half an hour in the morning, thinking about today’s to-do list all the time, and the more you think about it, the more anxious you become. No matter how standard your posture seems, it’s just half an hour of sitting, and it has nothing to do with mindfulness.

Having said that, there is actually another common classification in the field of cognitive psychology: classifying mindfulness as a subcategory of meditation, alongside concentration meditation, compassion meditation, and visualization meditation. This definition is also very common in papers in core journals, and we cannot say that others are wrong. To put it bluntly, the coordinate system of the definition is different. In the traditional context, mindfulness is the final state to be achieved, and meditation is the tool. ； In the context of academic application, mindfulness is a general term for a type of meditation practice, which depends entirely on the needs of the usage scenario. I saw some netizens quarreling over this matter a while ago, saying that mindfulness is a pseudo-concept created by Western commercialization, and that its essence is meditation. In fact, it is completely the same as chickens and ducks, and there is no need to be more true.

If you compare mindfulness to a cup of warm water that you want to drink, then meditation is the process of boiling the water and mixing it with cold water. You can also get warm water in other ways, such as waiting for the boiled water to cool down naturally, or going to the supermarket to buy it directly at room temperature. Just like you can also practice mindfulness through everyday things such as washing dishes, walking, and drinking tea, you don't have to sit down and meditate. But for the vast majority of ordinary people who are just getting started, finding a quiet place to sit down, focusing on your breathing, and pulling back when your mind wanders. This structured meditation practice is still the lowest threshold and the easiest way to reach the threshold of mindfulness.

I have been practicing for almost four years, and now I rarely deliberately find a whole block of time to sit down and meditate. It is more often when I am waiting for coffee or building blocks with my children. When I suddenly realize that my mind is wandering, I draw my attention back to the current touch. It’s okay to say it’s mindfulness, or it’s right to say it’s Zen in Motion (dynamic meditation). There’s really no need to get entangled in lawsuits over these terms. Anyway, when I give advice to novices now, I never spend half an hour defining it first. I directly ask them to practice breathing for 7 days with free audio. After practicing, they will feel it themselves - whether it is mindfulness or meditation, it can make you less regretful about the past and less anxious about the future. Isn't that enough?