What are the differences and connections between mindfulness and meditation?

To put it simply, meditation is a large category that includes hundreds of practice methods, and mindfulness is the branch of practice that is most popular in this category and is most often discussed separately. The essence of the two is the relationship between inclusion and being included. However, “meditation” in the public context often refers specifically to mindfulness meditation, which often blurs the boundaries between the two.

When I first got into mind-body practice, I signed up for an offline meditation camp. In fact, most of the content of the first three days had nothing to do with mindfulness: there was Vipassana, which focused on the flow of breathing following the guidance of the instructor, there was moving meditation, where you swayed your body casually to the tribal drumbeats, and there were also requirements to completely let go of your thoughts, etc. There is no need to think about samatha meditation, and there is even candlelight meditation where you stare at the candlelight for half an hour. These are all included in the category of meditation. The core commonality is to actively anchor your attention on a specific object and enter a relatively focused and stable state of consciousness. There are no fixed "must be" requirements.

So why can mindfulness escape from so many meditation practices, even to the extent that it is "separated" from meditation? In fact, the mindfulness that the public is exposed to now is Dr. Kabat-Zinn's clinical version that has stripped away the religious attributes. It has a very clear core requirement that is different from many other meditation practices: to be aware of the present moment without judgment. To give the most intuitive example, in many traditional meditation practices, if your mind wanders, you just need to bring your attention back to the anchored object. Some schools even require you to actively suppress distracting thoughts and not think about irrelevant things. ； But mindfulness practice is just the opposite. When your mind wanders, you should first notice, "Oh, I just wandered off to think about the argument with my friend yesterday." You don't have to scold yourself, "Why didn't you pay attention?" It's like watching the clouds in the sky drift by. When you know it is coming, you can gently bring your attention back to your current breathing, the touch of your feet, or the taste of food in your mouth.

There are actually different opinions in the circle on whether to make a clear distinction between the two. Old people who have practiced traditional meditation for more than ten years always feel that people nowadays are making conceptual gimmicks. Originally, mindfulness is a subdivision method in meditation, and there is no need to mention it separately.； However, most clinical psychological practitioners support the separation of the two. When many anxious clients hear the word "meditation", their first reaction is "I want to be empty, I want to think about nothing." If they can't do it, they will have a strong sense of frustration, which will increase internal friction. Make it clear in advance that this is a "mindfulness practice" and clearly tell them that they do not need to force their minds to empty their minds. It is very normal to have thoughts. Just accept it, and it will be easier for the client to get started.

A friend of mine who works in Internet operations has been through this pitfall before. She always suffered from insomnia. She followed an online meditation tutorial for half a month. The more she practiced, the more annoyed she became. She said that she couldn't help but think about the unfinished KPIs and next week's report. She couldn't calm down at all. She felt that she was not naturally suitable for this kind of practice. Later, I asked her not to force herself to sit cross-legged for half an hour, but to practice mindfulness while eating: chew a mouthful of rice 20 times, feel the sweetness of the rice, and the crispness of the vegetables. Even if she thinks of work in the middle, she doesn’t have to scold herself. She knows, “Oh, I’m distracted by work again,” and then brings her attention back to the taste in her mouth. After practicing like this for a week, she no longer picks up food and checks the work group while eating, and she falls asleep much faster. You see, mindfulness can actually be integrated into every little thing in life. Smelling the aroma of coffee when queuing to buy coffee, and feeling the touch of the wind on the back of your hand while commuting are all mindfulness exercises. However, many traditional meditations often require fixed postures and a quiet environment to complete.

In fact, for ordinary practitioners, there is no need to be too obsessed with definitions. If you like to take ten minutes a day to sit cross-legged and relax, that's good. If you can't take the whole time, fragmented awareness of the present is also useful. These methods are originally meant to help us take a breather from the endless internal friction, not to compete with who is more professional, right?