The Headspace Guide to: Mindfulness & Meditation

by Andy Puddicombe

concentration (usually the calming aspect) and clarity (usually the insight aspect).

Have you ever noticed how quiet the mind becomes when you really focus on something?

meditation is a very similar process. To begin with we need to give the mind something to focus on, something to concentrate on. Traditionally these were known as ‘objects of meditation’ or ‘meditation supports’ and they were classified as external or internal.

External supports might include techniques such as gazing at a particular object, listening to a particular sound, or perhaps chanting a particular word or phrase over and over again. This last one, known as a mantra, can also become an internal object, by simply repeating it in the mind rather than out loud.

Other internal objects of meditation might include focusing on the breath, bodily sensations, or even visualising...

Each new thought, like a pebble being thrown into the water, creates ripples on the surface. We’ve got so used to throwing these pebbles, so used to the disturbance on the surface of the water, that we’ve forgotten what still water looks like. We

know it’s not quite right as it is, but it’s as if the more we meddle with the mind trying to sort it out, the more ripples we create. It’s this restless quality of mind that creates the feeling of agitation when we sit down and find ourselves unable to relax. Needless to say, when the mind’s all stirred up like this, it’s almost impossible to see what’s happening and what’s hidden under the surface.

Because of this we don’t have any insight into the nature of mind – of how and wh...

So, without first calming the mind, it’s very difficult t...

It’s so hard to live life with a sense of ease and purpose if we’re always in a muddle, confused and unable to direct the mind in a particular way.

Remember, these experiences are essentially the body and mind unwinding, releasing old baggage they’ve been carrying around for a long time. The fact you’re seeing things more clearly, even if the experience is not always comfortable, is very, very good news – because this process is the process of letting go, and in letting go we get to feel a little lighter in life.

It became cyclical: calm leading to clarity leading to calm leading to clarity.

how I’d always walk into the same old emotional traps and mental confusion.

‘when you start to meditate it’s like you wake up and become more aware of what’s going on around you. When you walk down the street, you see the big hole in front of you.’

‘at first you just see the hole, but the habit of walking down that part of the street is so strong that you can’t help but walk straight into it. You know it’s madness, you know that it’s going to hurt, but you just can’t help yourself!’

‘This is just how it is with your mind. You see these pitfalls, but the habit is so strong you can’t help yourself from falling.

‘if you continue meditating, you’ll begin to see the hole much earlier and be able to take some evasive action. At first you may try to go around the edge and fall in anyway.

This is part of the process. But eventually, with practice, you’ll see it with such clarity that you’ll simply walk a...

‘And then one day, you might have so much clarity, you might be so awake, that you realise that there was never a hole there in the first place...

In many ways it sums up the process of meditation. And it’s just that, a process.

Just because you sit for a few minutes each day doesn’t mean that you will immediately master the mind and no longer fall prey to your old habits. That’s not to say you won’t sometimes experience those ‘lightbulb’ moments, when you realise what it is you’ve been doing.

But the process will likely be a gradual one, where each day you see the hole a little earlier, with a little more clarity. In doing so, you’ll manage to avoid many of the habitual reactions that stress you out. This is what it m...

Another way of describing meditation is to use the word ‘awareness’.

The skill is simply to be aware, that’s all.

It’s an unfolding story that you’re watching, observing and witnessing. This is what it means to be aware. Your own story, as in your own life, will still require direction and a sense of engagement, but when sitting to observe the mind during your meditation, taking a seat in the audience is by far the best way of watching.

And it’s through developing that ability of passive observation that you get to experience the clarity and confidence to make decisions, make changes and live life more fully.

how easy it is to get caught up in all the little stories, the dramas, the hopes and the fears of the mind.

Part of the reason that we get so easily drawn into these stories is that we’re so used to doing something, being involved in something, that it can feel a bit boring to just sit and watch the mind, especially if the thoughts are mundane.

First, if you’re going to learn a new skill you need the right instructions.

The second is that if you’re going to learn how to meditate, then start slowly.

the danger of waiting for the meditation to finish. It’s a common experience and it’s almost as though we think that by simply sitting there and not moving, we’re meditating, no matter what we’re doing with the mind.

But this underlying sense of expectation, of waiting for something to happen, is a mind that is looking to the future, as opposed to a mind resting in the present. Think about it, how can there ever be a sense of ease resting in the present moment if the mind is hurriedly trying to get to a space and time in the future?

If you can, start to slow down five or ten minutes beforehand so that you begin the exercise in the right frame of mind.

This next phase is about bringing the body and mind together.

It’s actually very rare that the body and mind are together at the same place and the same time. So this is an opportunity to settle into your environment, to be consciously aware of what you’re doing and where you are.

As you breathe in, really try to get a sense of the lungs filling with air and the chest expanding. And as you breathe out, just let the breath go.

and imagine that you’re letting go of any tension or stress you might have been holding on to.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s an emotion that you perceive as pleasant or unpleasant, comfortable or uncomfortable.

For the purpose of this exercise, no analysis or judgment is required whatsoever. It’s enough simply to notice the feeling, to acknowledge it and be aware of it.

The one thing that remains the same throughout the day is that your thinking dictates the way you feel. In the absence of awareness, the realm of thought takes over.

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