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Mindfulness practices can be a meaningful part of well-being and thriving.

Misconceptions of mindfulness can make it feel less accessible and less useful.

The essence of mindfulness is seeing things as they are and choicefully responding.

Written By Lizabeth Roemer, Ph.D., and Josh Bartok, M.S.

Mindfulness practices, which are grounded in many contemplative traditions, including Buddhism, have become seemingly ubiquitous in our society. Broadly, these practices involve bringing awareness to the present moment with intention and care—again and again. The deceptive simplicity of the practice opens the door for misunderstandings that can undermine its benefits. Here we review some of the common misconceptions we’ve encountered when teaching mindfulness practices across different contexts.

Mindfulness is not about clearing, quieting, or emptying your mind

People often approach mindfulness practices as “meditation” with a goal of clearing their minds or quieting their thoughts. This expectation can easily lead them to describe any practice session as a “failure” because thoughts arose or they felt “distracted.” This is, in fact, the undeniable and universal context for practice. Thoughts always arise—because we are human. The mind secretes thoughts just as the stomach secretes digestive enzymes. Amid the arising of thoughts, we practice with them.

We can notice that our minds get busy, that we have thoughts of failing, and feelings of frustration—and then gently bring our attention back to the present moment, again and again. Each time our monkey mind jumps to something else we have the opportunity to practice bringing our attention back to our chosen object of mindfulness (the breath, the dishes, the physicality of sitting, for example). This practice allows us to develop the skill of noticing things as they are, including busy minds, critical thoughts, and wandering attention.

We may, at times, find that our thoughts slow down a bit during practice—this too is natural and human. But thoughts slowing down is not “success” and thoughts arising is not “failure.” If we try to “clear our minds” and push our thoughts away, we are likely to paradoxically find that our minds........

© Psychology Today