The Difference Between Mindfulness and Meditation?

Mindfulness vs. Meditation?

by Kathryn Remati

It is difficult to pick up a magazine or scroll through our social media without seeing a mention of either mindfulness or meditation. Sometimes it can be confusing as the terms seem to be interchangeable. Here is a simple explanation on the ways that they are separate, similar and synchronize together.

We can start with two common myths. Mindfulness is NOT thinking really hard about something, which sounds stressful. Meditation is NOT about shutting down the mind like an off-switch; which sounds boring. They are both tools to access inner peace, which is already inside of you. They rely on our ability to be focused entirely on the present moment. Both offer a way to decrease suffering and increase our level of happiness.

We can’t experience peace when we are regretting the past or worrying about the future. Accumulated stress is being blamed for many modern ailments such as heart disease, hypertension, depression and eating disorders to name a few. The addition of mindfulness and meditation into a daily routine can make a huge difference to our overall quality of life. Both are scientifically proven to release and prevent the signs and symptoms of stress.

 
Mindfulness: Awareness of Our Outer Life

Mindfulness, by definition, is the informal practice of present moment awareness that can be applied to any waking situation. It is a way of being aware. Jon Kabat-Zinn states in his book, Full Catastrophe Living: “When unawareness dominates the mind, all our decisions and actions are affected.”

How often have we driven somewhere only to wonder how we got there because our mind was on auto-pilot, while we checked into the past or the future, both of which we have no control over? Most of the things we do are done without full awareness.

We eat our meal without tasting it fully; our bodies get wet in the shower while our minds are elsewhere. How many sunsets and smiles have we missed because we feel compelled to check our phones? Our obsession with multi-tasking is an example of trying to do too much at once without focusing fully on each stage of the experience. Lack of awareness also prevents us from listening to our bodies when they need nutrition, rest, exercise, or hydration.