Mindfulness/Meditation is all the rage right now, and has been for some time. But there is the act of sitting quietly, and then there is engaging in the practice with a genuine understanding of what you are trying to accomplish with it. My path to this was simple: I took Sam Harris’ introductory course on his app, which does an amazing job of giving you the “why” behind the practice.
The cliff notes? Mindfulness as a state of clear, nonjudgmental, and undistracted attention to the contents of consciousness, whether pleasant or unpleasant. It is the practice of paying close attention to the present moment—observing thoughts, emotions, and sensations as they arise without getting lost in them or reacting impulsively. It’s the ability to notice what’s happening in your mind right now—say, the feeling of frustration or the pull of a wandering thought—without being hijacked by it. Sam Harris often uses the metaphor of thoughts being like clouds passing in the sky or reflections passing in front of a mirror: you can observe them without clinging to them or pushing them away. It’s not about achieving some blissful state. It’s about breaking the illusion that you ARE your thoughts, which is the default mode for most of us (even if we practice mindfulness) and is the root so much unnecessary human suffering – our tendency to be trapped in ruminations about the past or anxiety about the future.
It’s a skill that reveals how much of our unhappiness comes from misidentifying with our thoughts. By practicing mindfulness, you can gain freedom from this mental noise, improve focus, and respond to life more deliberately. Side benefit, mindfulness meditation can also rewire attention circuits in the brain, reducing activity in the default mode network (the part linked to mind-wandering and self-obsession). Lord knows we could all use more of that in today’s Information Age.
Bottom line: It’s not just self-help nonsense—it’s a practical antidote to the human condition, a way to live more fully in reality as it is, not as your mind distorts it. It’s one of the few tools we have that lets you see through the trick your brain plays on you every day: convincing you that you’re a prisoner of your own thoughts and narratives. I can’t overstate the game changer this has been for me. I put it on par with (and very complementary to) stoicism.
Resources:
Apps:
- Waking Up (Sam Harris) – This app is incredible. I think his intro course should be mandatory for every high schooler and undergrad. Start here and thank me later.
- TheWayApp.com (Henry Shukman) – recommended by (and I believe partially backed by) Tim Ferriss
Books:
- Waking Up (by Sam Harris)
- Awareness (by Anthony De Mello)
MGD’s 