Modern Mindfulness

1. Mindfulness Needs a Redesign for Modern Life

Mindfulness needs a redesign.

Mindfulness is popular, but often inaccessible. Despite growing scientific evidence and mainstream interest, most people interested in mindfulness don't actually practice it. This gap is due to three main barriers: the time problem, the hippy problem, and the digital problem. These challenges, however, are solvable and present exciting opportunities for a new approach.

Traditional approaches feel out of reach. The common perception of mindfulness involves finding quiet, dedicated time for sitting meditation (time problem), adhering to a spiritual or religious aesthetic (hippy problem), and completely disconnecting from technology (digital problem). For busy, secular, connected modern individuals, these requirements feel impractical or unappealing, making mindfulness seem like a "minority sport."

A next-generation mindfulness is needed. This book offers a redesigned mindfulness that addresses these barriers head-on. It reframes meditation as a mobile activity, embraces its secular applications, and integrates technology as a tool for well-being, making mindfulness accessible and relevant for millions who previously felt it wasn't for them.

2. Practice Mindfulness Anywhere, Anytime

Make mindfulness first and foremost a mobile activity.

Time is scarce, but opportunities are abundant. The biggest barrier for many is the perceived need for dedicated, quiet time for formal sitting meditation. While formal practice is valuable, it's unrealistic for most busy lives. The solution lies in shifting the priority to "mobile mindfulness" or "informal practice."

Mobile mindfulness uses time you already have. Instead of trying to carve out extra minutes, mobile mindfulness involves using everyday activities as the basis for practice. This means cultivating awareness, calm, or kindness while:

• Commuting (like the author's breakthrough on the Northern Line)
• Walking
• Eating
• Working
• Using your phone

Formal practice supports, mobile practice is primary. Think of it like computing: we moved from desktop-first to mobile-first. Formal sitting meditation becomes a secondary activity to support and deepen the skills primarily trained during the vast majority of your day spent in mobile practice. This eliminates the "no time" excuse.

3. Mindfulness is for Everyone, Regardless of Belief

Mindfulness should be led by what people want, not by tradition.

The "hippy hangover" persists. Mindfulness-based meditation has roots in Buddhist tradition, and while Buddhism is often seen positively, the spiritual aesthetic (statues, incense, chanting) and perceived baggage can be a significant barrier for many. People seeking stress relief or focus may be put off by what feels like a religious conversion.

People come for diverse reasons. The primary drivers for seeking mindfulness today are often crisis (stress, anxiety, pain) or curiosity (interest in how the mind works), not spiritual enlightenment. Forcing a spiritual framework onto these motivations is a mistake and alienates a large potential audience.

Meet people where they are. A modern, well-designed mindfulness approach starts with the individual's needs and values. If someone wants to manage stress, they should access techniques for that directly, presented in a way that feels natural and secular. Jennifer's story of being put off by a seemingly secular class with religious elements highlights the importance of this approach.

4. Integrate Technology for Well-being

Make technology part of the solution, not the problem.

Technology and mindfulness are often seen in opposition. Many traditional mindfulness teachers, not having grown up with digital technology, frame it as the enemy – something to escape from via "digital detoxes" or turning devices off. This creates a problematic "digital dualism" separating online ("virtual") from offline ("real").

Our lives are inherently connected. This dualistic view is unrealistic and unsustainable. Our work, social lives, and economy are fundamentally intertwined with technology. Turning everything off isn't a long-term solution and can even cause anxiety in an "always-on" world.

Use technology to enhance inner life. Instead of demonizing devices, we can change our relationship with them and use them as tools for well-being. Just as technology supports physical health (fitness trackers, workout apps), it can support mental well-being. Examples include:

• Using phone checks as cues for body awareness ("Cyborg Sense")
• Turning every app into a mindfulness app
• Using technology to track and analyze personal data for better self-understanding (Chris Dancy's "mindful cyborg" concept)

5. Relaxation is Your First Inner Resource

Unless we build up our inner resources to deal with a world out there which feels faster and faster, then here on the inside, at best we’ll be stressed out and at worst, we will burn out.

Stress is a normal part of life. We live in an information-saturated, fast-paced world, and feeling overwhelmed is common. Stress is not inherently bad; it's an evolved response. Trying to eliminate all stress is impossible and even harmful if it leads to fearing it.

How we relate to stress matters. The impact of stress depends significantly on our attitude towards it. Believing stress is harmful can make it a self-fulfilling prophecy for health problems. Instead of denying or suppressing it, acknowledging stress allows us to learn from it.

Mindfulness builds inner defenses. Mindfulness helps us develop awareness to notice stress early and calm to avoid being swept away. Body awareness is a fundamental technique for this:

• Knowing what's happening in the body (temperature, pressure, tension)
• Noticing tension and deliberately relaxing it
• Feeling the relief that comes with relaxation, reinforcing the habit
  The author's story of being pinned by his car before his wedding illustrates how training body awareness in calm times provides skills for extreme stress.

6. Cultivate Focus by Noticing Distraction

I find it useful, therefore, to think about focus not as the elevated experience of flow but as the ordinariness of simply not being distracted.

Distraction is the default. Our minds naturally wander, a tendency amplified by modern technology designed to fragment our attention (advertising, notifications). Distraction is often triggered by discomfort – the mind seeking a more pleasant experience elsewhere.

Focus is non-distraction. Instead of viewing focus as a special state like "flow," see it as simply keeping your attention where you intend it to be. Training involves noticing when the mind darts away and gently bringing it back, building mental stability.

Techniques for building focus:

• Breath-based concentration: Using the breath as a stable object of attention, returning to it whenever distracted. The breath is always present, reflects mood, and has subtle layers.
• Finding enjoyment: Making the object of focus pleasant (e.g., the calm rhythm of the breath) fuels concentration more effectively than brute force.
• Catching distraction early: Noticing the subtle impulse or uncomfortable feeling before the mind fully wanders.
  Patrick's story shows how mindfulness can significantly improve focus, even for diagnosed conditions like ADHD, by working with technology and distraction, not just against it.

7. Be Present in the Right Now

Hanging out in the right now is what we mean by being present.

There's a "wrong now" and a "right now". The "wrong now" is the feeling of wanting to be elsewhere, driven by fear of missing out (FOMO) and dissatisfaction with the current moment. The "right now" is the direct, unmediated experience of what is happening here and now – a magical thing often found in deeply engaging activities.

Presence is a skill. Being physically present doesn't guarantee mental presence. Presence is the alignment of body and mind in the current moment. It's crucial because:

• It reduces distraction.
• It increases self-awareness of inner states.
• It allows us to truly connect with others.
• It makes ordinary moments potentially beautiful.

Knowing processes as they happen. The six-sense noting technique is a core practice for cultivating presence. It involves bringing awareness to the six channels of experience (touching, hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting, thinking) and noting which is most dominant in each moment. This trains the mind to stay with direct experience rather than getting lost in stories or judgments. Amy's story illustrates how cultivating presence at work transformed her experience of her job and relationships.

8. Cope with Difficulty by Changing Your Relationship to It

The more personally we take life, the worse a time we have.

Suffering has layers. Difficult experiences (pain, anxiety, grief) are the first layer. The second, often more challenging layer, is our reaction to the difficulty (anger, fear, self-criticism). Much of our suffering comes from struggling against what is happening, taking it personally.

The secret is relaxing the struggle. Mindfulness helps us see the difference between the basic experience and our reaction to it. By observing difficult experiences as external objects ("there is anger" instead of "I am angry"), we create space and reduce identification. This is like holding a book tightly vs. lightly – the book is still there, but the relationship changes.

Inner commentary isn't fact. We all have negative self-talk ("inner commentary"). Mindfulness helps us see these thoughts as just thoughts, not truths. This is vital for coping, as negative thinking often amplifies initial difficulties, creating a "tower of trouble" (e.g., neck pain -> dislike pain -> guilt for complaining -> self-judgment).

Techniques for coping:

• Knowing your attitude: Asking "How am I meeting this?" to become aware of resistance (pushing away, grabbing on, ignoring) and practice balance (allowing).
• Turning towards difficulty: Gently observing uncomfortable sensations or emotions without judgment.
• Noticing change: Seeing that even difficult experiences are temporary ("this too will pass") undermines the belief that things will always be bad.
  Kirsten Schultz's experience with chronic pain powerfully demonstrates how mindfulness helps manage the reaction to pain, transforming suffering and even fostering gratitude.

9. Mindfulness is a Multiplayer Game

Moving mindfulness from being an exclusively single-player game to a multiplayer game is an important shift.

The "solo hero" myth is misleading. Popular images often depict meditators in isolation. While solo practice is important, mindfulness has always been a social activity, learned and practiced in community. Focusing only on individual practice can perpetuate feelings of isolation.

Relationships are training grounds. Other people often push our buttons and reveal our patterns in ways solo practice cannot. Bringing mindfulness into interactions helps us:

• Be truly present with others (real listening).
• Notice our judgments and reactions (like the author's internet dating experience).
• Cultivate kindness and compassion towards others.

Extend kindness outwards. Kindness practice (loving-kindness) involves deliberately sending kind thoughts ("May you be well, may you be happy") first to loved ones, then to oneself, then to neutral people, and finally to difficult people. This inclines the mind towards benevolence and breaks down the boundaries between self and others. Chris O'Sullivan's experience during the Glasgow crash highlights how crisis can reveal the inherent connection and compassion we feel for strangers.

10. Explore Deeper Insights into Identity and Interdependence

If we are not our thoughts and emotions, then what are we?

Mindfulness can lead to profound insights. Beyond stress reduction and focus, mindfulness can be a spiritual practice investigating the nature of identity and reality. This "Game B" explores what happens when we stop identifying so tightly with aspects of our experience.

Suffering is linked to identification. The core hypothesis is that suffering is proportional to how much we identify with things ("Me" vs. "not me"). By observing thoughts, emotions, and sensations as external objects, we see they are not inherently "us," leading to freedom and reduced suffering.

Wisdom through seeing. Meditation accelerates wisdom by helping us see directly how our actions and perceptions lead to suffering or peace. We see that:

• Everything is impermanent (change happens).
• Lasting happiness isn't dependent on external conditions.
• The sense of a fixed "self" is an emergent property, not a solid entity.
  The "non-doing" technique involves resting in simple awareness without getting caught up in specific experiences, allowing awareness itself to become prominent and revealing the subtle impulses of "doing" or identification.

Catalysts for deepening: Progressing to deeper insights is supported by:

• Regular formal practice: Builds stability.
• Working with a teacher/tradition: Provides guidance.
• Retreat: Dedicated time for intensive practice.
• Community: Support and shared experience.

11. Become a Mindfulness Designer

No one can design a mindfulness practice that fits your life as well as you can.

Mindfulness is a creative discipline. While existing techniques are valuable, the most effective practice is one tailored to your specific life, challenges, and environment. You are the best person to design your own meditations.

A simple design process:

1. Find core techniques you like: Start with body awareness, breath, noting, attitude, kindness, or non-doing.
2. Choose a regular activity: Select something ordinary you do often (walking, eating, working).
3. Choose a quality to work on: Focus on relaxation, focus, presence, balance, kindness, or curiosity.
4. Do the activity and ask: "How can I bring more [quality] to this [activity]?"
5. Play with answers: Experiment with different ideas while doing the activity.
6. Refine the best one: Choose the most effective, playful, or memorable idea.
7. Give it a catchy name: Make it easy to remember (e.g., "Shoot Kindness").
8. Allocate a physical reminder: Link the practice to something you see or interact with during the activity (e.g., seeing the color red).

Boost your designed meditations: Share them with friends, practice the underlying core technique formally, cross-train with other techniques, and build a collection for different activities. Remember to have fun!

12. Mindfulness is Evolving for a Modern World

To remain relevant, mindfulness itself has to change again.

Mindfulness has a history of adaptation. From its origins in ancient India, mindfulness evolved as it met new cultures and traditions. The "hippy trail" brought it to the West, where it met science (psychology, neuroscience), leading to the secular, evidence-based movement we see today.

A new generation is remixing mindfulness. "Generation Wise" is applying mindfulness in unprecedented ways, moving beyond traditional spiritual or clinical contexts. They are integrating it into:

• Technology: Designing "mind-positive" products, embedding mindfulness into apps and hardware, moving from "digital detox" to mindful engagement.
• Workplaces: Beyond productivity, fostering cultures of kindness and conscious business (Louise Chester's work).
• Healthcare: Clinically validated interventions for mental health (Chris O'Sullivan's perspective).

The future is integrated and kind. The goal is not just specialist mindfulness apps, but embedding mindful principles into mass-market technologies and institutions. As more people practice, including those who design our world, mindfulness will influence culture on a larger scale, valuing inner resources as much as outer ones. This ongoing evolution ensures mindfulness remains relevant and impactful in a rapidly changing world.

Last updated: June 11, 2025