My key takeaways from ‘The Headspace Guide to Meditation and Mindfulness’ by Andy Puddicombe

I have been dabbling with meditation for a few years but I only started regularly meditating for a few months now using a meditation app, Calm (I have just recently achieved 70 days in a streak!). This was a book that I started reading a few years ago per Bill Gates’s recommendation when I had some interest in meditation, but I never got to the end of the book then. As one of my new year resolutions for 2021 was to meditate everyday for 10 minutes in the morning, I picked up reading the book again from the start to learn more about meditation in more depth. I will share my key takeaways from the book here.

First things first, what is ‘headspace’?

“Headspace does not mean being free from emotions, but rather existing in a place where you are at ease with whatever emotion is present. The technique is not about trying to stop emotions from arising, in the same way that it’s not about trying to stop thoughts (page 65–66).”

1. The sky is always blue.

“Imagine what it would be like to have a place within your own mind which is always calm, always still and always clear; a place that you can always return to, a sense of being at ease or at peace with whatever is happening in your life (pg. 46)”

I loved the analogy of ‘sky is always blue’, and it has stuck with me ever since I came across this concept in the book. The blue sky is our calm and present mind while the clouds in the sky are our thoughts when the mind is busy with all the fleeting emotions/thoughts that obscure the sky. If we are engrossed with our thoughts, the clouds become denser and we see less of the blue sky. However, if we set up a deckchair in the garden and notice the clouds and watch them go by, we see more of the blue sky starting to appear.

What stunned me was that the state of mindfulness — being present, in the moment, undistracted and calm — was not something I have to put much effort into acquiring. Rather, it is the state that has always been there, or rather here, just like there’s always a blue sky in the stratosphere though sometimes it’s obscured with clouds or other turbulent weather conditions like rain or snow when we observe the sky.

2. Mindfulness can be ingrained in all aspects of our lives.

“Mindfulness means to be present, in the moment, undistracted. It implies resting the mind in its natural state of awareness, which is free of any bias or judgment… experiencing life directly as it unfolds, rather than being distracted, caught up and lost in thought. Imagine how it would be to drop all the baggage, the stories, the arguments, the judgments and agenda that take up so much space in the mind. This is what it means to be mindful (pg 15–20).”

The author explains we do not have to become a hermit to practice mindfulness (though the author has lived an ascetic life as a monk in a temple for many years). Rather, mindfulness can be practiced in our everyday lives. This was a perspective that changed my previous perception of mindfulness, sitting cross-legged in a lotus position silently with a shut-eye where one is solely dedicating 10–15 minutes for meditation.

The book explains different meditation techniques that can be integrated in our everyday lives such as eating, walking or sleeping. Mindfulness practice is not only limited to the aforementioned activities, but can expand to all aspects of our lives as we learn to stay more present and be aware of our surroundings.

After reading the book, I realized how my mind was always busy racing one thought to another. While eating, I always watched a video or scrolled the latest newsfeed on my phone while not fully savoring the full flavor or texture of the food on my plate. The same applied to walking where I was often talking on the phone or listening to music/podcast which distracted me from paying close attention to my surroundings. After reading the book, I started paying more attention to the roads I’m walking on or the people I’m passing by, and I noticed things I have previously missed such as happy dogs with wagging tails or snow on tree branches which made my days fuller and more colorful.

“If we step out of thoughts for long enough to notice and appreciate the richness of life around us, undoubtedly that’s going to feel quite vivid compared to our usual dull state when we are lost in thought (page 137).”

The author states that 10-minute sitting meditation is a foundation and should not be replaced with other forms of meditation. But the meditation practice can expand throughout our lives for us to be more aware of our present moment.

3. Meditation is a skill that needs to be practiced. Though the progress is not visible, something positive is happening.

“Meditation is a skill, and like any skill, needs to be repeated on a regular basis if it’s to be learned and refined… By doing it at the same time each day, it helps you to develop a very strong and stable practice…. So even when it feels as though it might not be going so well, something positive is happening (pg 172–3).”

There are days where my mind is restless and I cannot focus on my meditation. I’ve come across this many times and I’d often become judgmental toward myself for feeling so agitated and unfocused. However, meditation is about being more aware of my thoughts. When the antagonistic voice arises in our mind, we can recognize it and let it go. Gently come back to the calm mind. This has helped me to continuously carve out 10 minutes of meditation every morning as I understood that this is a muscle I should train on to become better and the only way to strengthen my muscle in mindfulness is diligence and perseverance.

4. By changing the way in which you see the world, you effectively change the world around you.

“Happiness is just happiness, no big deal. It comes and it goes. Sadness is just sadness, no big deal. It comes and it goes. If you can give up your desire to always experience pleasant things, at the same time as giving up your fear of experiencing unpleasant things, then you’ll have a quiet mind (pg. 51).”

The principles of impermanence reminds us that nothing lasts forever — good or bad. Being mindful doesn’t mean we become austere or nonchalant. Rather, it’s the recognition of the incidents by detaching our fleeting emotion/thoughts and just accepting them as they are.

Often, we are tempted to believe that achieving certain accomplishments or possessing materialistic goods would make us happier. It can initially make us happier but it does not warrant a longlasting happiness and having our happiness contingent on external conditions is too risky as it’s impossible to have 100% control over the outcome. COVID-19 in 2020 serves a paragon of having nominal control over the most crucial aspects of our lives. A good chunk of everyone’s lives were upended due to COVID-19 and there was nothing much that could be done to offset the impact derived from the epidemic.

What helped me survive with a sane mind through COVID-19 was a shift in my perspective that

‘This shall pass’ too, and focusing my attention on the things under my control. I’ve learned during the pandemic that there is barely anything in the world we have 100% autonomy, and celebrating the process rather than being too attached with the outcome is a key to happiness. In the same vein, I commit to view the world with an optimistic set of eyes, and have faith that this view of the world will effectively change the world around me to for me to live the best version of life.

“We are attracted to the things we like and we become attached to these things. We don’t wait to give them up for anything. The only problem is, the more we chase after them the further away they appear. And the more we try to hold on to these pleasant feelings, the more fearful we become of losing them (page 50).”

To conclude…

So how can the practice of mindfulness help us? It can help us savor our everyday moments more fully by being more aware of our surroundings. And by changing our lives to be more joyful, peaceful, and calm, we can effectively make the lives of ourselves and others around us more comfortable.

Reading this book has helped me understand what meditation is all about and how I can live a more mindful life. I learned that practicing meditation little and often throughout my life is a key to building the skill to be more mindful. I personally feel I have reaped much benefits from meditation as I started to experience more richness of every moment by being more aware. There are so many wondrous analogies that resonated with me in this book that I will continue to cherish and remember in my life.

“Fluctuations are an inevitable part of life. But when you forget the simple fact, it’s easy to get swept away by strong waves of difficult emotions. By training the mind through meditation it’s possible to develop a more balanced approach, so that you experience a greater sense of equanimity in life no matter what life presents you with. (pg 182).”