## Metadata - Author: [[Andy Puddicombe]] - Full Title: Get Some Headspace - Category: #books - Document Tags: [[health]] [[mindfulness]] ## Highlights - Let’s be honest, it’s hard to hear the word “meditation” without thinking of a yogi in a loincloth on a mountain-top somewhere in the Himalayas. That, or a shaven-headed monk or nun sitting in a monastery, chanting, chiming bells and blowing horns, while cloaked in thick clouds of incense and orange robes (been there, done that). Or perhaps stoned-out hippies in tie-dye T-shirts spring to mind, or groups of New Age enthusiasts running around in the woods taking it in turns to hug a tree or two. There’s no escaping it, the word “meditation” comes with baggage. ([Location 279](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B006ZL1KAW&location=279)) - formal aspect of sitting down with your eyes closed. 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. ([Location 287](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B006ZL1KAW&location=287)) - By changing the way in which you see the world, you effectively change the world around you. ([Location 408](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B006ZL1KAW&location=408)) - Mindfulness is about learning how to change your experience of that lifestyle. ([Location 480](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B006ZL1KAW&location=480)) - the World Health Organization now confirms that depression—a potential downstream complication of stress—is the leading cause of disability worldwide, and is a major contributor to the overall global burden of disease. ([Location 486](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B006ZL1KAW&location=486)) - By focusing less on your own worries and more on the potential happiness of others you actually create more headspace for yourself. ([Location 513](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B006ZL1KAW&location=513)) - For meditation to really work, to get the very best from the techniques, it’s vital that all three components are present: how best to approach the techniques, how best to practice the techniques, and how best to integrate the techniques. ([Location 530](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B006ZL1KAW&location=530)) - was not about stopping thoughts and controlling the mind. It was a process of giving up control, of stepping back, learning how to focus the attention in a passive way, while simply resting the mind in its own natural awareness. My teacher had explained how it was a skill, an art, knowing how to step back and how not to get continually sucked into the realm of endless, unproductive and often stressful thinking. I’d learned how the thoughts were autonomous and how no amount of force could prevent them from arising. ([Location 658](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B006ZL1KAW&location=658)) - Having heard about these moments of “no thought” or “empty space,” I’d always assumed that it was something I had to do. As it turns out, though, it is in not doing that those moments arise. It is stepping back and allowing the mind to unwind in its own time and its own way that you will find a genuine sense of headspace. ([Location 668](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B006ZL1KAW&location=668))