Mindfulness, Meditation, and the Transcendence Trap
There’s lots of buzz about mindfulness and meditation these days, but what exactly do we mean when we use these terms? Mindfulness is the non-judgmental act of present-moment awareness. It can be as simple as doing daily activities with a little more intention behind them. All you need to begin your mindfulness practice is the willingness to try. It’s often a good idea to start small with trying to be mindful while doing the dishes or brushing your teeth. There are seemingly endless opportunities to be mindful as we draw our attention back to the task at hand, noticing our thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensation.
With a regular practice of mindfulness, many people improve their body’s ability to self-regulate,
moving through and even diffusing anxiety through increased awareness and breath work.
While talk therapy might address cognitive, behavioral, or emotional aspects of our lives, those
approach’s alone can all too often leave us feeling as if we are just brains on a stick.
Interoceptive awareness is the ability to perceive, access and appraise inner body sensations.
Especially for clients who are disconnected from their bodies due to pain or trauma, developing
a deeper interoceptive awareness can be a key aspect of moving towards healing. Mindfulness is
one of the main ways we can strengthen and reinforce these skills.
So, if it’s that easy why aren’t we all being mindful all the time? Well, sometimes the simplest
things can be the most difficult. One stumbling block to a mindfulness practice is what is known
as the “transcendence trap.” The transcendence trap is the paradox by which we begin judging
ourselves for our inability to be nonjudgmental. This is a major reason that many people who try
mindfulness give up prematurely or assume that the practice is not for them. Ironically, when we
command ourselves to “quiet our mind” our mind can become more flooded with thoughts about
how impossible that is. Common thoughts are: “I’m so bad at this! Why do I keep getting distracted! How come I can’t just focus on my breath?!!?”
Indeed, mindfulness can draw attention to how much mental activity we have going on, which can be overwhelming at first. But in mindfulness we welcome these thoughts, notice them, and let them go. No thought is bad, and the act of noticing is just that, noticing. Not condemning or judging. The transcendence trap is one of the reasons it is easy to get discouraged. But knowing that this is a common stumbling block, coupled with an acknowledgment that we will not be experts straight away, but a willingness to try anyway is more than half the battle.
Below are links to some beginners’ mindfulness activities that you can try at home:
Beginner Mindful Excersizes
1-Minute Mindful Excersizes
With a regular practice of mindfulness, many people improve their body’s ability to self-regulate,
moving through and even diffusing anxiety through increased awareness and breath work.
While talk therapy might address cognitive, behavioral, or emotional aspects of our lives, those
approach’s alone can all too often leave us feeling as if we are just brains on a stick.
Interoceptive awareness is the ability to perceive, access and appraise inner body sensations.
Especially for clients who are disconnected from their bodies due to pain or trauma, developing
a deeper interoceptive awareness can be a key aspect of moving towards healing. Mindfulness is
one of the main ways we can strengthen and reinforce these skills.
So, if it’s that easy why aren’t we all being mindful all the time? Well, sometimes the simplest
things can be the most difficult. One stumbling block to a mindfulness practice is what is known
as the “transcendence trap.” The transcendence trap is the paradox by which we begin judging
ourselves for our inability to be nonjudgmental. This is a major reason that many people who try
mindfulness give up prematurely or assume that the practice is not for them. Ironically, when we
command ourselves to “quiet our mind” our mind can become more flooded with thoughts about
how impossible that is. Common thoughts are: “I’m so bad at this! Why do I keep getting distracted! How come I can’t just focus on my breath?!!?”
Indeed, mindfulness can draw attention to how much mental activity we have going on, which can be overwhelming at first. But in mindfulness we welcome these thoughts, notice them, and let them go. No thought is bad, and the act of noticing is just that, noticing. Not condemning or judging. The transcendence trap is one of the reasons it is easy to get discouraged. But knowing that this is a common stumbling block, coupled with an acknowledgment that we will not be experts straight away, but a willingness to try anyway is more than half the battle.
Below are links to some beginners’ mindfulness activities that you can try at home:
Beginner Mindful Excersizes
1-Minute Mindful Excersizes