Mindfulness & Meditation: two sides of the same coin
- Donna Negus
- Aug 28, 2025
- 4 min read
Donna Negus answers the question to her students on the differences, similarities and traditions that define mindfulness and meditation
I was wondering what is the differe
nce between mindfulness and meditation?
This is a question I am often asked when I teach a mindfulness course and one that I avoided for a long time in my own practice but it is a question that gradually answers itself.
Simple Answer;
Mindfulness is a meditative practice.
So – What does this mean?
A definition of Mindfulness;
Mindfulness is awareness, cultivated by paying attention in a sustained and particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non -judgementally.
(Jon Kabat-Zinn)
A Few definitions of Meditation (because there are many):
meditation noun. the act of giving your attention to only one thing, either as a religious activity or as a way of becoming calm and relaxed: prayer and meditation. She practises meditation.
meditation Meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary
What does meditate mean?
1 [intransitive] meditate (on/upon something) to think deeply, usually in silence, especially for religious reasons or in order to make your mind calm. 2[transitive] meditate something (formal) to plan something in your mind; to consider doing something synonym contemplate They were meditating revenge.
A Definition of Meditation (Dhyana) According to Patanjali (Yogic Sage 2000 BC)
In the yogic context, meditation, or dhyana, is defined more specifically as a state of pure consciousness. It is the seventh stage, or limb, of the yogic path and follows dharana, the art of concentration. Dhyana in turn precedes samadhi, the state of final liberation or enlightenment, the last step in Patanjali's eight-limbed system.
A Beginner's Guide to Meditation - Yoga Journal – Yoga ...
The definition of Meditation that I always go back to;
In his book, Teach Yourself to Meditate, Eric Harrison uses an example to explain what meditation is:
Often I enter the park with my head full of thoughts, mentally writing this book as I walk. But the scene is too lovely to ignore. The rainbow coloured parrots are feeding on the bottlebrush flowers, the air is rich with scent, and the afternoon sun shines on the white bark of the gum trees……..The thoughts and concerns I brought into the park have all slipped away. I am in a different time and space.
This is meditation, a state in which the body is relaxed, the mind is quiet, and we are alive to the sensations of the moment.
There are many ways to reach this state; visualisation, chanting, dancing, counting, breathing, to name but a few. Most of these alter our state of consciousness. In the past I have tried most of these practices and was often left feeling a bit ‘cheated’. If I was led to imagine I was a bird flying through the clouds, or resting on a beautiful beach with warm sun and sea I would not want to come back to the life I lead….. Practicing Mindfulness did not give me this feeling. We may find our consciousness shift but it occurs as a result of being with our life as it unfolds; being aware of each moment (like the passage from the Eric Harrison book).
It is worth knowing that mindfulness is often described as the heart of Buddhist meditation. Nevertheless, cultivating mindfulness is not a Buddhist activity (Jon Kabat-Zin).
My experience of mindfulness began with my completing the MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Programme) about 8 years ago. This is a programme devised by Jon Kabat-Zinn in the Medical Centre of Massachusetts (1979). Jon Kabat-Zinn is a psychologist, mindfulness teacher and yogi (he still teaches today). He found, through his personal experience the benefits of bringing mindfulness into his life and was able to research its effects on patients with chronic pain who were not finding any relief from other forms of therapy. Through his work and research in a clinical setting, Jon Kabat-Zinn was able to secularise (take the Buddhism out of Mindfulness) and bring it to the mainstream world and now mindfulness is part of our everyday language.
When I first started practicing yoga (many years ago!) and completed my training with the British Wheel of Yoga (2006) meditation was something that wasn’t really referred to in classes or in everyday language. The myths that surround ‘meditation’ surface in the press every now and again when Churches ban its practice; or, it is described as ‘cultish’ or an inducement of psychosis. Now, meditation is more widely recognised as being of benefit to our health (mental, physical and emotional). This is due to the research pioneered by people like Jon Kabat -Zinn who were able to show the changes that takes place in our brain when we meditate. Ongoing research shows how those of us who meditate cope with stress and recover from failure more quickly and generally have a more optimistic outlook. I could go on…..
In answer to the question (at last!)
Mindfulness is the beginning of a journey that takes us towards those moments of complete immersion into what is being experienced Now. Simply by being with your breathing, your body and all the sensation you experience you are becoming awake and conscious (see definition of meditation by Patanjali). In the spirit of the words ‘ there is no right or wrong way of feeling or breathing’ and ‘nothing to gain and nothing to lose’ by practicing’ can we come away from our intense need to intellectualise what we are working with and allow ourselves to feel what we feel?
States of consciousness arrive when we don’t seek, and awareness is cultivated when we just observe. Sitting quietly in contemplation of ‘what is’, is being mindful and this has all the requirements of meditation.
I will finish as I began; Mindfulness is a meditative practice and meditation is being Mindful and so they can be seen as one and the same.
Resources;
Harrison E (1993) page 1 Teach Yourself to Meditate
Kabat-Zinn J (2016) page 1,21 Mindfulness For Beginners
Donna Negus 13/6/2020
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