Myths of Mindfulness, Part One

Quick answer: Myths of mindfulness are widespread beliefs—like "mindfulness comes only from Buddhism," "it empties your mind," or "it cures mental disorders"—that each contain a grain of truth but distort what mindfulness really is: the ability to be present without getting lost in thoughts and emotions. This episode of Mindfulness Off the Cushion breaks down six of them with Dr. Richard Sears.

When you hear the word "myth," what does it conjure up—fairy tales, falsities, outright lies? In this episode of the Mindfulness Off the Cushion podcast, we delve into six common myths of mindfulness, teasing apart our myriad ways of understanding the practice to land on a nugget or two of truth. Our Season Two special guest, Dr. Richard Sears, penned an entire book on the topic in 2021, so between his ample wisdom and our wellspring of curiosity, there will be a Part Two.

What is a myth, exactly?

A myth is not necessarily a falsity—it is one way humans attempt to explain our experience of the world and its natural phenomena.

Within every myth there may be a degree of truth, no matter how small or distorted it has become in its telling. That definition, offered by Dr. Sears, propels our whole examination—because mindfulness, too, can be explained and described in many ways.

Does mindfulness come from Buddhism?

Not exclusively—saying that presentness of mind originated with any one teacher or tradition vastly oversimplifies the matter.

Over 2,600 years ago, Siddhartha Gautama taught that the way to be awakened is to be truly present in the moment—with a pointed caveat: don't take anything any authority tells you as truth; find it through direct experience. Countless Eastern wisdom traditions have taught attentiveness of mind, and many Western traditions, religious and secular, have developed their own modes as well. Dr. Sears offers a universal example: imagine being a child who finds a rock and becomes lost in its colors, speckles, shape, and texture. Time seems to stop. You are fully present—not lost in thoughts of chores or the future. We all have access to that depth of mindful awareness.

Is mindfulness about having a clear, empty mind?

No—mindfulness is not about clearing out the mind but about learning not to get lost in your thoughts and emotions.

Try it: stop thinking. You can't, can you? No one can shut their mind off at will, and often the harder we try, the louder our minds become. The reality is that we apply filters—of thoughts and emotions—to our awareness, usually without knowing it. We have the capacity to discern between having a thought and knowing we're having a thought, instead of getting lost in the snowball effect of thought after thought. That's how we become more open to experiencing the present moment just as it is.

Does being mindful mean rising above your emotions?

No—mindfulness helps you step away from reactivity, not from the emotion itself.

Our emotions are natural and functionally useful, but they can also take us for wild rides: stressed over stress, anxious about anxiety, depressed about depression. Before we know it, we lose perspective and become entirely reactive. Mindfulness imparts observation—acknowledging the emotion as a transient experience of the mind. The point is not to eliminate or control emotions, nor to replace a "negative" emotion with a "positive" one.

Does mindfulness make you happy?

Not on demand—mindfulness is not a tool of force, but it helps you notice the tiny moments of gratitude and contentment that are already available.

Dr. Sears describes a popular cartoon: a meditator thinks, "Today I'll be fully present in the moment—unless the moment is miserable. Then I'll eat a cookie." It captures our discomfort with difficult emotions and our urge to distract rather than transform our relationship to them. Compare chasing happiness and not catching it with happiness arriving spontaneously: both leave eventually, but the clingy chasing feels far less happy. Just as we can't force negative emotions away, we can't force happy ones to stay.

Can mindfulness cure mental disorders?

No—mindfulness is a tool that, used alongside conventional therapy, can effect positive change, but it cannot "cure" disorders.

Decades of clinical research point to psychological flexibility as key to adaptive behavior, and psychological disorders across the diagnostic manual share a common denominator: psychological inflexibility—repeating responses that don't work. Clinical studies show mindfulness practice can help us relate to thoughts and emotions in a more flexible way, making conscious choices more and reacting less. But mindfulness and mental health are not mutually inclusive, and standardizing mindfulness as a measurable treatment remains a research challenge—not all of the thousands of studies are equally valid. We recommend a moderate, multi-pronged approach. If distress is interfering with your daily life, seek qualified professional help—our anxiety counseling and depression counseling teams combine mindfulness with evidence-based therapy.

Does mindfulness completely rewire the brain?

Mindfulness helps subtly rewire the brain—not completely.

Advances in brain imaging let us witness the physical effects of mindfulness. Dr. Sears introduces Hebb's Rule: neurons that fire together, wire together—circuits we use regularly get prioritized for efficiency. Controlled studies comparing participants before and after daily mindfulness practice found they could abide with stressors more calmly and non-reactively, and their brains showed greater volume in areas associated with impulse control. The key was habitual practice. And consider this: right now, your brain is taking in new information—rewiring itself as you read.

Six myths down, six to go

Myth isn't falsity—it's a distorted grain of truth. Mindfulness doesn't come from one tradition, doesn't empty your mind, doesn't banish emotions, doesn't manufacture happiness, doesn't cure disorders, and doesn't completely rewire your brain. What it does is help you be present without getting lost. Join us for Part Two, where we tackle six more.

Getting started. Curious how mindfulness fits into real, evidence-based treatment? Our mindfulness therapy team in Austin can show you.

Frequently asked questions

Is it bad that I can't stop thinking during meditation?

No. No one can shut their mind off at will—the harder you try, the louder it gets. Mindfulness is about noticing when you're having a thought rather than getting lost in it.

Do I need to be Buddhist to practice mindfulness?

No. While Buddhist teaching is one well-known source, attentiveness of mind appears across many Eastern and Western traditions, religious and secular, and everyone has natural access to it.

Can mindfulness replace therapy or medication?

No. Mindfulness is a helpful tool used in daily life and in conjunction with conventional therapy, but it cannot cure mental disorders. If distress is interfering with your life, seek qualified professional help.

Get started with a therapist at Austin Mindfulness Center—in person in Austin or online across Texas.