Hi :)

 

If you're receiving this mail, it means you're interested in meditation, psychology & breathwork.

Rather than simply sending an email telling you about my upcoming meditation & mindfulness training, I thought I'd share a little snippet of the kind of content we cover. Below, I’ve written a short reflection on mind wandering in meditation, one of the most common misunderstandings people have when they begin. If that topic interests you, you can scroll down to the next section read it.

 

I have so much to say about this practice, and I really do believe education should be free, or at the very least, accessible and affordable. I've been toying with the idea of writing more educational newsletters (without pressuring myself to commit to a weekly task). A newsletter covering my (and maybe your) most passionate topics: psychology, yogic philosophy, meditation & breathwork.

If this is something you'd be interested in receiving, sign up to receive this ‘regular but maybe not consistent’ newsletter below.

a wandering mind

Most of us, when we start practicing meditation, think that if our mind wanders, we have “failed” at meditation. This is a total misunderstanding of the mechanics of the mind. Actually, the moment you realise your mind has wandered is kind of like a mini epiphany, it's a moment of introspective awareness. When this happens, you should be giving yourself a pat on the back, because you can't force yourself to notice your mind has wandered. That discovery happens unconsciously. The mind is designed to think, to analyse. Most of us never trained the mind to stay in the present moment. Meditation (and the moments it wanders) is part of that training process. By celebrating that mini epiphany, you are using positive reinforcement to train your brain to "wake up" faster. So wandering is not a mistake. 

 

Actually, there was a brilliant study done using experience sampling, and it revealed that people are substantially less happy when their minds are wandering than when they are present, regardless of whether the thought is boring or enjoyable. We often celebrate our ability to day dream… to plan the future or reminisce about the past. But psychological research shows this comes at an emotional cost.  Even when the mind wanders to pleasant topics, we aren’t any happier than when we are simply focused on the present moment. 

Patanjali explains the concept of mind wandering through the lens of vrttis, which he describes as ‘whirls’ or ‘turnings’ of the mind-stuff that prevent us from seeing our true nature. 

 

He actually identifies a specific set of nine distractions of the mind-stuff (citta-vikṣepas) that act as obstacles to our attention. He notes that these distractions are not just abstract mental events but often come with tangible symptoms like mental pain, despair, nervousness, and irregular breathing. The most common state of a wandering mind is known as kṣipta, a restless and impulsive nature that incessantly shifts from one object to another, also known as the “monkey mind”.

 

Most people don’t realise that mind wandering is the brain’s default mode of operation. In neuroscience, this is linked to the Default Mode Network (a set of brain regions that fire up whenever we aren't focused on a specific task). Essentially, your mind naturally wants to think of things rather than sit still.

 

Even when we make an effort to focus, Patanjali explains that old, sometimes subconscious tendencies (or engraved memories) known as saṃskaras can trigger distracting thoughts, pulling our attention away from the present. To remedy this, Patanjali suggests eka-tattva-abhyasa, the practice of focusing on a single principle or 'one truth' to anchor the mind. Like focusing on a mantra, a candle, or something mundane like washing the dishes.

Rather, when we meditate, we're engaging in neuroplasticity. Over time, practitioners actually have a thicker prefrontal cortex and a stronger insula (the area for empathy and gut feelings). Research shows that "neurons that fire together, wire together," meaning every time you redirect your attention, you are literally creating new pathways in your brain.

 

Think of it like this: everyday you take the same route to work. Eventually, you become so familiar with this route that your mind is able to jump from thought to thought while you get from point A to point B, but you're not fully focused or present in the actual task of driving. When we become aware that our minds have wandered, and we redirect our attention to the task as hand (driving), we strengthen the pathway that is focusing on the present moment.

So why is this important?

We strengthen our muscles by lifting weights, or improve our endurance by running. The mind is a bit trickier, and often times harder to train. But we can strengthen it though focused attention (mindfulness). Not only does this improve our ability to stay focused, but emotionally, we also become more aware.

When we notice that the mind has wandered, it's like a muscle flex. Once we have that awareness, we're able to actively choose our next move. 

 

Let's say, for example, that you have a bad habit of talking badly to yourself. When we train the mind to notice those moments of wandering, we can catch ourself in the act of negative self-talk, and decide, in that moment, if we want to continue with it.

Meditation and mindfulness aren't just for calming down, lowering stress or regulating our nervous systems. Yes, it does help with that, but another important element of this practice is that it gives us power over our thoughts. 

 

The word "mindfulness" is actually a somewhat clunky translation of the Pali word sati, which implies "remembering to be aware". It's the interaction between your attention and your peripheral awareness. When this interaction is balanced, you see the world AND you see your reactions to it without being taken over by it. So when your mind wanders, it's an opportunity to remember to be aware and redirect your attention to the present moment.

now, let't make it practical

It's all good and well to have this knowledge, but how can you use it practically?

 

Instead of treating mind wandering as a failure, celebrate the moment you realise that it's happened. When you notice your mind has wandered, you just caught yourself in the present moment. You've just given yourself the opportunity to choose. By rewarding the moment rather than scolding the "wandering," you use positive reinforcement to train the brain to make that discovery sooner and more often in the future (not only in meditation, but in daily life).

 

When the mind gets captured by a distraction, we can often become fused with that thought. By labelling the thought, we create a ‘witness’ identity that can support us in perspective taking. To do this: name the thought as something neutral, like ‘planning’, ‘remembering’, ‘worrying’ etc. Labelling strips the emotional power from the thought and activates the prefrontal cortex, allowing you to return to your anchor without getting caught in a ruminative cascade.

 

Patanjali suggests eka-tattva-abhyasa (practicing on a single entity) as the primary antidote to mental distractions (citta-vikṣepas). In simple terms, Patanjali means focusing on one object to calm the mind, like the breath, a candle flame, the sky etc. A trick to do this and not make it boring: let your mind wander to anything relating to that object. For example, if you're focusing on a candle flame, think about all the colours you see within the flame, become mesmerised by the movement of the flame, watch how the air shifts the flame, observe your breath affecting the flame. You're still thinking about only one object, but you allow the mind the do what it's designed to do: think.

 

The reframe 2.0. When the mind wanders into sticky or painful (klista) territory (like self-criticism or anger) simply trying to stop it won't work. Consciously create the opposite thought. If the mind is filled with intolerance, invite compassion, if it is filled with greed, invite contentment. It interrupts the neurological ruts of negative habits and creates new, more beneficial saṃskaras (latent tendencies) in the unconscious mind.

 

There's more, but this is already a super long newsletter.

If you'd like to learn more about meditation (the philosophy, the psychology, the techniques, tools + teaching methods), sign up for the 8-week Meditation and Mindfulness Training.

This 8-week online training explores meditation and mindfulness as psychological skills. Rather than treating meditation as just relaxation or escape, we approach it as a way of understanding attention, perception, and mental habits.

Drawing on modern psychology, somatic awareness, and contemplative philosophy, this course looks at how the mind constructs experience and how awareness can be trained to meet it with more clarity and steadiness.

While the training is informed by traditional meditation philosophy, it is taught in a grounded, accessible way, with a strong emphasis on real-life application, nervous system awareness, and psychological safety.

 

This training is for those who want to understand meditation and mindfulness beyond technique, and are interested in how these practices work at the level of attention, nervous system regulation, and lived experience.

 

No prior teaching experience is required. What matters most is curiosity, a willingness to engage with practice, and an interest in understanding the mind through direct experience.