If you are lucky enough to have access to Netflix, they you are also lucky enough to access a new series launched on 1st January 2021: Headspace Guide to Meditation. You may have already heard about Headspace, the popular meditation app that launched almost 10 years ago. As of 2020 the app has had 65 million downloads, and they have moved into the Netflix arena to talk about the science behind, philosophy underpinning, and benefits of regular meditations.
Eight, twenty-minute episodes later, I am have come to the end of the short series. I did my best to spread them out, taking them a day at a time so as not to burnout (or lose interest) in the short episodes, and my thoughts and feelings are mostly positive. There are a few bits where I was and even a little torn on the teaching, but largely Headspace Guide to Meditation was a great supplement to my daily meditation practice, providing an easy way in for people who haven't meditated before, and beautifully presented information for those who want to know more about the practice.
Firstly, the content. It is good, accessible, and easy to do. Each episode is split into two key sections, with about ten minutes for theory/background/ideas, and just under minutes to sit and try the chosen flavour of meditation for that day. Meditations can be focused on emotion, gratitude, letting go, anger, and lots more, each of them giving just a taste of how different meditations play out and feel. The information discussed is a nice mix of neuroscience, studies, philosophy, and general meditation concepts, all of which help mindfulness/meditation to make sense even if you haven't done it before.
Another benefit of the series it just how accessible and plain nice it is to watch. Many of us don't want to abandon life and become monks (although I am tempted), so an option to take just 20 minutes a day is much more appealing. The artwork helps massively with this, as things remain abstract yet inviting with bizarre transitions between blob-people, blob-eyes, and blob-flowers. If you watch it, the previous sentence will (hopefully) make sense rather than sounding like a strange acid-driven dream.
My only qualm with the series, and this really is the only one, is the session on anger. Mindfulness of anger, and directing that energy into compassion for others, is powerful. There's no doubt about that. However, my background in working with people who are angry after years of abuse means that I often see anger somewhat differently, and struggle to see compassion towards abusers as a first step. For many of us in day to day life fuelling compassion with anger makes sense, as our anger is often reactionary and not a reaction to years of mistreatment. Having said that, I wish the wonderful Andy Puddicombe had added a caveat explaining that compassion for others is not always the way through anger.
With that small complaint out of the way, I can now return to my key message...
Please watch Headspace Guide to Meditation (if you can).
It is wonderful. Meditation and mindfulness are not for everyone, and sometimes it is something that will be right for somebody later in life, but you don't know until you try. Headspace separates the value of mindfulness and meditation from the mysticism of Buddhism, making a compelling case for everybody to give it a go. The chance to stop for 10-20 minutes a day, enjoy stillness, and workout our minds is precious, and something I sincerely hope will spread through society even more quickly with this new series.
If you have watched it and have thoughts about the series or this post, please comment and let me know! If you have questions about the series and haven't watched it yet, please also comment! If you don't want to comment, cool, don't comment! Regardless, I hope you have a wonderful day, full of mindfulness and joy.
Love from JanTalksPsych!
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