Meditating upside down: why humanists should practise mindfulness for just ten minutes a day

By Dr Anthony Lewis

Anthony is Chair of Windsor Humanists. In this article, he describes the benefits of meditation which he has practised for over 25 years. Mindfulness is the modern secular form of meditation and it has been clinically proven to have significant cognitive and health benefits when practised regularly. Yet most of us resist trying it out. Anthony explores some of the reasons for this reluctance.

For at least five thousand years, meditation has been part of human history, originating in ancient cultures. It has been practised in different forms by various religious traditions including Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism, and in ancient Egypt. Meditation has been clinically proven by modern science to have mental and health benefits for regular practitioners.  It can help reduce stress, anxiety, and depression; help us cope with physical pain; enhance our self-awareness and perceptions; and strengthen our emotional resilience. It has also been demonstrated to improve our neurological and cardiovascular functions by reducing blood pressure, improving sleep patterns and reducing inflammation. It helps us cultivate a balanced cognitive perspective on ourselves, including our preoccupations and obsessions. As a result, meditation has expanded beyond its religious origins and is now widely used in clinical settings such as counselling and psychotherapy. It is also employed in competitive fields such as sports, where emotional control is essential for high performance and success. In its modern secular form it is often termed “mindfulness” to break the link with any religious connotations or belief in the supernatural.

“Humanist intellectual Sam Harris is a recent convert.”

Popular interest in meditation grew significantly in the 1960s and again in the 1990s, often driven by celebrity endorsements. Numerous public figures have “discovered” meditation and become advocates for its benefits. Noted humanist intellectual Sam Harris is one such recent convert. But meditation is accessible to everyone. I have been meditating for over 25 years since reading Eckhart Tolle's book The Power of Now when it was first published in 1997. The Power of Now is a self-help book that encourages readers to focus on the present moment through meditation and it is probably one of the best guides for those wanting to know more about how to meditate. It was Tolle's first book and became a New York Times bestseller after it was popularised by Oprah Winfrey on her US TV show in 2000. There are some excellent free apps, such as Calm and Headspace, that offer guided meditation sessions. They are easy to use and provide a great way to learn how to meditate.

Meditating upside down – the author in Thailand

Meditation is a deceptively simple technique that anyone can adopt with ease. Its considerable benefits are accessible to all, with minimal effort or cost. If it were a pill everyone would be clamouring to get it from their doctor! And yet, paradoxically, despite its proven cognitive and health benefits, very few of us actually meditate. Many remain sceptical that something so simple and accessible could have such a profound impact, making them reluctant to try it. This hesitation probably stems from our deep identification with habitual thinking patterns and resistance to anything that challenges the carefully constructed sense of self we hold. This creates an ironic cognitive trap, preventing us from challenging our internal obsessions and preoccupations – precisely the self-awareness and perspective that meditation can provide. Our deeply held sense of self behaves like a separate living entity, perceiving meditation as a threat to its existence and fiercely resisting exposure. Most of us prefer to live an unexamined life, guided by primal survival instincts that keep us focused on threats, suffering and personal advantage. For many, the first experience of meditation can be a startling revelation – making them aware of just how much their behaviours and decisions are driven, and often dominated, by their own incessant and irrational internal chatter.

“The benefits of meditation do not depend upon belief in the supernatural at all.”

Sitting Quietly Doing Nothing. Source Unsplash+

I meditate almost every day, for just ten minutes. Every session is different. Some sessions seem unending and I find myself opening my eyes to check the clock to find that only two minutes have elapsed. Often, my mind will be full of chatter and worries which refuse to subside and will not let go. At other times, the session seems to pass in a flash – until the timer abruptly sounds, jolting me back into the room. There are days when I struggle to settle myself enough to make time for meditation. Ironically, these are often the days when I would benefit the most, yet my internal “clutter” – like a dog gnawing on a bone – refuses to let me rest. It's remarkable how stubbornly your “possessing thoughts” resist being calmed through meditation! But I never regret finding the time to meditate when I can. Each session helps centre me for the day, grounding me in a way that is hard to put into words. Language is often inadequate to describe the subjective experience of a good meditation session. As a result, the language often used to describe the subjective experiences of meditating can sound too spiritual or even religious for many, which is a pity because the benefits do not depend on a belief in the supernatural at all. Often, my meditation sessions leave me with a profound sense of peace and mental stillness, fostering a deep connection to my own existence. This, in turn, has a calming effect on how I feel about myself and the world around me. It’s a daily cognitive gift to myself – a private, quiet moment of healthy indulgence, free from any belief in the divine.

“Sitting quietly doing nothing allows us to inhabit our body... connecting deeply with our embodied existence and sentience.”

The Power of Now

In The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle describes the meditation process. He emphasises that the insights he shares are accessible to everyone, and can be revealed simply by staying present. Through gentle focus on the breath, the mind and body naturally become calmer, allowing deeper awareness to emerge. Simple meditation techniques offer a way for us, as embodied, sentient beings, to deeply connect with our own subjective experience of being alive and our individual embodied sentience. They allow us to observe our primal instincts and nature with detachment – and even a sense of humour. What follows is a short summary of the different elements informed by my own practice and by the guidance contained in The Power of Now, illustrated in the following graphic.

The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle (1997) Schematic by Anthony Lewis.

Portals to the Now – our embodied sentience

Sitting quietly, doing nothing and breathing slowly helps us relax, inhabit our bodies, become aware of our thoughts, and connect deeply with our embodied sentience. By observing our thinking with detachment and without judgement, we can watch our mind's obsessions as a neutral observer. A great question to ask yourself when you are settled is: “What, at this moment, is lacking?” Through such bodily presence, you can experience moments of silence when your conscious thinking ceases. This state of “no mind” allows you the mental space to sense, at a deep level, the reality that your embodied existence is always lived at the razor edge of Now. Through mindfulness, you become aware of the internal mental compulsions that shape your conscious experience – constantly striving to pull you away from the present moment. This incessant chatter is driven by three powerful forces: the ego or “thinking mind” which generates our ceaseless thoughts; the “Pain-Body” which fixates on past suffering; and the “voice in the head” which is preoccupied with anticipating unpredictable future threats. Let's look at each in turn.

1. The ego or “thinking mind”

Our mind is an emergent property of the brain, a biological organ shaped by evolution for survival. It's tuned to focus on the past, allowing us to learn from experience, while also scanning for future threats and dangers so that we can anticipate and mitigate them. However, a ceaseless and uncontrolled focus on past suffering and constant worries about the future can trap us in a constant stream of irrational thoughts and obsessions. Our compulsive ego, fuelled by such memories and anticipations, then creates distorted perspectives of reality which can sap our energy and reinforce unhappiness if left unchecked. The unobserved ego can behave like a possessing entity, addicted to negative thinking, inflicting daily torment on us – and, in extreme cases, even ruining lives. Through meditation, we can observe our own mind and ego in action, becoming aware of our individual obsessions. Over time, this awareness allows us to gently cultivate a healthier mental balance. We can come to appreciate that, while the human mind is a complex instrument essential to our survival, it is not “you” – because we are more than just our thoughts and emotional responses.

2. The “Pain-Body” which fixates on past suffering

Tolle's metaphor of the “Pain-Body” represents a collection of accumulated emotional pain from past experiences which continues to live within us. It consists of negative emotions, trauma and unresolved suffering stored in our memories, both conscious and subconscious, which can be triggered by our life circumstances. Our Pain-Body clings to past suffering, triggering reactions that create recurring pain, keeping us trapped in old patterns of anger, self-pity, and grievance. These past memories constantly pull us away from the present moment because they are remnants of past “nows”. Through awareness, we can break free from them to fully embrace the present. All of our emotions are transient and they ebb and flow. They are often disconnected from our present circumstances, shaped instead by the lingering shadows of past experiences. These psychic pollutants trap us in cycles of unhealthy behaviour and suffering, causing us to repeat old patterns. Our individual Pain-Bodies can hold us back, growing and festering if left unobserved. On a collective level, when irrationally shared within communities, they can merge into what Tolle describes as a destructive collective disease. At this stage, real or imagined grievances can be cynically exploited, corroding civil discourse and seriously eroding social cohesion.

3. The “voice in the head” which anticipates threats

Our incessant thinking. Source: Unsplash+

All of us have primal instincts that keep us alert to threats and dangers. This cognitive focus has evolved to secure our survival, but it can hijack our very being when threats are perceived as being imminent when they are not. Our cognitive systems can easily go into an unhealthy permanent state of overdrive if left unobserved. Our minds can trap us into fearing a multitude of unending threats from imagined futures that are unlikely ever to occur. As a result, many of us live in a state of permanent negative anticipation, which fuels powerful feelings of anxiety and insecurity. Many live for the promise of a better tomorrow that never comes, and so experience repeated cycles of regret and disappointment when the hoped-for salvation does not appear. True personal freedom comes from realising that life exists only in the present moment, not in a future that can never save us, and that risk and uncertainties are intrinsic to all our lives. At the group level, unchecked fears for the future and dreams of salvation can lead to a form of collective insanity, where societies abandon present realities and make terrible sacrifices for a promised utopia – one that never materialises, or turns out to be a mirage.

“Through meditation we sit on the edge of the unmanifested and unknowable purpose of the universe with acceptance and humility.”

Conscious awareness

All of us have the capacity to connect at a deep level with our embodied existence by staying at the razor edge of Now. Nothing in our lives has ever happened in the past or the future – everything has only ever occurred in the present moment. There is never a time when your life is not in this moment. By gently dis-identifying from your ego, thoughts, emotions, suffering and fears, you can become a neutral observer of your own preoccupations and concerns. To still your mind, ask yourself: “Am I light?”; “Am I at ease?”; “What will my next thought be?”; “How will I know when I have fully surrendered to the present moment?” By stilling your mind and relaxing your body, you can enter a profound state of silence and peace – allowing you to connect deeply with your own consciousness and sentience. Through meditation, you can come to appreciate that the whole of existence, including yourself, consists of cycles of growth and disintegration and that everything around us is part of this impermanence. As sentient, embodied beings, we can all connect with our own consciousness in this way – gaining personal insights that can be transformative and discovering a deeper meaning in our lives.

The mystery of existence

By staying in the present moment, we can experience what is often described as a “felt oneness with being” – what meditation masters call moments of satori, where we sit at the edge of existence’s great mysteries. Such subjective experiences can be difficult to describe, but through silence, we can surrender our daily concerns and connect with both our existence and our inevitable mortality on a profound psychological level. It is a place where, paradoxically, we feel at ease and complete. At this point, we reach the limits of our conscious awareness and sentience to touch the unfathomable mysteries of existence. We sit on the edge of the unmanifested and probably unknowable purpose of the universe with acceptance and humility.

“Humans are the means by which the universe understands itself.” Professor Brian Cox, physicist and humanist

The hard problem of science

Eckhart Tolle concludes that, as integral parts of the universe, we can connect – through meditation – to an underlying consciousness woven into the fabric of existence, though only within the limits of our sentience. Understanding consciousness in general is often termed the “hard problem” of science – an active area of research in the neurosciences and related areas such as artificial intelligence (AI). But until we encounter other conscious beings or create a conscious AI ourselves it is difficult, currently, to come to any firm conclusions. Scientists such as Brian Cox have expressed the idea that humans are the means by which the universe understands itself, whereas philosophers such as Alan Watts (1915–1973) have proposed the slightly different idea that humans are focal points through which the universe becomes aware of itself. Those who prefer firmer conclusions turn to the claims of religious belief and related conjectures about the existence of a supernatural dimension to reality. What is clear to me, however, is that no one really has answers to the mystery of existence. It is the “Great Unknowing” beyond the capacity of our primitive brains to grasp, even with the aid of meditation. Evolution has psychologically predisposed us to seek purpose in everything but this tendency proves inadequate when grappling with the ultimate questions of existence. As an atheist and humanist, I am happy to surrender gently to these cognitive limitations and accept that the answers to the great brute absurdity of my own existence and that of the universe are probably unknowable, at least to me!

“Mindfulness helps us face our own insignificance in the greater scheme of things... and the fact that the universe is indifferent to us.”

Final words

With its ancient origins, meditation has evolved from a religious practice into a widely recognised secular activity that enhances both mental and physical well-being. It has been scientifically proven to reduce stress, anxiety, build emotional resilience and improve our overall health. And it has gained mainstream acceptance, particularly in clinical and high performance sports settings. Yet despite its simplicity, accessibility and significant benefits, many people resist trying meditation. This reluctance often stems from deep-seated cognitive habits that reinforce incessant thinking. For many, these mental patterns feel like an essential part of their identity—almost like a possessing entity they are unwilling to let go. For those who embrace it, meditation offers a profound sense of awareness of embodied consciousness and inner peace that can be accessed with a commitment of just ten minutes a day. While it may not provide the ultimate answers to life's deepest mysteries, it grants a clarity that allows individuals to navigate their lives with greater acceptance and balance. It helps us face our own insignificance in the greater scheme of things and the rather brutal truth that the universe is indifferent to us as individuals.

Hurtling towards oblivion

When we sit at the edge of our cognitive capabilities, confronting the mysteries of existence during meditation, language becomes inadequate to describe the experience. At such times, humour can help to enlighten us. One popular metaphor is that life is like falling off a tall building. There are those that choose to wail and flounder all the way down, pointlessly resisting their predicament and inevitable demise, while others admire the view and make the most of their experiences while they can. Ultimately, the end is the same for both approaches. But meditation has allowed me to become someone who is admiring the view while the light bulb of my consciousness burns brightly so as to make the most of my precious one life, as I hurtle far too quickly towards oblivion!

Useful links

• Free Meditation Apps - Calm, Headspace

• The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle 2001

• Meditation Wikipedia

• Alan Watts - Britannica “We are the means by which the universe become aware of itself”

• Brian Cox - Goodreads “We are the means by which the universe understands itself”