When I started practicing mindfulness 50 years ago, I did so for a very different reason than the one I now give to folks who ask me why they might want to take up the practice.

My first inspiration for starting a meditation practice came from a little book by Richard Wilhelm and Carl Jung called The Secret of the Golden Flower, in which a form of Taoist meditation in explained in detail. It speaks of developing both concentration and what we would now call mindfulness of thought. I was a fan of Carl Jung, and I made a decision to jump in with both feet and start practicing every day. My goal was awakening, self-realization, and higher consciousness. Looking back, it strikes me as a strange decision made by an unusual 16 year old, but also one which turned out quite well nonetheless!

Today, I don’t recommend that anyone practice meditation in order to achieve self-realization (of course, if that’s your thing and you’re motivated to develop your awareness for more spiritual or mystical reasons, then go right ahead). The journey that we call waking up is long and hard and can even be dangerous. I now think it’s far better to practice mindfulness for a much more basic reason, which I call mental hygiene.

When you start practicing, you quickly realize that your mind, your thoughts, your emotions, are pretty much out of control. You find that you can’t concentrate on anything for more than a minute or two without some thought grabbing your attention and sending you down a rabbit hole. Once you realize this, it’s like realizing that you’re out of shape because you never exercise.

The “solution” to being out of shape is to start an exercise program, make it a daily routine, and stick with it for a long time. By the same token, the solution to a mind that’s out of control is to start a meditation practice, make it a daily routine, and in time you’ll have a fitter brain and mind.

A mindfulness practice will develop several skills. Three of these are super valuable. The first one is “attentional intelligence”, the ability to intentionally use the power of attention to be more fully present. A second one is emotional non-reactivity, the ability to recognize and feel emotions without having them control your behaviour. And a third is the ability to observe thoughts as they arise, assess how useful those thoughts are, and change them if necessary.

Good mental hygiene, like good dental hygiene, is a daily regimen that prevents problems later on. There’s a blog from UC Davis that lists 10 benefits of mindfulness practice, backed by research. Here is that list:

1. Reduced stress: Meditation may decrease stress. It can also improve symptoms of stress-related conditions, including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and fibromyalgia.
2. Improved memory: Better focus through regular meditation may increase memory and mental clarity. These benefits can help fight age-related memory loss and dementia.
3. Increased attention: Meditation helps with attention span, allowing you to stay focused longer.
4. Enhanced willpower: Meditation develops the mental discipline needed to avoid unhelpful habits.
5. Better sleep: Meditation can shorten the time it takes to fall asleep and improve sleep quality.
6. Less pain: Meditation can reduce pain and boost emotion regulation. Together with medical care, this may help treat chronic pain.
7. Lower blood pressure: Blood pressure decreases during meditation and over time in people who meditate regularly. This can reduce strain on the heart and blood vessels and help prevent heart disease.
8. Less anxiety: Regular meditation helps reduce anxiety. It can also help with mental health issues like social anxiety, fears and obsessive-compulsive behaviors.
9. Less depression: Meditation can help reduce the occurrence of depression.
10. Greater compassion: Meditation can help you better understand yourself, find your best self, and increase positive feelings and actions toward others.

That’s a pretty good list and it should provide all the motivation you should need to start practicing. No need to go looking for ultimate truth. No need to strive for self-realization. Those could come to you, unannounced, spontaneously, and if they do, that’s a bonus. Enjoy it and be grateful!

For the rest of us, good mental hygiene will do just fine.