Mindfulness vs acceptance and commitment theory

[Zbigwy]

Hi all

I'm fairly new to meditation, so apologies if these are stupid questions, but could someone help me understand what differences there are between mindfulness and acceptance (or are they essentially one and the same thing?).

I have noticed at the start of most of my meditations when I "check in" with myself I tend to be feeling quite sad. I'm not sure whether I should just be accepting of this or whether I should be using meditation to try and get my mind on to a different wavelength and therefore move away from the sadness

Any advice much appreciated!

Thanks
Danny

[Gareth]

Hi Danny, welcome to the forum.

There are no stupid questions.

In fact you have kind of answered the question for yourself anyway. Mindfulness and acceptance are essentially the same thing. Or at least the two go hand in hand.

If you are feeling sad right now, then mindfulness asks you to accept those feelings of sadness. Give yourself permission to feel sad and don't judge yourself for feeling sad. This notion of embracing our pain and emotions is difficult for the beginner to comprehend; I speak from experience here.

Mindfulness will not make you feel less sad, but it should (with practice) help you to understand that these feelings of sadness are temporary; they won't last for ever. These realisations really do only come with practice, but once you can make these changes to your mind, then there is a vast amount of peace that can be gained from practising.

[piedwagtail91]

what gareth said, can't add anything!

[FeeHutch]

Welcome to our community Danny and another one here agreeing with Gareth