In my experience, apps (like Headspace) mostly distract you from witnessing. Any type of guided mediation has an entertaining aspect to it - you have to follow the guidelines instead of pure witnessing.
I can't speak for meditation apps in general, but Headspace managed to introduce millions to meditation. They have a bunch of guided meditations for beginners, but as you progress the amount of guidance is gradually reduced.
Headspace certainly helped me pick up meditation again after a decade long hiatus, in part because of their excellent & gentle progression.
Granted, it's a bit silly to keep paying for a daily 30 minutes of silence.
I started meditating using some written guide/books and Headspace.
An app is helpful to guide you at the beginning, but past a certain point having someone talking during most of the session seems a bit detrimental to your actual focus or awareness. I even wonder if there isn't some sort of Pavlovian response, whenever you listen to Andy Puddicombe voice, you want to meditate.
The core of the issue is that there is a conflict of interests between an app that want to keep you subscribed forever, and the idea of teaching something universal. In any app, I have never heard the teacher saying that you don't need the app to actually meditate (which is obviously true). By making you dependent of an app, you are actually less free than before.
Understand that these meditation apps (Headspace/Calm) are mostly VC funded , and they don't only want to teach you something, their investors also want some hockey stick curves. There is nothing wrong with that but it also explains how some features are designed.
That being said I think it was helpful to use them, they provide some value so I would rather recommend them, just not forever.
I even wonder if there isn't some sort of Pavlovian response,
whenever you listen to Andy Puddicombe voice, you want to
meditate
YES. I've wondered the same, it almost seems like a waste if that's not what they're going for because it's right there.
Understand that these meditation apps (Headspace/Calm) are
mostly VC funded , and they don't only want to teach you
something, their investors also want some hockey stick
curves. There is nothing wrong with that but it also explains
how some features are designed.
I don't know if that's completely fair. Both of these seem to really be trying to go after a model where businesses buy group subscriptions as an employee wellness perk. I think there's also untapped potential in trying to team with large healthcare providers because mental health is treated in the US in one of the most cost-ineffective ways, and it isn't even especially an effective way from a patient outcome standpoint either.
Anyways -- that's just all to say that achieving hockey stick growth in a B2B model should create better alignment and it shouldn't mean that they don't want to teach you something, I'm sure lots of people with good hearts are working there & want to do good for people/users.
Interestingly, in his book outlining the technique he teaches, Andy doesn’t directly recommend people do any sort of guided meditation. Rather, he talks about it like a sort of skill people can learn.
There are probably diminishing returns once you are able to focus through the technique, however, even in monasteries with experienced meditators simple cues like bells are used because everyone gets distracted once in a while!
I would also suggest that if you want to try doing it without an app, try something like:
Wait for a free moment at home, maybe after work, set a timer on your phone for ten minuites, and sit cross legged if you can, or in a comfortable position if not, and just try to focus on your breathing for that time.
It's surprisingly difficult. You may find that its suddenly a lot easier to think about all the things you have to do later, and want to do them now, but resist the urge. This ability to bring things to your head easier is one of the benefits of meditation, and is suprisingly immediate.
