Escaping ‘McMindfulness’: The True Purpose Behind Personal Development Tools

Chapter Five | Free One Million Minds: Escaping 'McMindfulness': The Trap of External Relief

12/23/2024

Duration | 3 minutes 47 seconds
Guest: Dr. Symeon Rodger

Synopsis

In this chapter, Jamie Meyer and Dr. Symeon Rodger discuss the limitations of using stress relief as the sole purpose of personal development tools. Dr. Rodger explores how many ancient practices—such as Tai Chi, Qigong, and meditation—were originally designed for deeper transformation rather than mere stress alleviation. He critiques the modern trend of “McMindfulness,” a term coined by Miles Neale, describing it as the commodification of mindfulness meditation into a superficial practice akin to “mental fast food.” Jamie draws parallels between this phenomenon and broader cultural tendencies to oversimplify complex tools. Together, they reflect on how a narrow focus on external relief can hinder meaningful growth and engagement with the full potential of these traditions.

dialogue summary

Jamie Meyer:
And so what you're describing is being as in wholeness. And so it is considering all levels of self rather than being reaction that we have or us being the reaction that we have to external in the stimuli.

Jamie Meyer:
What you’re describing is being as in wholeness—considering all levels of self rather than simply reacting to external stimuli.

Dr. Symeon Rodger:
Yes, that’s a great way to put it. If we examine what these external stimuli do to us, it’s predominantly stress. We’re living in one of the most stressed-out cultures in history.
And how do we usually respond? By seeking immediate relief. We look for tools that can help us alleviate stress—whether physical, psychological, or a combination of the two. But we tend to view these tools through a very narrow lens: How will this help me relieve stress?

For example, someone might say, I’ll practice Tai Chi to feel less stressed, or I’ll meditate to calm down. While tools like Tai Chi, Qigong, or meditation can indeed alleviate stress, that wasn’t their original purpose. Stress relief is merely a byproduct, a side effect. A valuable one, yes, but not the main goal.

This narrow focus creates a problem. If you approach these tools solely for stress relief, you fail to go deeper. You miss the full transformative potential these practices offer, leaving them as mere “band-aid” solutions rather than addressing the root of the issue.
This is where the concept of McMindfulness comes in. Mindfulness meditation, for instance, was once a fringe practice. Now, it’s everywhere. Doctors recommend it, workplaces offer it—it’s become a mainstream solution.

But as one author, Miles Neale, puts it, mindfulness has been commoditised. It’s been dumbed down into what he calls McMindfulness—the fast food of personal development.

Jamie Meyer:
Like mental fast food, right?

Dr. Symeon Rodger:
Exactly. It’s the fast food of personal development. And many tools end up like this. They get stripped of their depth and complexity because our culture focuses so much on stress relief.
Part of the issue is also that our cultural worldview doesn’t always accommodate what these tools are trying to teach us. Without the broader understanding or context, we lose much of their potential.

Credits Roll

references

McMindfulness coined by Miles Neale in Gradual Awakening: The Tibetan Buddhist Path of Becoming Fully Human(Published: 18 September 2018).
Gradual Awakening on Amazon

reading recommendations

The Healing Power of the Breath by Richard Brown and Patricia Gerbarg – Highlights how breathwork can improve health and promote body-mind integration, complementing practices like Qigong.