Mindfulness and compassion are important constructs in a growing area of self-improvement and clinical care for mental health and well-being. These constructs are defined, applied, and measured in a variety of ways, which is empirically problematic and creates confusion, thus highlighting the need to operationalize and contextualize them appropriately across clinical and cross-sectional contexts. One method proposed herein describes latent factors that develop across a continuum and accounts for multidimensional state and trait differences in contemporary clinical or traditional monastic meditation contexts. This spectrum spans from momentarily induced states of mindful awareness and kindness expressed in daily life (“little m”), to long-lasting dispositions that are expressed in advanced consciousness, including non-dual expressions of compassion (“Big M”). The “m to M model” is proposed to improve accountability for the heterogeneity of dispositional levels and developmental changes in meditation practitioners. Electrophysiological and neurodevelopmental markers and phenotypes can be mapped onto this model to account for changes across the continuum of mindfulness and compassion as states and stages. Further development and utilization of this model in practice are hypothesized to improve the skillful means with which the constructs of mindfulness and compassion are measured and integrated into clinical care and conceptual models.