Episode 13 – Meditation

• A couple of podcasts ago we talked about presence
• A great way to cultivate your presence is through the practice of meditation
• I think there are kind of 2 sides out there – people very open to meditation and already practice it, and people that think its all non-sense
• I hear more and more people speak about their meditation routine so I think it is becoming much more mainstream.
• With the help of science publishing research results on the benefits of meditation to our brain and our overall well-being, more people are giving it a try.
• And among those, there are some that struggle with it
• Especially the sitting still part.
• But we will get to that.
• I am not here to convince or force you
• But I am here to help you become more open-minded and I want to highlight the benefits of meditation
• So lets start with the word meditation
• I think many people may have the wrong impression of what mediation is
• There is a reason I spoke about presence first
• If you recall, I used the word mindfulness a couple of times instead of presence
• Same with meditation
• Often we get hung up on a term which we associate with something unpleasant and then we immediately close ourselves off to it
• Its probably like that with mediation – you may be imagining a group of gurus sitting in a circle clothed in linen and humming strange sounds
• Or you may thing its super boring and useless. The thought of just sitting in one spot, doing nothing, could appear like a waste of time.
• Like presence, meditation is a critical element on the quest for you
• And, like presence, It falls into the area of our lives that requires quiet time, stillness and an active listening to our inner voice
• Without turning inward, we will not get the answers to the questions we have
• Its just not possible
• The outside world, as you may have already experienced, doesn’t give us everything we need to life a truly fulfilled and joyful life

• Meditation is a deeply personal practice
• And because its so personal, it is personalized
• there is no required procedure you need to follow
• its all about you – you make it your own practice
• the question is this: what do you want to get out of meditation?
• The reason it doesn’t work for some people is that they go into mediation with a set of expectations, like when they go to the gym expecting weigh loss and muscle gain
• They want to relax, or feel special in a certain way, and when they don’t see these results, they give up
• I will need to do a separate podcast about Expectations
• But expectations are a goal killer
• They are just a set of assumptions of what the outcome should look like
• They don’t allow any room for surprises, something new and unexpected.
• With meditation – we are talking about the fuzzy and personal area of the mind
• Your mind, your thoughts and your consciousness
• I like to say mediation tones our mind, like exercise tones our muscles
• But the path cannot be laid out like a workout schedule
• Toning your mind is part of your personal journey – you with yourself
• Now if you are serious you can get into group, get a guide or a guru, but they will not prescribe a program for you either, they merely help channel you
• If you have never mediated, I suggest you start alone, in the comfort of your home
• The tendency is to enroll in yet another class because we don’t trust ourselves with being able to do it right
• But like I just said – meditation is not about performance, its not about doing it a certain way
• In fact, the instructions are easy, and, above all, flexible and adjustable, and I am going to give them to you
• But before I do I want to emphasize again something I said on a previous podcast and that is important for you to understand before you begin your mediation journey
• We tend to teeter between doing and not doing
• we either run around like crazy accomplishing stuff, or we tune out of life completely via screens, substances or entertainment
• mediation is somewhere in between
• you are not doing anything but you are also not tuning out
• honestly – who wants tune out and miss out on life?
• I never get it – all this numbing that’s going on under the umbrella of “having a good time”
• We could have a much better time with life in general if we committed more to our own development
• But ok, enough ranting
• think of mediation as tuning in, or inward
• during times of distraction you are basically unconscious. Your mind is not engaged when you watch movies or down another martini

• during meditation, you are very conscious.
• In fact, you are intentional
• Not manipulative. Not forcing your mind in any way
• Just intentional. You are listing to your mind and you gently bring it to the places you want it to go
• There are so many benefits to mediation. We will talk about them in later episodes
• For today, I don’t want to overwhelm you.
• My hope is that you give mediation try after this episode.
• Today I want to focus on one major benefit of meditation
• meditation is a way to bring awareness back into your life
• I talk so much about our thoughts and how they run our mind
• Well guess what – during meditation you become clearly aware of those thoughts
• Because as you mediate, you observe them coming in
• Its quite an amazing experience
• Its like watching people coming and going
• You become perceptive to the thoughts you are thinking
• So – meditation is an essential tool to help you re-direct your thoughts
• Without becoming still, its very difficult to notice whats going on in your mind
• meditation shines the light on your thoughts
• and once you know whats going on in your mind, you are in a better place to understand what drives your actions
• our thoughts mostly drive our behavior,
• by observing your thoughts, you will realize how strange some of them are
• the same awarenees that you gain by observing your thoughts will also reflect in your behavior
• as you take care in discerning your thoughts, you will learn to be more deliberate with your actions and your behavior
• but – I am already telling you about more of the amazing benefits of meditation
• I promise – we will talk more about them
• So
• For now, just start
• And here are the instructions – 3 easy steps:
• Find a quiet spot in your home and some time. You can even set the timer if you are very strict with your time. Start easy. 5 minutes is plenty. You can work your way up to more later.
• Sit or lay down. I find sitting a bit more attentive than laying down. I only lay down when I want to sleep. But again – up to you whatever is comfortable.
• 3. Focus on breathing. When I read articles about mediation and they tell you to clear your mind – then I always wonder. You cannot really ever clear your mind. Its non-sense.
• Remember – no expectations. No pressure, no force
• We want to just gain awareness. We want to find a way to connect with ourselves.
• Later, you can expand this by setting clear intentions, but to start out with, lets not make it complicated.
• My recommendation with the breath:
• Breathe slowly in through your nose, and slowly out through your nose or mouth. Your choice.
• Just do this. Focus on your breath
• If thoughts come to mind, observe them.
• Don’t force yourself to think nothing. Don’t get frustrated with anything that you start thinking
• If you think about whats for dinner – fine
• Just take note of it
• Remember the people watching analogy I gave?
• Use that. See yourself as someone from the distance observing what comes and goes through your mind.

• 3 easy steps.
• We will explore this further in future episodes
• It should not be this overwhelming task
• I encourage you to try it right after this podcast:
• Again – find a quiet spot, sit or lay down, and breathe.
• And do this every day.
• Meditation is not a one time thing.
• It should become a routine.
• Awareness will not come today or tomorrow. It will take time.

Talk about effort and discipline