The foundation of being human.

Meditation is like licorice. Or even green eggs and ham. Those who like it, really like it. Those who don’t, really don’t. Many don’t really know. It’s time we changed that.

In the 70s, meditation journeyed from the East to the West. Before that, meditation was largely associated with Eastern religions and practices.

Though meditation has been practiced for over 2,500 years, it hasn’t become habitual for many. If you believe the statistics, only about 275 million people worldwide meditate regularly. That’s about 6% of the population.

6% is not enough.

I’m no expert, just a guy with nearly two decades of ‘personal growth’ including psychedelic work, counseling, talk therapy, coaching, classes, and meditation training. I’ve tried things, done work, and had many trials and errors. More than anything, I have an authentic desire to help others learn what I’ve learned. Wanting to help is kind of a byproduct of meditation, you see.

Why would anyone listen to me?

It’s a good question. In a world obsessed with credibility, degrees, and certifications I don’t have a lot to offer. My CV looks like this:

I have a PhD. This means I am a self-driven, accomplished, independent researcher and thinker. I can teach myself stuff.

I’m a lifelong thinker and intellectual. I like learning.

I wanted to study philosophy. I am interested in what it means to be a human being.

I am certified to teach mindfulness meditation by Dharma Moon and Tibet House. I spent money, put in the work, and met the requirements.

I used to be very anxious. Now I am more calm.

In short, I care about this stuff, I’ve researched it for most of my life like a professional, and I have reaped benefits.

Why don’t people meditate?

Lots of people want to meditate. Not everyone thinks it’s total woo-woo BS. But only a tiny subset of the curious do it. Most people don’t know what meditation is, what it can do, and how it relates to mindfulness. It’s hard to like something you don’t understand.

1. Meditation is a practice that teaches mindfulness. Meditation is what you do for 20 minutes a day, affecting your entire life. Like practicing scales allows a musician to improvise in a concert, meditation helps us to be mindful in our daily lives.
2. Mindfulness is the real goal. Being mindful is being less reactive. Techniques learned in meditation create a window of opportunity between an event and your automatic reaction. In this way, meditation provides freedom of choice in how you react to things. This is the true meaning of freedom and will improve your entire life. This is why we call meditation a practice. You practice on a chair or cushion for when you need to perform in your daily life.
3. ‘Doing meditation’ is simply bringing awareness to the present moment and watching what arises without bias or judgment. It isn’t ‘not thinking’, ‘clearing your mind’, or saying ‘ohm’. When awareness drifts away, you note that and return to the present moment. Often, we use the breath as an anchor representing the present moment and note ‘thinking’ when our awareness drifts and we return to the breath. It’s like starting over all over again. Rinse and repeat.

There are many variations of meditation that I won’t get into here. The above method has worked for over 2,500 years.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

There isn’t much to do when meditating. I sit for 20 minutes, five days a week. I relax my body and try to rest my attention on my breathing. Resting attention is an interesting phrase, but I try to gently focus on my breath without trying too hard. Really, I am just using my breath as an anchor to keep myself from being aware of other things.

So what is meditation and why is it mandatory?

What happens next confuses most people and it’s why meditation has such a bad rep.

Once you sit, relax, and find your breath you will immediately start thinking. It’s what the brain does. It’s what humans do. We aren’t trying to change it.

When you realize you have stopped resting your awareness on your breath and instead are thinking about something, you simply note to yourself, ‘thinking’, and return to your breath.

Listen closely.

During a twenty-minute meditation, you might note ‘thinking’ 100s of times.

Listen more closely.

That means you’re doing it right.

I know. It sounds too easy. But that’s not your fault. You’ve just misunderstood what meditation is.

How can something so simple work?

I don’t profess to know the mechanisms that cause meditation to change our lives. I don’t think anyone does. Frankly, I don’t care. And if you are someone who needs a scientist to ‘prove’ these relationships, or you don’t trust me because I have weak ‘credentials’ you are only hurting yourself.

It’s like Louis Armstrong said when asked what jazz is:

If you have to ask you’ll never know.

The problem is, I want everyone to know, whether they ask or not.

Anyway, the why isn’t as important as the how. And this is kind of the point.

I can testify that meditation has changed my life. Surely, all the other stuff related to my personal growth also contributed. But nothing has had a more pronounced and direct effect than meditating twenty minutes a day five days a week.

The best way I can describe the benefits is this:

Meditation helps me be less reactive.

Being less reactive reduces my anxiety.

Being less anxious helps me see more choices.

Making new choices allows me to change my beliefs.

Changing my beliefs gives me options to change.

Change leads to freedom.

The results of meditation are not direct, they are cascading.

When you hit a nail with a hammer, the nail goes into the wood. This is direct causality.

When you add heat to water, it converts to steam. This process requires several steps including the vibration of molecules and alterations to hydrogen bonds. We often see it as a two-step process where heat causes water to turn to steam, but it isn’t that simple.

Most processes are multivariate and indirect or emergent. Meditation is no different.

Mindfulness results from meditation indirectly. It just happens. The more you practice meditation, the more mindful you will be in your daily life.

Similarly, the more you practice meditation, the less reactive you will be. Many people report also being more calm.

While I can’t tell you that meditation will do this for you, it has helped me and thousands of other people.

Truly, meditation has helped me more than any other technique I tried. Plus, meditation is easier, cheaper, and faster than other methods. Lastly, meditation, when practiced regularly, appears to have longer-lasting, more permanent benefits than the alternative techniques I mentioned.

This is why meditation is the foundation of being human. No other technique is as effective. Everything a human could want:

better relationships

less anxiety

a better job

will benefit from being calmer and less reactive.

Meditation and mindfulness are essential elements of everything human.

It’s ok if you don’t believe me. But you may never know if you haven’t meditated twenty minutes a day, five days a week, for at least six months. But you could. You may even like it.