meditation challenge.

hi,

nowadays it feels like when ppl talk about meditation, they overcomplicate it:

> “how much meditation time did you get in today?”

> “yeah i use the y app, it’s better than the z app trust me.”

> “what technique are you using? i’m doing transcendental it’s the best.”

it's all bullshit.

meditation is the art of doing nothing.

no focus, no mantra, no dharma, no chakras, no buddhas, no gurus, no gratitude, no scripture, no temple, no music, no gadgets, no apps.

none of this is required.

meditation is sitting down and letting thoughts go through you.

it's also a birthright!

this means everybody in this planet has access to it, whenever, wherever.

you don’t need permission to meditate, you don’t need a teacher, you don’t need to pay.

you radically accept everything that comes your way and learn not to identify with what arises, because you are not your thoughts.

in an age of over-consumption, meditation is fasting for the mind.

it’s not holy or spiritual or magical.

it is nothing.

over time, the practice will probably help you see the world more clearly and help you be more in tune with your emotions, which can mean radical change potential in your life.

yet if you fixate too much on these desires and outcomes, they’ll eventually take you out of the moment -- so beware.

lastly, ignore all advice on meditation.

including this.

⊙

much of what i wrote above is insight from a guy called naval ravikant. i remember hearing him on a podcast a few years ago talking about all of this and getting kinda stunned as i listened.

despite his “non-advice”, i wanted in.

i had been tip-toeing around these topics for a while but now i was ready to take meditation more seriously, so i started a practice he suggests for beginners:

to meditate 60 minutes every day for 60 days straight.

and so i did.

this was ~3 years ago, yet i still remember how impactful this 60-day challenge was for my life.

this is what i journaled after completing day 57:

i am moved by how peaceful the moment to moment felt like - and at the same time - impressed by how unaware i am of my default "go go go" state.

the truth is, since that challenge, i’ve been on and off with the practice (kinda sad i know).

but now i’m ready to run it back, this time with some accountability.

so, if you wanna participate in this 60-day meditation challenge alongside me, reply with your phone # and i’ll make a group chat with all of us that opt-in.

this is how it’ll work:

1) every day i’ll ask: “did you meditate today?” and you’ll answer yes or no in a poll. there’s no time requirement but the suggestion is 60 minutes a day.

2) if you miss more than 5 days in total, i’ll kick you out of the group.

3) it’ll start in 1 week (monday the 13th) and end on december 12th.

that’s it haha -- i just want some accountability for myself and can offer you some too.

alright that’s all i got.

as always, thanks for your time.

namaste, dani.

p.s. much of the stuff i wrote on meditation i took from this thread authored by naval, at times verbatim. i recommend giving it a read.

p.p.s. when i did the challenge 3 years ago, i journaled right after each session. here’s every entry.