This One Device Turned Me Into A Daily Meditator
Ten years ago, I went through a period of high anxiety. It was roughly the time I began to pound the pavement as an Enterprise Software seller.
Unfortunately for me, I was paired with a smart but caustic account manager, and his behavior created a toxic work environment that made me dread going to work, and I started to lose sleep too.
Right about this time, a friend who is into mindfulness meditation suggested that since I live in the Bay Area, I ought to try a silent meditation retreat at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. The center is in Marin County, right across the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge, and according to my friend, “people travel all over the world for it.”
I had meditated a few times by then, but nothing longer than an hour. People that know me and my rather gregarious, dynamic nature laughed at the prospect of me staying quiet for any length of time, let alone for days on end. I also had my doubts, but I was feeling burnt out, and a few days away from work sounded marvelous, so off I went.
I will save the Spirit Rock experience for a subsequent article, but the five-day retreat was life-changing for me.
On average, I meditated for six hours a day in a mix of sitting and walking meditations. Mindfulness exercises like Qi-Gong, yoga, and chanting are interspersed throughout the day. Since the center is nestled within hundreds of acres of redwood forest, I would take a few hours a day to run in the woods and let nature recharge me.
I remembered like it was yesterday that towards the end of the retreat, I felt a steady sense of peace and joy, unlike anything I’ve felt before. I seriously considered quitting my job to work at Spirit Rock, so I have access to this amazingness all the time.
The sense of peace and oneness lasted another month or so after I left. I remember feeling totally at ease and in harmony with the people around me while standing in an endless meandering line at the Post Office. My old self would have immediately turned on a podcast, read a book, or perform small Pilates moves to tone my body. I used to be so afraid of wasting time because it never felt like there was enough of it, but that day, I didn’t feel the need to do anything else. I simply stood there, enjoying being alive.
The thing is, I did try to meditate on my own after the retreat, but it is super hard to sit when I have work and a million other things on my mind.
What changed the game for me was a year and a half ago, I chanced upon a Muse meditation device in the Kickstarter store. The device sits across your forehead and gives you real-time EEG based brainwave feedback through sound.
Muse gives you several sound options. For example, one of my favorites is the tropical jungle scene. If my mind is agitated, the weather will take a turn for the worst, and eventually, it will be a lightening filled thunderstorm. If I am calm, on the other hand, the weather will calm down too, and birds will start to chirp.
Being a learner, a logical person, and someone who needs to know what’s going on, getting real-time feedback dramatically increased my motivation to sit. With Muse, I can experiment and see what meditation technique works better for me.
For example, I discovered that counting breath makes me more agitated, although it’s the most common mediation technique taught. I have wondered about this for a long time, but I was told that this is the essential technique, so I kept trying it and getting frustrated. On the other hand, loving-kindness meditation, where one takes turns wishing oneself and others well, works wonders for me.
What works is different for everyone, and this is the main reason I use Muse — it allows me to know what works for me and my unique mind, so I can adjust my approach to maximize the benefit of sitting.
What I also appreciate about Muse is it turns the experience into a game. You get birds for reaching deeper meditative brain states, and you concur different challenges (longer meditations, longer streaks of sessions, etc.) to move up levels.
Anyway, if you’re interested in getting one to try out, you can use this link. AFAIK this is the least expensive way to get Muse, but if anyone knows anything different, please post and share in the comments section.
