S4E31 - Meditation - “Avoiding the woo-woo with Captain Marvel”

In This Episode: Void Meditation update! I deleted most of my meditation apps except for… Headspace Insight timer Headspace is my preference for guided meditation Insight timer has a ton of free courses and guided meditations but I couldn’t find ones that clicked.  But… Insight timer is great for customizing your own timers and for ambient noise or music choices Timer customization is mainly what I’m doing with it  Why meditate? BJ It keeps me from getting overwhelmed with all the things in my life Stressors really hit me hard, even if they’re minor Part of the whole bipolar 2 and severe anxiety thing The biggest lesson that meditation taught me is the idea of “sitting in discomfort” because there are a number of things that seem almost unbearable at times, but learning to meditate and being able to deal with that discomfort in a productive way has made my life better Void - Because I don’t physically relax enough.  Actually, I’m bad at relaxing in general… These days I tend to go pretty much non-stop A normal day for me goes from 5:20am to 8 or 9pm without a break.  Sometimes it goes later if I have work to do at home that I can’t get done in the office. Beej - had a yoga teacher tell us that meditation before yoga is the way to get the mind and body ready for the movement, so that’s right in line with how it helps you Void - I want to be meditating more often than I am but I’m having trouble finding and dedicating the time.  This is the biggest struggle for me. Any tips or tricks BJ? Yes, Of course, lol. I always have opinions Right before I start work, when I need a break, and right before bed. The biggest misconception is that you have to be in a special place. You can put in headphones, close your eyes (or just focus on a single point), and sit in stillness and focus for as long as you have. It doesn’t have to be anything set-aside. For me, sitting at my desk, I can feel myself tense and get stressed, I just take some breaths, slow my heart rate, and then focus on the whole body-scan type of meditation while I sit and work on relaxing my body and stilling my mind. Void - Hearing you say this makes me so jealous of your working from home.  Open offices are brutal. Some of my best meditations have been while driving to work or while running. It’s not about being away, it’s about being focused and aware  Avoiding the “woo” of meditation Spirituality / mysticism I want the practical benefits without buying into some crazy religion or way of life or… mumbo jumbo?  Is that the way to say it? Beej -  10% happier is all about the non-spiritual side of it. I grew up Mormon, but I’m not religious now, and that appealed to me As I kept going, though, the “spiritual” side started interesting me the more I read. And I realized it wasn’t so much a spiritual thing (or the woo-woo as my counselor put it), but the philosophical part of it all.  I read up on Buddhism since a lot of the guided meditations I was doing were by Buddhist teachers, and the basic, most fundamental,and recurring theme was “we get to do this once, so let’s make the most of it and just be nice to people.” That’s really stuck with me. But it’s wholly separate from the practice itself. It’s more of a motivation to do it, rather than an outcome from it How to get started? Void - Apps and guided meditation Headspace is honestly a great place to start Start with 5 minutes Increase to 10 minutes once you’re comfortable BJ Get in your mind that it’s likely not what you think it is read/listen to 10% happier Apps really help with guided meditations Remember that you aren’t committing hours a day to this. It might be 5 minutes or less Everyone fails Support the Podcast on Patreon

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