# Episode 163

**Summary:**

In Episode #163 Ari interviews his much-appreciated meditation teacher Mary Meckley of [Sip and Om](https://www.sipandom.com/). During the interview, Mary explains how her time working in corporate Japan led to her discovery of meditation, how that discovery led to a newfound love, and how that newfound love ultimately led to the birth of _Sip and Om_.

**Special Announcements:**

## [Fuel the Fire](http://www.ippa.net/content/index.php?view=details&id=6%3A2015+IPPA+Business+Excellence+Conference&option=com_eventlist&Itemid=54)

Come watch Ari light-up the Drake Hotel in Chicago on Wednesday, August 5th as he delivers a rousing keynote speech for IPPA Business Excellence Conference: _Fuel the Fire_. This will be a great opportunity to watch Ari translate the lessons of Less Doing into terms business leaders can take to the bank.

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**Time Stamped Show Notes:**

- 10:25 – Introduction of Mary Meckley of [Sip and Om](https://www.sipandom.com/meditation-for-productivity/)

- 11:19 – Mary explains how she got into meditation

- 14:19 – Meditation creates new neural pathways in the brain

- 15:01 – Mary does not focus on one specific type of meditation

- 15:40 – Use whatever techniques you need to get there – there being a place of calm and mindfulness

- 16:17 – Have something to look forward to every day

- 16:40 – Meditation is about slowing downs and becoming self-aware

- 18:15 – How Mary lays out the weekly meditation schedule

- 19:00 – Get outside and connect with the world…with nature…with your environment

- 20:26 – When one faces the elements everyday they become more capable of handling stress, anxiety, etc.

- 22:45 – The most important thing in meditation is to allow yourself to _transition_…you can’t just sit down and turn it on

- 25:20 – For most people, conducting a daily podcast would be a challenge but Mary enjoys it

- 25:28 – Make your meditation rough around the edges

- 26:23 – Consistency is important in meditative success

- 26:55 – The people that become the _best _meditators – that get the most out of mediation – are those with high-energy

- 28:16 – Mary’s sources of inspiration

- 30:14 – The more you learn, the more you’re obligated to do something with that knowledge

- 31:48 – [www.SimAndOm.com](www.SimAndOm.com)

**7 Key Points:**

1. Find something to look forward to every single day.

2. People need to adapt themselves to the seasons – to the outside world – rather than just create a false level of “comfort” all the time.

3. Meditation needs to be rough around the edges.

4. Become a master of transition.

5. Consistent meditation has been proven to create new neural pathways in the brain.

6. Everyone needs a source of inspiration, but that source need not be grandiose.

7. Exposure to the natural world helps us better understand (and ultimately control) things like anxiety and stress.

**Resources Mentioned:**

- [Sound Hound](http://www.soundhound.com/hound) – Actually it’s called Houndify but it’s awesome nonetheless—this is Siri on every PED imaginable

- [AnalyzeCorp](http://analyzecorp.com/data-science-outsourcing) – An outsourcing service for data science

- [IBS Test](http://www.medicaldaily.com/blood-test-certain-forms-irritable-bowel-syndrome-may-have-just-been-discovered-334596) – Medical daily article highlighting a _new _test designed to definitively identify the cause of IBS

- [Diff Bot](https://www.diffbot.com/?ref=producthunt) – Automated website scraping complete with an API and other elegant features

- [Slack’s Secret Sauce](https://medium.com/@awilkinson/slack-s-2-8-billi

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