This is a conversation I had with Ruth Djatmiko. Ruth is a piano teacher in Amsterdam. She also recently started meditating with my No Problem course. I asked her to have this conversation because I wanted to hear about her difficulties with meditation and how she relates it piano playing.

01:45 – Definition of “meditation”
04:49 – Michael’s meditation routines
06:02 – Does meditation require sitting? Can walking be meditation?
08:09 – Is playing music a meditation posture?
11:29 – Is sitting important even if it’s uncomfortable?
12:21 – Is sitting REALLY useful?
13:17 – Is 2 hours of meditation too much?
14:58 – How to build up longer periods of time
19:09 – Does meditation change how you look at the world?
21:00 – The No Problem meditation course
23:44 – Why is Michael angry at piano teachers?
27:39 – Piano practice
29:05 – Sight-reading vs. studying
35:11 – What’s the point of classical music?
38:53 – Appreciating music after studying it.
40:32 – Fugues
43:21 – Should Michael appreciate piano teachers’ opinions?
44:20 – Doing what works, how Michael came up with ignoring musicality
47:42 – Meditation, music, spreading ideas
49:46 – Free improvisation
52:16 – Michael’s path to a music degree
55:56 – Difference between amateur and professional musicians
57:05 – Feeling the stress of classical musicians

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