Getting Simple

#43: James Melouney and Selene Urban — Overcoming The Fear of Meditation, Practices, Authenticity, Connecting With Your Audience, and More

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James Melouney & Selene Urban on how to get started with meditation, self-discovery, building trust and connection with your audience through a humane and authentic message, and key learnings from their entrepreneurial journey.


James Melouney is an eclectic mix of mathematics, finance, strategy, marketing, meditation and self-discovery. He graduated with a University Medal in Mathematics & Finance before becoming a management consultant. Though since then, James chose to follow his calling in life and authored two books: The Art of Success and Simple Living (March 30, 2021 release). James dedicates himself to living honestly and authentically. To rise above fear so that he can live out his life purpose. He believes our ultimate aim is to become the unique expression of who we truly are.

Selene Urban always felt naturally pulled to connecting to her inner world. From her name meaning “Moon Goddess,” to deeply experiencing what she is and how we journey through life & relationships, to exploring her physical body through dance and yoga. Acknowledging how precious life truly is, she facilitates yoga trainings, retreats and holds space for women and men ready to meet themselves with grace, intimacy and realness.


Favorite quotes
  • "Even if I'm really excited about a project. I need to just let it sit for a little bit, maybe a day or two. And then I decide if I want to go into it. And that's an example of slowing down. You can do far less, but you're doing the right things. So the outcomes are there, you've got more time, you've got less stress. I think it's beautiful." —James Melouney
  • "Whatever you're going through right now, it truly has a reason for a bigger mission that you have in this life. And no matter how hard it is, keep trusting in that calling that is right in your heart center." —Selene Urban
    • Books
    • Simple Living: Love Your Life by James Melouney
    • The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
    • A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles by Marianne Williamson
    • Deepest Acceptance: Radical Awakening in Ordinary Life by Jeff Foster
    • The Wonder of Being: Awakening to an Intimacy Beyond Words by Jeff Foster
      Meditation and yoga
      • Vipassana meditation uses sati (mindfulness) and Samatha (calm)
      • Ayurveda is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent
      • Pranayama is the practice of breath control in yoga
      • Sankrist is a classical language of South Asia
      • A yogi is a practitioner of yoga
      • Yoga
      • Enlightenment is the "full comprehension of a situation"
      • Sama vritti (equal breathing) is a yoga technique proven to help lower stress and increase calm
        Marketing and automation
        • Zapier
        • Buffer
        • Hootsuite
        • MailChimp
        • AWeber
        • ClickFunnels
        • Namecheap
        • WordPress
        • Divi WordPress theme
        • Thinkific
          People mentioned
          • Peter Burkhardt
          • Eckhart Tolle
          • Marianne Williamson
          • Jeff Foster
            Chapters
            • 0:00 · Intro
            • 4:26 · How James and Selene crossed paths
            • 13:06 · Meditation and Spirituality
            • 15:10 · Meditation workshops
            • 18:24 · Why do people meditate?
            • 19:17 · Steps to meditation
            • 19:57 · Am I doing it right?
            • 22:36 · What is vipassana?
            • 23:08 · The vipassana practice
            • 25:50 · Practice vs. Spirituality
            • 28:27 · Enlightenment
            • 34:13 · The fear of meditation
            • 36:48 · How to get started with meditation
            • 38:36 · How can you meditate when you're by yourself?
            • 39:20 · Same-length breath meditation: Sama Vritti
            • 40:18 · How is it to have learned this and communicate it to others?
            • 41:21 · How do people find you? Connection, marketing, and advertising.
            • 44:39 · How to make a message more humane and personal?
            • 46:30 · Connecting to your audience
            • 47:50 · On building a mailing list and authenticity
            • 52:07 · Struggles of having your own business
            • 55:36 · Techniques, products, and services
            • 58:19 · Would you like to continue doing this your whole life?
            • 59:31 · What would you do differently with a 10-20 people team?
            • 1:00:53 · What's the format of your gatherings?
            • 1:03:17 · How do you build trust?
            • 1:04:49 · Routines and habits
            • 1:07:33 · Is your life simple?
            • 1:09:37 · When do you meditate?
            • 1:10:41 · Do you exercise?
            • 1:12:26 · Non-work activities
            • 1:13:03 · What media do you consume?
            • 1:13:26 · Social media
            • 1:14:22 · Learning from other people's ads
            • 1:15:09 · Automation tools
            • 1:16:10 · Distractions
            • 1:16:55 · When do you get your best ideas?
            • 1:17:22 · How do you disconnect?
            • 1:18:20 · How do you deal with boredom?
            • 1:19:15 · How would you define success?
            • 1:19:39 · Is there anything you say to yourself in the morning?
            • 1:20:29 · Who comes to mind when you think of a successful person?
            • 1:22:06 · How do you handle seeing other people succeed ahead of you?
            • 1:23:53 · A message to the world
            • 1:24:39 · What would you tell your 20-year-old-self?
            • 1:25:20 · Are you paranoid about anything?
            • 1:26:37 · Who do you like to follow?
            • 1:28:23 · What's the other book about?
            • 1:29:04 · What do you think of slowing down in life?
            • 1:30:23 · What's next for you?
            • 1:30:59 · Is there something you want to ask me?
            • 1:31:26 · Where are you simplifying and slowing down in your life?
            • 1:34:27 · What have been the most challenging and most fulfilling experiences with making Getting Simple?
            • 1:36:22 · Thanks
            • 1:36:51 · Outro
            • 1:37:42 · Bonus: Simple Breathing with Selene

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