In the last 149 interviews, a common theme that comes up in interviews is the importance of self-knoweldge: of knowing what one is good at, knowing what gets one energized, and knowing what one wants out of a career and life. For today's Skills episode, I wanted to share my experience with a powerful tool: Meditation and Silent Meditation Retreats. While the benefits of Meditation is well documented with respect to concentration and increased productivity, I wanted to share four different ways in which this may help veterans. The episode covers (1) the basics of meditation, (2) why a veteran may be interested in a silent meditation retreat, (3) an overview of silent meditation retreats, and (4) resources in case you would like to learn more.

Selected Resources:

 

• BTU #123 – The Veterans Yoga Project (Dr. Dan Libby)
• Spirit Rock Meditation Center is where I have done my four retreats, and I have also heard very positive things about the Insight Meditation Society
• Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) - a great introduction to meditation; there are programs around the world that offer MBSR. I took mine through UCSF.
• Book Recommendations
  • 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works--A True Story
  • Search Inside Yourself: The Unexpected Path to Achieving Success, Happiness (and World Peace)