January 03, 2019

Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics with Jeff Warren

1 hour 3 minutes

I recently asked people on Twitter what new habits they are trying to adopt. 95% of the responses had meditation as one of the habits. I've read a lot of articles on how meditation physically changes the brain, how it's a gamechanger not only for performance, but simply for enjoying life and how consistency is important. But I've struggled. I'd do it for a week and then give up (and then beat myself up for it). I'd find my way back to it, but I couldn't make the habit stick. I tried to figure out why I was having trouble making meditation a regular part of my routine. When I believe in the benefits of something, I just do it - like my plant-based diet, like my 14 year commitment to my career as a cyclist... so why couldn't I just DO meditation? It's because I couldn't tell if it was working.

I recently read the book, "Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics" by Jeff Warren and Dan Harris. By read, I mean listened. Dan and Jeff both are narrating the book and Jeff even leads meditations in the audiobook. Jeff was the funny, relatable meditation expert in the book and his teaching style really resonated with me. He wasn't all serious and monk-y (is that a word?). I realized I by being too skeptical, I was looking for reasons for it NOT to work. I was even more excited to find the 10% Happier meditation app which has different instructors and just seemed like a more natural fit for me.

As I delved more into Jeff Warren, I learned he has also authored other books, leads meditation retreats, and is the founder of the Consciousness Explorers Club that creates community around meditation. Jeff enjoys exploring consciousness through the mind, through the body, and even socially. His goal is to help people live more fulfilled lives. Jeff's background before he found meditation was in journalism, especially on the science side of things. When Jeff went to his first meditation retreat, he said, that meditation did not come easily for him. "I was and am a distractible, impulsive, over-thinking, teeth-gnashing worrier. I preferred to think about all the things that could happen in meditation than actually were happening."

If you are curious about meditation or are struggling to make it a regular part of your life, I think you'll enjoy this podcast. I asked him a lot of questions based on what I learned in Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics. We talked about how to meditate (even if you don't want to focus on the breath), different tools for learning about and accepting the inner workings of our emotions and thoughts, how to find the right practice for you, and even ways to make things like sports or even showering part of your meditation practice.

Topics Discussed in the Podcast