Hello There,

I picked up a copy of Sam Harris’s Waking Up and was inspired to write down a few thoughts that I wanted to share that were worthwhile.

This quote stuck out to me the most:

“Most people who believe they are meditating are merely thinking with their eyes closed.” – Sam Harris

CONTEXT

If you’re human and woke up today then you are already having thoughts that are ‘glass half full’ or ‘glass half empty’.

It’s important to remove the glass completely… Meditation isn’t the act of thinking about one thing or focusing on another. It’s about clearing your mind so you are not thinking about anything at all.

METHOD

Here are 5 interesting ways to start your meditation journey:

  1. Start with 1 minute
  2. Breaking the spell of thought
  3. Having no head
  4. Eye Contact
  5. How to Meditate (Instructions)

Start with 1 minute

Whether or not you’ve meditated before – doesn’t matter to me.

You don’t need to do this for 30 minutes a day to get started.

Here’s the best way to get started:

  1. Make a decision that you’re going to do this at the same time everyday (in your routine)
  2. Sit down, close your eyes and focus on your breath
  3. Anytime you have a thought, bring it back to your breath
  4. Repeat for 1 minute

You are now an expert at meditation 🙂

Breaking the spell of thought

‘The practice of meditation is a method of breaking the spell of thought’ – Sam Harris

Meditation is merely the practice of clearing your mind of thoughts. That’s it. It’s simple – not easy.

Yep, that’s right. Meditation is a simple practice of not having thoughts in your head while you’re focusing on breathing.

Here’s what happens and how to clear your mind:

  1. Your mind will wander into thought without you realizing it.
  2. Recognizing it is your first step
  3. Bringing your mind back to focus on breath work
  4. By focusing on your breath work and the act of breathing is all you need to focus on

This is simple – not easy.

Look for your head

This is unique and extremely powerful when you execute it correctly. I didn’t get it at first but once you start looking at the world in this way – it gives you a new perspective.

How it works:

  1. When having a conversation with another person – let your attention travel to the other person’s gaze (your head)
  2. Looking for yourself in this way can change your perspective
  3. Alternatively, think about yourself with having no head.

It will take some practice and you’ll either see it immediately or you won’t see it at all.

Try it.

Eye Contact

Yes you can meditate with another person and it’s powerful once you get the hang of it.

How to do it:

  1. Sit directly across from your eye contact meditation partner and stare into each other’s eyes
  2. Continue to hold eye contact without speaking
  3. How to Meditate (Instructions)
  4. Sit comfortably on the ground (on a cushion or in a chair) and make sure your spine is straight
  5. Close your eyes, take a few deep breaths and start focusing on the points where your body is floor (or chair) are connected. Start noticing the feelings with sitting whether that’s the pressure, sensations, temperature, etc.
  6. Focus on breathing and become aware of the process of breathing. Pay attention to how it affects your body.
  7. There is no need to try and do controlled breathing – just let it happen. Your attention should be focused on the sensation of breathing.
  8. When your mind wonders in thought, bring your mind back to the breath.
  9. As you do this, your mind will start to wonder into hearing sounds and emotions. It’s ok for that to happen and just notice it BUT bring yourself back to breath work.
  10. When you notice your mind THINKING about something, you can recognize that in your consciousness. You’ll want to return your attention back to the breath work or to the next sound or sensation that happens in the next moment.
  11. Continue this until you’ve reached a point where you’d like to stop.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

As you begin your practice of doing this, it’s going to be challenging. I recommend you start with doing this for 1 minute and slowly increase up to 10 minutes. If you can get to a 10 minute exercise doing this every morning after a 66 day period – you’ll start to form a new habit.

“On average, it takes more than 2 months before a new behavior becomes automatic – 66 days to be exact” – James Clear (New Habit)

Try out the instructions and the methods I’ve described here that are inspired from Sam Harris and his book Waking Up.

See you next week,

Andrew

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