#22 - Meditation as a Habit (Part 2)

Meditation is a powerful and somewhat misunderstood tool in improving our health and wellbeing. Perhaps the challenge with meditation is that the effect can only be felt after a longer practice period which can be months or years. The scientific evidence is however there. Meditation simply is a must tool for everyone interested in their health and wellbeing.

Join Aki Ranin and me in this very deep discussion. Part 2 of 2.


0:00 - 15:00 Accepting pain and emotions

  • Stoicism and acceptance

  • Pain

  • Distortion of seeking comfort - is life too comfortable?

  • Meditation as a tool of acceptance towards pain

  • Meditating on hard wooden floor - no pillows or cushions - for increased awareness and acceptance of discomfort and pain

  • How to turn comfort seeking into discomfort acceptance

  • Emotions - accepting negative emotions peacefully

  • Observing emotions and accepting them

  • Separate yourself from stimulus and reaction

  • Concept of absolute stillness

  • Meditation gives you tools to react less to external stimulus

15:00 - 23:00 Accepting and recognising thoughts

  • Thoughts are a part of the stimuli: both positive and negative

  • How to accept all types of thoughts?

  • Why is it important for us to get lost in our thoughts without external stimuli?

  • Ruminating about good and bad things

  • Becoming aware of moments when you are not carried away by thoughts

  • Concept of internal movie

  • Understanding the "here and now" concept through meditation

23:00 - 27:00 Meditation routine

  • Checking in with sensations, emotions and thoughts

  • Meditation anchors

  • Raw sensory inputs and meditation

  • Finding peace in the moment

  • Nothing in meditation is forced

  • Breathing in meditation

  • Physical sensations

  • Mantra

27:00 - 35:00 Long term benefits of meditation

  • Monks & meditation

  • Control of dream states

  • Moments of enlightenment?

  • Gradual increase of moments of meditation even though you are not meditating 

  • Meditation vs flow-state

35:00 - 43:00 Styles and functions of meditation

  • Solitude and stillness without stimuli

  • Guided meditation

  • No one-size fits all

  • Studying content about meditation

  • Finding your style of meditation

  • Building your meditation habit

  • How long does it take to build a life-long meditation habit?

43:00 - 53:00 Top tips to start meditation

  • Sources: Tim Ferris, Sam Harris' podcasts

  • Testing one of the courses can be beneficial (apps like Headspace, Waking up)

  • Not necessary to do retreats

  • Test different methods and different lengths, including silent unguided meditation

  • MARC program (UCLA)

  • Benefits are compounding in nature

  • Meditation as a fundamental practice 

53:00 - 62:00 Thoughts of meditation philosophies

  • Differences between wake and dream states

  • Is there another state of wakefulness?

  • Using meditation to reveal the true form of consciousness hidden from us by the society

  • Meditation as a way to engage more with your own life

  • Increasing self-awareness through meditation

Niko Ratala