How To Meditate Deeper

Summary

In this meditation guide, Leo from Actualised.org offers a structured approach to deepening one's practice. He presents three progressive stages: 'Simple Observation' for beginners, 'Active Detachment' for intermediates, and 'Awareness Focus' for advanced meditators. Leo addresses common pitfalls, emphasizes the importance of a consistent daily practice, and suggests a 90-day schedule to transition smoothly between stages, aiming for self-actualization through disciplined meditation.

Takeaways

• 🧘 Leo from Actualised.org discusses advanced meditation techniques to deepen one's practice beyond the basics.
• 📚 The video is a sequel to an original popular episode on meditation, aiming to guide viewers through three stages of meditation.
• 🤔 The first stage, 'Simple Observation', encourages meditators to observe their thoughts and feelings without trying to control them.
• 🕶 The second stage, 'Active Detachment', involves actively releasing thoughts as they arise without getting attached to them.
• 🔍 The third stage, 'Awareness Focus', is an advanced technique where the meditator focuses on awareness itself rather than the content of thoughts and emotions.
• 💡 Leo emphasizes the importance of not taking thoughts too seriously during meditation, as this can lead to unnecessary frustration.
• 🔄 He suggests that meditation is a discipline that requires daily practice, with each stage ideally being practiced for a full month before moving to the next.
• ⏰ Using a timer for meditation is recommended, with a minimum of 20 minutes per session, to maintain consistency and focus.
• 🚫 Common pitfalls such as panic, frustration, and daydreaming are addressed, with advice on how to avoid or manage them.
• 🌱 Leo encourages an attitude of acceptance during meditation, including accepting the meditation process itself with all its ups and downs.
• 🎯 The final takeaway is about setting long-term goals for meditation but dropping any specific agendas during the meditation sessions to avoid creating additional mental obstacles.

Q & A

What is the main topic of Leo's video?

The main topic of Leo's video is about how to meditate deeper, providing a guide with three stages of meditation techniques.

What is the purpose of the first stage of meditation according to Leo?

The purpose of the first stage, called 'simple observation,' is to allow the mind to wander freely without controlling it and to simply observe all thoughts, feelings, and sensations that arise.

Why is it important not to fight with our thoughts during meditation?

Fighting with our thoughts during meditation can create internal conflict and tension, which goes against the goal of achieving a peaceful and relaxed state of mind.

What is the second stage of meditation called, and what does it involve?

The second stage is called 'active detachment,' which involves actively trying to release every thought that comes into the mind to achieve a state of peace.

How does Leo suggest handling thoughts that are difficult to release during meditation?

Leo suggests not to worry if a thought is difficult to release, and to try again a few seconds later without losing composure or panicking.

What is the third stage of meditation that Leo discusses?

The third stage is called 'awareness focus,' where the meditator focuses on awareness itself rather than the content of thoughts or emotions.

What common mistake does Leo warn against when trying to meditate?

Leo warns against trying to stop thoughts completely, as this can lead to frustration and is not necessary for proper meditation.

Why is it recommended to use a timer during meditation?

Using a timer helps to ensure that the meditator meditates for a consistent duration without being distracted by constantly checking the time.

What is the recommended meditation schedule according to Leo's video?

Leo recommends practicing each stage of meditation for 30 consecutive days, without missing a day, before moving on to the next stage.

What should one do if they miss a day during the 30-day stage practice?

If a day is missed during the 30-day stage practice, one should restart the cycle from the beginning of that stage.

How does Leo suggest dealing with the frustration of not being able to control thoughts during meditation?

Leo suggests accepting the inability to control thoughts and not taking them too seriously, as part of the meditation process is observing without judgment.

What is the main goal of meditation according to Leo's teachings?

The main goal of meditation, according to Leo, is to achieve self-mastery, particularly over one's mind and psychology, which can lead to a more powerful and exciting life.

Outlines

00:00

🧘 Introduction to Deep Meditation Techniques

Leo from Actualised.org introduces a guide to deepen one's meditation practice. He presents this episode as an extension of his original meditation guide, aiming to provide a no-nonsense approach to meditation. Leo outlines three stages of meditation that he personally uses to transition from a beginner to an advanced meditator. He also intends to address common problems and pitfalls meditators face and offers a meditation schedule. The first stage, 'Simple Observation,' involves sitting in a meditative posture and observing thoughts and feelings without controlling them, aiming to let the mind wander freely and simply watch its movement.

05:02

🚶‍♂️ Transitioning from Observation to Active Detachment

In the second paragraph, Leo explains the transition from the initial stage of meditation to 'Active Detachment,' which is an intermediate stage. Here, the meditator actively tries to release thoughts as they arise, aiming for a brief window of peace. Leo emphasizes the importance of not taking thoughts too seriously and not getting frustrated when unable to release a thought immediately. He advises to keep trying to release thoughts calmly and not to panic, highlighting that meditation is a discipline requiring daily practice.

10:05

🌪️ Advanced Meditation: Focusing on Awareness Itself

The third paragraph delves into the advanced stage of meditation called 'Awareness Focus.' Leo describes this as a challenging stage where the meditator focuses on awareness itself rather than the content of thoughts and emotions. He explains that everything that arises during meditation is content within the field of awareness, and the goal is to recognize this without getting absorbed by it. Leo advises to maintain awareness consistently and to gently bring the focus back whenever the mind wanders, acknowledging the difficulty of this practice.

15:08

📉 Common Pitfalls in Meditation Practice

Leo discusses common mistakes made during meditation, such as panic and frustration when realizing the uncontrollability of thoughts, the misconception that meditation should always be calm and peaceful, and the importance of using a timer to avoid distractions. He also warns against trying to completely stop thoughts, resisting thoughts, daydreaming, meditating when tired, and not accepting the meditative experience as it is. Leo stresses the importance of setting and maintaining daily meditation routines to foster discipline and improvement over time.

20:08

🛑 Meditation Mistakes: Avoiding Daydreaming and Goal Setting

In this paragraph, Leo continues to address common meditation pitfalls, including the difference between daydreaming and being aware during meditation, the inadvisability of meditating when tired, and the importance of accepting the meditation experience in its entirety. He also cautions against setting goals during meditation sessions, as they can become additional thoughts that hinder progress. Leo encourages meditators to let go of the need to achieve specific outcomes during each session and to embrace the natural fluctuations in the quality of meditation.

25:12

📈 Establishing a Meditation Schedule for Consistent Progress

Leo provides a structured meditation schedule to ensure consistent practice and progress. He suggests starting with the first stage for 30 consecutive days, then moving on to the second and third stages in the same manner. Leo emphasizes the importance of following the instructions for each stage carefully and taking notes if necessary. He also recommends revisiting the video for guidance before each meditation session. After completing the 90-day cycle, meditators can choose to continue with the most advanced stage or explore other techniques, fostering a deeper understanding of their mind and meditation practices.

30:13

🌟 Conclusion and Call to Action for Self-Actualization

In the final paragraph, Leo concludes by giving credit to Peter Ralston for the concept of meditation stages and encourages viewers to engage with his content. He invites comments, likes, shares, and subscriptions to his newsletter for weekly updates on self-actualization and meditation techniques. Leo positions meditation as a powerful habit for self-mastery and personal growth, promising more content to help viewers create the life they desire.

Keywords

💡Meditation

Meditation is a practice of focused attention and awareness, aiming to achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm state. In the video's theme, meditation serves as the central technique for self-improvement and reaching advanced mental states. The script discusses various stages of meditation, indicating its importance in the journey towards self-actualization.

💡Observation

In the context of the video, observation refers to the act of watching one's thoughts, feelings, and sensations without attempting to control or judge them. It is a fundamental aspect of the first stage of meditation described in the script, where the meditator simply observes the natural flow of their mind without interference.

💡Detachment

Detachment, as explained in the script, is the process of releasing thoughts and not getting caught up in their content during meditation. It is a key part of the second stage, 'active detachment', where the meditator makes a conscious effort to let thoughts come and go without clinging to them, promoting mental freedom.

💡Awareness

Awareness, in the video, is the state of being consciously present and cognizant of one's internal and external environment. The third stage, 'awareness focus', emphasizes putting one's attention on this awareness itself, rather than on the content of thoughts or emotions, which is crucial for deepening the meditation practice.

💡Content

Content, in the meditation context of the script, represents any thought, emotion, or sensation that arises within the field of awareness. It is used to illustrate that all experiences during meditation are temporary and should not be the focus; instead, the meditator should focus on the awareness that contains this content.

💡Pitfalls

Pitfalls, as mentioned in the script, are common mistakes or difficulties that meditators encounter, such as panic, frustration, and the assumption that meditation should always be calm. The video provides guidance on how to recognize and navigate these challenges to maintain a productive meditation practice.

💡Mindfulness

Mindfulness is the quality of being fully present and engaged in the current moment. The script encourages the practice of mindfulness during meditation by being aware of one's thoughts and feelings as they arise, which is essential for progressing through the stages of meditation.

💡Self-actualization

Self-actualization is the process of realizing one's full potential and is a central theme in the video. The script suggests that meditation is a powerful tool for self-actualization, as it helps in mastering the mind and psychology, leading to personal growth and fulfillment.

💡Discipline

Discipline, in the context of the video, refers to the consistent practice of meditation to train the mind. The script emphasizes the importance of daily meditation practice as a discipline, which is necessary for achieving the desired mental states and overcoming the challenges of meditation.

💡Enlightenment

Enlightenment, as touched upon in the script, is a state of profound insight and understanding, often associated with advanced meditation practices. The video hints at enlightenment as a long-term goal for meditators, achievable through dedicated practice and exploration of various meditation techniques.

💡Techniques

Techniques in the script refer to the various methods and approaches to meditation. The video outlines three specific stages of meditation as techniques, each with unique instructions and goals, illustrating the diversity of practices that can be explored in one's meditation journey.

Highlights

Introduction to a deeper meditation guide as a follow-up to the popular 'how to meditate' episode.

Three phases of meditation are introduced to progressively deepen one's practice.

The first stage, 'Simple Observation', involves allowing thoughts and feelings to arise without control.

Emphasizing the importance of not fighting with one's thoughts during meditation.

The inevitability of failure in meditation and the necessity to not be hard on oneself.

The discipline of daily meditation practice and setting a minimum of 20 minutes per session.

Transitioning to the second stage, 'Active Detachment', which involves releasing thoughts as they arise.

The paradox of trying too hard to meditate perfectly leading to increased seriousness and counterproductivity.

Entering the advanced stage, 'Awareness Focus', where the meditator focuses on awareness itself rather than content.

The challenge of understanding and focusing on awareness as a distinct phenomenon.

Common pitfalls in meditation such as panic, frustration, and the misconception of meditation being calm.

The importance of using a timer and not using a smartphone to avoid distractions.

Mistaken beliefs about stopping thoughts completely and the futility of trying to control them.

The difference between meditation and daydreaming, with awareness being key to distinguishing the two.

The pitfalls of meditating when tired and the importance of choosing the right time for mental clarity.

Accepting whatever happens during meditation and the counterintuitive nature of acceptance.

The misconception of having a goal during meditation and the importance of being present without agenda.

Acknowledging bad meditation days as part of the process and the importance of acceptance.

A suggested 90-day meditation schedule with incremental stages to build discipline and awareness.

The value of experimenting with different meditation techniques to find what suits the individual.

Final thoughts on self-mastery as the key to unlocking one's potential and creating a fulfilling life.

Transcripts

hey this is Leo for actualised org and

in this episode I'm going to talk about

how to meditate deeper I really consider

this episode here like a part to to my

original episode called how to meditate

which is really popular a lot of people

have gotten a lot of value from from

that one there because it's a

no-bullshit guide to meditation what

we're going to do here though is I want

to go a little bit deeper into some of

the various techniques that you can do

with your meditations and I'm going to

give you three phases or stages of

meditation that I've personally been

working on myself to take you basically

from the very beginning newbie phases of

meditation the first stage where you're

just like clueless about what to do or

how meditation works so we're going to

have you smoothly transition from that

into deeper and deeper and deeper and

more advanced stages of meditation until

ultimately you can get to some really

cool advanced places so I want to kind

of guide you through that also I want to

cover some of the common problems that

people have when they're meditating so

what are the greatest pitfalls for

meditators and I'm going to give you a

little quick schedule that you can use

for how to meditate all right so here we

go stage number one and I'm kind of

assuming that you watch my first video

here right so I'm not going to be

talking about all the basics of

meditation I understand that you

understand how the basics work so if you

do understand that then here's stage one

this is where you would begin meditation

if you've never meditated before or even

if you have meditated before but you

haven't been doing it very strictly and

you feel like you're not getting good

results with it you can just start here

at stage one right it never hurts to

relearn the basics and this one is the

easy version and it's called simple

observation so here's how it works

you

sit down you can have your eyes either

open or closed but you sit down in a

meditative like posture and then what

you do is you just allow everything to

happen and all you do is you just watch

it

you simply observe it so whatever's

going on becomes okay and you're not

trying to control any of it so what will

happen well when you sit down and let's

say you close your eyes and you're

sitting there what will happen is

thoughts will come up and various

feelings and sensations will come up

emotions will come up generally a lot of

times what we do is we try to control

that and we try to either focus our mind

on not thinking anything or we try to

focus on our mind on some specific

objective or goal within meditation and

that's one form of meditation which is

cool

remember there's many many many valid

forms of meditation so I'm not telling

you that this is the only way or that

these three ways are going to be the

only ways these meditate no what I

recommend is that you try a slew of

different meditation techniques which is

what I'm hoping you'll do here so what

you're doing is you're letting your mind

do whatever it wants to do without

controlling it and all your job is is

just to watch your mind will wander let

it wander let it think about tomorrow

night and let us think about the email

you just got and let us think about what

your wife thinks about you or the fight

that you just got in with your husband

let it think about all that stuff let it

wander to scary places dirty places

silly places whatever kind of places it

wants to go to let it go there but as it

goes there your job is to watch it go

there and just be mindful of the fact

that oh it's going somewhere it was here

and now it's there and now it's here and

now it's there and now it's here and

it's walking around in circles you just

watch it as simple as those in

struction sound it's still going to be

very difficult and you're still going to

be likely to get frustrated and want to

fight or control your mind and your mind

will say stuff to you like oh I

shouldn't be thinking about this during

meditation and all I shouldn't be

feeling that during meditation and I

shouldn't be feeling anxious during

meditation and what happens there is

that your mind starts a fight with

itself your only job is to observe not

to fight with yourself so don't fight

and the way you do this is you just

realize that when you're sitting down to

meditate for this brief 10 20 30 minutes

of your day that you don't want to take

your thoughts within that meditation

session seriously at all not just

thoughts but also feelings emotions

might come up

you might feel angry or agitated or

jealous or whatever frustrated and you

can do one of two things you can either

buy into those and take them seriously

or you can just watch them so your

objective here is just simply watch them

and what's going to happen is that

inevitably you will fail at this you

will fail dozens if not hundreds of

times just within a 20-minute window of

your meditation and what you got to do

is you got to not get caught into the

trap of beating yourself up for having

failed you just watch yourself getting

failed you see that instead of berating

yourself down yourself oh I screwed up

this meditation session you just again

you let your mind go there but you watch

your mind go there don't try to control

anything in this first stage pretty

basic about as basic as it gets as

simple as this is you're still going to

screw this up you're not going to be

able to follow these instructions to the

letter why is that well because your

mind is untrained and meditation is a

discipline it's a practice it's

something that needs to be done every

day by the way just so we get the

logistics straight here when I talk

about meditation to me what that means

is

you're sitting down in a quiet place

eyes open or closed you have a timer on

and you do I would say a minimum of 20

minutes try to shoot for 20 minutes if

you want to do more you can do more and

you have to do this on a daily basis

every single day you have to do this all

right so that's stage one after you've

practiced sage one for a while and

you've gotten pretty good at it or maybe

you're still crappy at it after a while

then what you do is you move on to stage

2 stage 2 is like the intermediate stage

and this one I call active detachment so

here what you do is again you sit down

in your typical meditation pose and you

now actively try to release every

thought that comes into your mind so

it's just like the first stage except

now you're actually doing a little bit

of manipulation something comes up like

oh shoot I got that project that's due

tomorrow at school like let's say you

get that that thought and what you do is

you say oh that's a thought let me just

let it go and you let it go and once you

get after you let it go successfully for

a few seconds is you get a little window

of peace and then what happens is that

usually another thought comes up

sometimes immediately I'll thought will

come up like oh did I lose my car keys

where did I put my car keys I can't

remember I put my car keys what if I

lost them again so that thought might

come up and again you realize oh that's

just a thought let me let it go and you

detach and release it and then

immediately that thought can come up

again so again you might say but my car

keys I really need my car keys I can't

just let this one go again you have to

realize that oh it's just another

thought let me let it go and this is the

Active Release approach so a couple of

points about this as simple as these

instructions are you're going

screw this one up a lot because what's

going to happen is you're going to try

left thoughts go

but thoughts can be sticky and they can

creep back up on you so the instruction

here is very important you try to drop

the thought release it and if you can't

for whatever reason don't worry about it

try it again a few seconds later and if

you still can't release it don't worry

about it

try again a few seconds later the key is

that you don't lose your composure and

start to panic and that you're able to

stay calm throughout this process

because notice as soon as you're

frustrated or you're panicked that tells

you what that tells you that you're

taking these thoughts too seriously

even the thought I have to be meditating

properly you're taking that too

seriously - so this whole idea of not

taking your thoughts too seriously

this is the entire theme and point of

meditation is to make you aware of this

now if you become this anal person who

tries to meditate perfectly all the time

well counter intuitively what that does

that that backfires on you because

you're not taking yourself less

seriously like you should with

meditation you're too serious about

meditating so it's a little paradoxical

there so you're going to try to release

the thought often what I find happens is

that you release the thought and the

thought comes back up five seconds later

and what you do then is you get a little

bit off your Center and you're like oh

damn but I release this thought if I

released it why is it coming back

I must have screwed up and then you got

to recognize all what am i doing I'm

just creating more thoughts let me

release these thoughts - and you release

those but then they come back two

minutes later they come back you're like

oh I should have released these but I

didn't and so you're playing these mind

games with yourself you always have to

go Metta see what's happening and then

release alright and if it fails

don't worry about it try it again you'll

fail many many times also a trick is

don't resist thoughts arising because

thoughts will arise sometimes what I

tend to do is I sit down to meditate and

I tell myself something like okay got a

nothing got a nothing no thoughts no

thoughts stop thinking no thoughts and

you just like you're trying to you know

suppress them from coming up it's kinda

like you have a burp

that's about to come up and then you

hold it back or you got a sneeze and you

hold that one in

that's kinda what you're trying to do

with your thoughts but that doesn't work

so well usually what that does is that

makes you kind of more panicked and

again there's this whole problem trying

to manipulate your way all the time so

even though in this stage to technique

you are actively detaching and that can

be viewed as a form of subtle

manipulation it's not nearly as

manipulative as you sitting there trying

to prevent thoughts from arising in the

first place that's gonna leave you very

frustrated and it's going to be

counterproductive all right so you got

that okay so that's basically stage

number two again I recommend you do it

for 20 minutes every single day with the

timer as was discussed with the other

technique now let's move on to stage

number three this one I would call them

advanced technique and this one I call

awareness focus so what you do here is

you sit in your typical meditative

posture and you put your awareness on

awareness itself put your awareness on

awareness itself this is a little tricky

because unless you've meditated for

years then actually you don't know what

awareness is when I use that word

awareness you kind of know what I'm

talking about but not really you don't

have a phenomenological

experiential understanding of awareness

and awareness is a very weird phenomenon

unless you've observed it for years it's

very hard to put your finger on it what

the [ __ ] is awareness hard to be sure so

here what you're doing is you're kind of

working on this problem of understanding

what awareness is and the way that you

do that is that you notice that

everything that comes up at any time in

your life but especially when you're

sitting down meditating is just content

that feels this you might call it a

space of awareness the field of

awareness is filled with content an

emotion is a piece of content a thought

is a piece of content and itch on your

ass is a piece of content your mom or

your dad yelling at you while you're

meditating that's a piece of content

your cat coming up and sniffing you or

licking you while you're sitting there

that's a piece of content everything is

a piece of content now usually what we

do is we get sucked into this content

and we get sucked into our thoughts

stories and into our emotions your job

here is just to become aware that all

this stuff actually is content and it's

happening within this field of awareness

and that awareness itself is not the

content this is a very freaky thing so

one way you can do this is you can sit

there and you can notice that things

enter awareness and then they disappear

from awareness so they arise and they

die and then they rise again and they

die again and this is happening

constantly but what you need to do is

you need to focus your awareness not on

the content but kind of like you zoom

out and it's almost like you're looking

at yourself from a third person although

recognize that when you sit in

meditation you look at your cell

from a third-person in your mind's eye

that actually that's just more content

right

you can't escape content content is

always there so what you try to do in

this advanced stage here is you just

focus your awareness on the fact that

content is arising and you try not to

get sucked into the content and you keep

your awareness on the fact that you're

aware and you try to maintain that as

consistently as possible without having

your mind wander off course and of

course inevitably it will wander off

course if you first start doing this

you'll probably only be able to do it

for 5 or 10 seconds before your mind

wanders of course so what do you do your

mind wanders of course you bring it back

it wanders off course again you bring it

back it wanders off again you bring it

back sometimes it'll wander off and

you'll be wandering off in fairytale

land lost in content for five whole

minutes until you realize oh [ __ ] I

forgot about focusing on my awareness

I've been focusing on the content it's

like ah man those five minutes were

wasted more content oh [ __ ] that's more

content more content damn it I'm not

meditating properly more content right

so you can be playing these mind games

with yourself just bring yourself back

as best you can sometimes you'll have

sessions where it's going to be really

hard and you'll be wandering all over

the place and that's the whole point of

meditating is to again build in this

discipline and over the weeks and months

as you practice this you'll get better

and better and better the other thing I

recommend that you do is I recommend

that you open yourself up to the

question of what is awareness anyways

it's a very profound question perhaps

the most profound question you can

actually answer in this lifetime so when

you're sitting there and you're

practicing this stage 3 start wondering

kind of like what is awareness I think I

know what awareness is but it's so hard

to put your finger on it

I have no clue what awareness is how

could that be my whole life is

constructed out of awareness and yet I

don't know what awareness

is so just kind of open yourself up to

wondering but one warning here is that

don't try to logically think your way

into a logical answer when you're

meditating

there's no introspection going on here

there's no thinking stuff through this

is not therapy you're sitting and you're

just observing you're not allowed to

think about stuff and try to figure

stuff out that's something different all

right so that's stage 3 now let me would

do is let me talk a little bit about

some of the common mistakes that I see

people making with meditation and I make

all these mistakes myself so that's why

I'm so familiar with them so let's just

run down this list real quick first one

is panic and frustration when you

realize that you can't control your

thoughts so when you first start

meditating you think like wow I got to

sit there and just kind of control my

thoughts and then you're in for a rude

awakening when you discover that

actually you have no control over your

thoughts so don't fall into that trap

could it be that you actually don't have

control at all over your thoughts would

that be acceptable to you if you

discovered that about yourself well

leave that possibility open and see what

you think about that question a couple

of years after you've meditated

consistently for day after day after day

for years on end then take a look at

that answer another pitfall is assuming

that meditation should be calm and

peaceful no no no no no if you start

meditating and the first few years that

you meditate it's going to be the exact

opposite of that meditation is going to

be frustrating and annoying you're not

just going to be sitting down and

listening out like a yogi that happens

after decades of meditation and perhaps

enlightenment another mistake is not

using a timer I recommend you get a

digital timer I recommend

that you set it for 20 minutes you don't

look at it while you're meditating but

you turn it away from you I also

recommend that you don't use a

smartphone for meditation as a timer you

can in a pinch but I recommend that you

don't because your smartphone has all

these distractions on it notifications

and messages and emails and texts so

that doesn't make your job harder yet

and you know a separate digital timer

they're real cheap these days another

common pitfall is trying to stop

thoughts completely which I already kind

of addressed don't try to do that again

in fact we're going to discover through

lots of meditation is that you have no

power to stop your thoughts and that

this is not something that's really even

necessary to do for proper meditation

the common pitfall is resisting thoughts

that arise so you're sitting there a

thought comes up and like [ __ ] I should

have had that thought you're resisting

it stop resisting it okay

another common pitfall is daydreaming

meditation is not daydreaming now when

you do that stage one that I told you

about it might feel a bit like you're

daydreaming because you're just letting

your mind wander anywhere the difference

though is that in this stage one yes

you're kind of daydreaming your thoughts

can go literally anywhere don't control

them at all but you're watching them

you're being aware of them which is not

what a typical daydream is typical

daydream is you're caught in the

daydream in the fantasy of the daydream

here you're always aware that you're

daydreaming or at least you're trying to

be next pitfall is trying to meditate

when you're tired a lot of times what I

find myself is that you know I have a

bit pretty busy schedule I run a

business in fact I run multiple

businesses so um uh you know there's a

lot of other stuff that I could be doing

in my life besides meditating that's

frankly cooler than meditation so what I

often do is I try to

you know slot my meditation time

somewhere in the day where I'm kind of

tired I'm not at my peak of mental

clarity maybe I've just had a big meal

or I just woke up and I'm still kind of

groggy or I'm about to go to bed and I'm

kind of sleepy or it's middle of the day

and I'm kind of feeling it taking a nap

but I decide to meditate and those

usually end up being the worst

meditation sessions because you're just

not able to focus you're not at the peak

of your comen ttle clarity so best time

in the day to meditate is whenever you

have the highest mental clarity if

that's morning for you great that's a

common one for me personally in the

morning I'm a kind of groggy

so I'm actually likely to fall asleep in

the morning so for me the ideal time to

meditate would be sometime in the maybe

late morning or early noontime but I

often fail at that because it's just

that like that's my prime time that I

usually want to allocate to working on

my business or shooting a video or

something like that so it is important

when you meditate

here's another pitfall not accepting

whatever happens in meditation a really

good trick you can try is just when you

sit down right before you start

meditating remind yourself just to

accept everything that's happening right

now in the present moment literally

accept it all like if you have a

toothache accept that if you're asked is

eaching except that if you've got some

problem at work except that if you don't

want to meditate except that if you're

failing to meditate properly except that

if it's a bad time in the day that you

chose to meditate accept that accept

everything negative that normally you

would resist and that's very

counterintuitive because we feel like oh

well I don't accept all the bad stuff

let me just accept the good stuff except

when you do that you don't realize that

you can't accept the good without having

the bad come back and bite you in the

ass you have to accept it all as a

totality

that's something you'll learn as you

continue meditating deeper and perhaps

the last pitfall is trying to get

somewhere with meditation it's like

you're sitting down you're meditating

right in this moment but then you have

like this goal it's like well today I

want to release all my thoughts today I

want to be perfect or I'm working

towards enlightenment or this or that or

I want to achieve some super peaceful

state right you set a certain like

agenda for your meditation stop doing

that

stop trying to get anywhere with your

one session now in the big picture over

the long time horizon I think you should

have some goals for your meditation you

should be aiming for enlightenment and

you should be aiming for more peace of

mind and you should be aiming for all

this cool stuff that you can get with

meditation but not when you're actually

sitting down to meditate drop all those

goals because what those goals are going

to be are just going to be more thoughts

that are going to prevent you from being

able to actually achieve those goals so

those goals undermine themselves all

right and also a point I want to make is

that you will have bad days when you're

meditating some days you're just going

to feel shitty some days you can be real

tired

some days you're gonna have a really

unruly mind that's going in ten

different directions and that's okay

except that to allow that and be ready

for that sometimes it will happen is

you'll have like ten straight days of

really consistent high-quality

meditation you're very calm and focused

and everything's going great and then on

the eleventh day your mind is just going

nuts all over the place you can hardly

sit still for 20 minutes let alone keep

your thoughts from wandering in a

thousand different directions and then

you start to doubt yourself and start

saying oh [ __ ] I'm not progressing fast

enough man I thought I was better than

this

you just gotta allow it because your

mind every single morning you know your

mind is in a different place and

different stuff is happening in your

life so you're going to feel differently

depending on

where you're at alright so those are the

pitfalls make sure that you be mindful

those notice them in yourself if you're

making them now let me end by just

giving you your meditation schedule

here's what I recommend you do with all

the stuff that I told you I recommend

that basically you follow my

instructions to the letter and what that

means is that you actually rewatch this

video for every stage that you're

practicing so if you want to practice

stage one rewatch that part if you want

to practice stage to rewatch that part

if you want to practice stage three

rewatch that part and right before you

sit down and meditate maybe you even

want to take some notes on what I said

so that you know exactly what you should

be doing like you have a little

instruction sheet I found that very very

helpful very helpful because otherwise

if you don't kind of recenter yourself

with the instructions then you're going

to forget them and you're going to

wander all over the place here's what I

recommend as far as the schedule goes if

you're starting at the newbie level

stage one go do stage one for a whole

month

thirty days straight at twenty minutes a

day

without missing a single day if you miss

a single day you have to restart that

whole cycle from scratch until you get

thirty consecutive days after you've

gotten 30 consecutive days of stage one

then go on to stage two

make sure you reread the instructions

for Sage 2 and then you follow that for

30 days consecutively without missing a

single day if you miss a single day you

have to restart that cycle so then you

complete stage two then you move on to

stage three and you do that one for 30

days consecutively otherwise you restart

the cycle and that's it and then after

those you know 30 days times three

that's 90 days after those 90 days are

over which you can do is you can return

to whatever stage you want or perhaps

just continue with the most advanced

stage stage three also that point I

think you're going to be in a nice

position to start doing maybe some

enlightenment work which I talked about

in other videos I'm not going to talk

about that here

and you can also start experimenting

with various other meditation techniques

what I found helpful personally for

myself is that I have to try out a bunch

of different techniques just to see what

fits me it's almost like wearing them

you know shoes you go to the store to

buy some new shoes you got to test out 5

10 different pairs before you find some

comfortable ones and sometimes you

actually got to take them home and wear

them for a week before you realize that

they're not really that comfortable so

when you're spending a whole month on

each one of these techniques I think

that's the best way to go and that's

what I recommend for you and also what's

nice about setting up this way in stages

is that you it's almost like you kind of

set little you know goals for yourself

not day to day but month to month and I

find that that's important because

otherwise your meditation habit just

gets very stale you're always doing the

same thing it's not exciting when you

set it up in this kind of stage like

fashion then you know you got one month

to go then thus you're looking forward

to the second month and you're looking

forward to the third month and so on and

so forth so you want to be kind of

switching it up and also what it does is

it gets you awareness of how your mind

works and how these techniques work from

multiple perspectives which I find in

the end is a very helpful to

understanding yourself because that's

what you're trying to do here all right

I want to give a quick credit to Peter

Ralston who I got this idea of stages

from stages of meditation I think it's

very a powerful idea but I'm signing off

I'm done here go ahead post your

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that meditation here is a really

powerful topic I'm going to be shooting

more videos in the future about how to

meditate more effectively and other

techniques you can try because this is

just the tip of the iceberg as far as

meditation goes and what you could

achieve with meditate

to me this is the most powerful habit

but besides this habit there's a lot of

other stuff we need to talk about to

help move you towards the kind of

powerful exciting life that you want to

create for yourself and it all starts

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yourself specifically this thing up here

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