I meditated 1 hour every day for 30 days

Summary

In this reflective journey, the narrator embarks on a 30-day meditation challenge, exploring its impact on daily life. Initially skeptical, they delve into mindfulness, guided by Sam Harris's app, facing the struggle of maintaining focus. Despite early mental fatigue, they discover enhanced presence and productivity. A retreat into solitude amplifies the experience, leading to a commitment to continue meditation, albeit at a reduced time, recognizing its profound benefits in fostering mindfulness.

Takeaways

• 🧘‍♂️ The video script discusses the personal journey of the speaker as they attempt to meditate for 30 days, aiming to understand and experience the benefits of meditation.
• 🤔 The speaker initially finds meditation easy but soon realizes the difficulty in maintaining focus and not getting lost in thoughts, highlighting the common struggle many people face with meditation.
• 🔍 Meditation has become mainstream and is practiced in various sectors such as the military, classrooms, and boardrooms, indicating its widespread acceptance and potential benefits.
• 📈 Studies suggest that meditation can improve focus, sleep, heart health, reduce blood pressure, decrease stress and anxiety, and even make individuals more pleasant to be around.
• 📊 Only 8% of Americans have tried meditation at least once, compared to 52% who have tried smoking weed, suggesting that meditation is less popular despite its potential benefits.
• 💡 The speaker decides to commit to an hour of meditation every day for 30 days to see if the benefits are compelling enough to maintain the habit long-term.
• 👥 The speaker is joined by Natalie, who also commits to 10 minutes of meditation a day, adding a social element to the challenge.
• 🌅 The speaker's meditation sessions are split into two 30-minute sessions, one in the morning and one at night, but later decides to spread them out throughout the day for better productivity.
• 🌱 Mindfulness is the core practice used, focusing on undistracted attention and observing the inner workings of the mind without judgment.
• 📚 The use of Sam Harris's 'Waking Up' app as a guide is mentioned, emphasizing the value of structured guidance in learning meditation.
• 🏞 The speaker takes a mini-retreat to the desert for solitude and minimal distractions, suggesting that environment can play a role in meditation practice.
• 🔄 Despite the initial challenges and mental fatigue, the speaker finds meditation beneficial for mindfulness and presence, and plans to continue with a reduced time commitment.
• 📉 Natalie does not share the same positive experience, finding meditation boring and not something she enjoys daily, showing that meditation's impact can vary from person to person.

Q & A

What is the initial attitude of the speaker towards meditation?

The speaker initially finds meditation easy and doesn't understand why people find it difficult.

Why has meditation become popular in various sectors of society?

Meditation has become mainstream due to its proven benefits such as improving focus, sleep, heart health, reducing blood pressure, stress, and anxiety.

What was the percentage of Americans who have tried meditation at least once according to a 2012 study?

According to a 2012 study, only 8% of Americans have tried meditation at least once.

What is the main reason the speaker hasn't maintained a meditation habit despite knowing its benefits?

The speaker admits that they haven't made meditation a priority in their life.

What challenge does the speaker decide to undertake regarding meditation?

The speaker decides to meditate for an hour every single day for 30 days to see if the benefits would be strong enough to maintain the habit long-term.

Who joins the speaker in the 30-day meditation challenge and why?

Natalie joins the speaker because she likes sharing things with the speaker and believes it would be a beneficial way to bring more wellbeing practices into her everyday life.

What meditation method does the speaker use and why?

The speaker uses Sam Harris's Waking Up app, which is rooted in the practice of mindfulness, focusing on undistracted attention and observing the inner workings of the mind.

How does the speaker adjust their meditation routine after finding the initial approach too ambitious?

The speaker decides to spread the meditation time across the day in shorter sessions of five to fifteen minutes instead of doing two 30-minute stints.

What benefits does the speaker start to notice after day 11 of the meditation challenge?

The speaker starts to feel more productive, more locked into conversations, and more aware of every word being said. They also notice an improvement in their focus while listening to audio books.

What does the speaker do to further their meditation practice halfway through the challenge?

The speaker goes on a miniature retreat to the desert for quiet and solitude to expedite the process of meditation.

How does the speaker's experience with meditation change by the end of the 30-day challenge?

By the end of the challenge, the speaker feels more mindful and present and wants to incorporate meditation into their daily life, although not for the full hour initially attempted.

What is Natalie's final opinion on meditation after the 30-day challenge?

Natalie finds meditation boring and only likes it as an occasional activity for relaxation during particularly busy and chaotic times.

What is the speaker's plan for continuing meditation after the challenge?

The speaker plans to meditate for 10 minutes every morning for the next 30 days to see how it feels and to make meditation a consistent part of their routine.

What does the speaker suggest about the difficulty of letting go of negative thoughts and how meditation helps?

The speaker suggests that letting go of negative thoughts takes more work and practice than letting go of physical things, and they found meditation to be one of the greatest ways to achieve this.

Outlines

00:00

🧘 Introduction to Meditation Challenge

The speaker begins by sharing their initial ease with meditation, expressing surprise at its difficulty and the prevalence of meditation in various societal sectors. They mention studies showing benefits like improved focus, sleep, heart health, reduced blood pressure, stress, and anxiety. The speaker's wife encourages him to meditate, and he contrasts the low percentage of Americans who have tried meditation with those who have smoked weed. The speaker questions why more people don't adopt meditation, reflecting on his own inconsistent practice despite being a self-help enthusiast. He announces a personal challenge to meditate for 30 days, an hour each day, and invites his wife, Natalie, to join him in a 10-minute daily commitment. Natalie agrees, seeking to integrate wellbeing practices into her life and try something new.

05:01

📚 The Struggle and Progress of Meditation

The speaker discusses the importance of having a structured course or app to guide meditation, especially for beginners. They mention popular apps and their personal choice, Sam Harris's 'Waking Up' app, which emphasizes mindfulness. The speaker acknowledges the challenge of staying present and the difficulty of not judging oneself for losing focus. They adjust their meditation routine to shorter, more frequent sessions throughout the day, finding it more manageable. On day 11, the speaker begins to notice benefits such as increased productivity and focus, realizing their scattered attention is more self-created than externally influenced. They appreciate the guided reminders in the app to refocus and the practice of starting anew in the final minute of meditation. The speaker contemplates a retreat for fewer distractions and packs minimally for the trip, forgetting their film gear in the process.

10:06

🏜️ Meditation Retreat and Personal Reflections

The speaker is on day 18 of their meditation challenge and considers ways to integrate meditation into their life beyond the 30 days. They find the quietness and solitude peaceful during the day but terrifying at night. Unexpected visitors, Natalie and the speaker's sister, join for a few days. Natalie expresses her struggle with meditation, finding it hard work and not to her liking. Despite this, the speaker feels recharged after the retreat and ready to face reality. They reflect on the challenge of letting go of past negative experiences and thoughts, finding meditation a valuable tool for this process. The speaker concludes the video by sharing their intention to continue meditating for 10 minutes each morning and invites viewers to subscribe to their newsletter for minimalism, habits, and productivity tips, including a documentary exclusive to newsletter subscribers.

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, it is presented as a mainstream practice that has permeated various aspects of society, from the military to the classroom. The script illustrates the challenges and benefits of meditation through the personal journey of the narrator, who attempts a 30-day meditation challenge.

💡Mindfulness

Mindfulness, as mentioned in the script, is a core quality of meditation that involves paying full attention to the present moment without being distracted. It is the foundation of the meditation practice used by the narrator and Natalie, as guided by Sam Harris's 'Waking Up' app. The script emphasizes mindfulness as a way to observe thoughts and sensations without judgment, highlighting its role in enhancing awareness and presence.

💡Focus

Focus refers to the ability to concentrate one's attention on a specific object or task. The video discusses how meditation can improve focus, as studies have shown its benefits in enhancing concentration. The narrator's personal experience with meditation provides an example of this, as he notes an increase in productivity and attentiveness during conversations after practicing meditation.

💡Stress

Stress is a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances. The script highlights meditation as a tool to decrease stress levels, which is one of the reasons the narrator's wife encourages him to try meditation. The video also touches on the narrator's realization of how meditation can help manage the internal dialogue that contributes to stress.

💡Habit

A habit is a routine of behavior that is regularly performed and tends to occur subconsciously. The video script discusses the difficulty of establishing and maintaining the habit of meditation. The narrator acknowledges that despite knowing the benefits, he has not prioritized meditation, which is a common challenge for many people trying to adopt new wellness practices.

💡Wellbeing

Wellbeing encompasses a state of being happy, healthy, and/or fulfilling one's potential. Natalie decides to join the meditation challenge as a way to bring more wellbeing practices into her everyday life. The script suggests that meditation is not just about relaxation but also about enhancing overall wellbeing by fostering a healthier mental state.

💡Productivity

Productivity refers to the efficiency of productive activity in relation to the total activity. The narrator notes an increase in his productivity after starting the meditation challenge, attributing this to improved focus and presence. This highlights the video's message that meditation can have practical benefits in daily life beyond relaxation.

💡Solitude

Solitude is the state of being alone, often sought for reflection or relaxation. The narrator seeks solitude in the desert to enhance his meditation practice, believing that an environment free from distractions would aid his progress. The script uses solitude as a context to explore the challenges and benefits of meditation in a setting with minimal external influences.

💡Distraction

Distraction refers to something that prevents someone from giving full attention to something else. The video script mentions distractions such as a fly and the quietness of the desert at night, illustrating the omnipresence of potential interruptions during meditation. It emphasizes the meditation practice of being aware of and observing distractions without judgment.

💡Minimalism

Minimalism is a lifestyle or artistic movement characterized by simplicity and the absence of excess in various aspects of life. The narrator's packing for the desert retreat exemplifies minimalism, as he brings only a backpack's worth of belongings. This concept is related to the video's theme by suggesting that simplifying one's environment can support the meditation practice.

💡Enlightenment

Enlightenment is a state of deep understanding, insight, or the achievement of a high level of spiritual or intellectual awareness. The narrator humorously claims to have reached enlightenment during his retreat, indicating a transformation in his perspective or understanding as a result of his meditation practice. This keyword is used to convey the potential for profound personal growth through meditation.

Highlights

The narrator finds meditation surprisingly easy and questions why it's considered difficult by others.

Meditation has become mainstream and is now practiced in various sectors such as the military, classrooms, and boardrooms.

Studies show meditation can improve focus, sleep, heart health, reduce blood pressure, decrease stress, and anxiety, and even make individuals nicer.

A 2012 study revealed that only 8% of Americans have tried meditation, compared to 52% who have tried smoking weed.

The narrator and Natalie commit to a 30-day meditation challenge, with the narrator meditating for an hour each day.

Mindfulness is described as the quality of undistracted attention, being aware of the present moment without judgment.

The narrator finds it challenging to stay in the present moment and not get swept up in thoughts.

Using a meditation app, like Sam Harris's 'Waking Up,' can be helpful for guidance and understanding meditation practices.

The narrator decides to split meditation sessions into shorter periods throughout the day instead of one long session.

By day 11, the narrator notices improved productivity and focus in daily life as a result of meditation.

Sam Harris's guided meditation includes pauses for refocus and a final minute to 'begin again,' which the narrator finds beneficial.

The narrator goes on a mini-retreat to the desert for solitude and uninterrupted meditation.

Despite the quiet environment, distractions still arise, teaching the narrator that meditation is about being aware of and observing distractions.

Natalie finds meditation challenging and decides it's not for her, preferring it as an occasional relaxation method.

The narrator concludes the challenge feeling more mindful and present, planning to continue meditation but for shorter periods.

Meditation is identified as a powerful tool for letting go of past negative experiences and thoughts.

The narrator offers a newsletter for further insights on minimalism, habits, and productivity, with a documentary bonus for subscribers.

Transcripts

(soft music)

- All right so I guess I'm just supposed to sit down here,

legs crossed, palms up and clear my mind.

No thoughts. Stop thinking. Just focus on the breath.

- Whew. It's actually pretty easy.

I honestly don't understand

why people find meditation so difficult.

Wait am I thinking? Okay, that's right.

Focus on the breath in and out. I can get used to this.

Kinda peaceful, kinda calm, just focus on my,

I'm thinking again. Shit this is hard.

Meditation has gone mainstream.

It's no longer just reserved for mystics and hipsters

who wash their beard only once a year.

It's made its way into every corner of our society.

From the military, to the classroom, to the boardroom.

- Simply doing nothing.

- [Matt] Studies have shown

that meditation can improve focus,

sleep, heart health, reduce your blood pressure,

decrease stress, anxiety.

- And even make you nicer.

My wife is encouraging me to try it.

- A 2012 study found just 8% of Americans

have tried meditation at least once.

Compare that to 52% who have tried smoking weed.

And while the ladder is mind altering in its own way,

for most Americans finding weed can be much more difficult

than sitting still for 10 minutes.

So the big question we have to ask

knowing what most of us do about meditation,

why aren't more people not only trying it

but keeping it up consistently?

To answer that question, we could look at my own life.

If there's anyone that fits the description

of someone who would meditate, it's me.

I'm a self-help nerd, I've done it in the past,

I know it's good for me,

but I simply haven't kept up the habit.

The reason why is a little bit complicated

but if I'm being honest with myself,

I simply haven't made it a priority.

But I'd wonder what would happen

if I focused on meditating for 30 days.

Not only that how about an hour

every single day for 30 days.

Would the benefits be strong enough

for me to wanna stick through with it for the long run?

Let's find out.

Oh and by the way, I'm not doing this challenge alone.

Natalie is joining me in committing to doing

10 minutes of meditation a day.

Why did you decide to join me

on this 30 day meditation challenge?

- Because I like sharing things with you.

And I thought it would be a beneficial way

to bring more wellbeing practices into my everyday life.

And I have to try something new.

- Instead of doing it all in one big chunk,

I've decided to split up my meditations

at least for the beginning

into one 30 minute meditation in the morning,

and a 30 minute one at night. Even that was tough.

So I just finished my first meditation and it was brutal.

I was fidgeting a lot. I was adjusting myself.

I was stuck in thought,

I was trying to solve all these problems

of things that I have to do later today,

I was thinking about recording this video afterwards,

some of the things that I might say in the video,

just overthinking everything

and not just sitting still in the present moment.

So it felt a lot like a failure.

Although the fact that I sat down is a good first step.

Things didn't start out so well for Nat either.

This is a reoccurring character in my video is called life

and it has been known to punch people in the face.

On day one Nat came down with a really bad migraine

and was unable to get outta bed and unable to meditate.

Are you still feeling sick?

- Yeah I am.

- But Nat did get back on her feet

or at least the cushion for day two.

The methods of meditation will be using

over the next 30 days will vary,

but they all have their root

in a practice called mindfulness.

We'll be using Sam Harris's Waking Up app as our guide.

Mindfulness isn't so much a technique of meditation

as it is a quality of the mind itself.

It is simply undistracted attention.

It's the ability to notice the sights, and sounds,

and sensations and even thoughts

that are arising in consciousness in each moment

in a way that isn't cluttered or even mediated by concepts.

This isn't just about relaxing.

It's not even about stopping yourself from thinking

that might be impossible unless you're Natalie.

- Hey.

- [Matt] It's observing everything that arises,

seeing the inner workings of your mind

and noticing the patterns we fall into.

- You're seeing how crazy you are.

And that actually has a real value.

A systematic collision with the asshole in your head

has a real value because when the asshole offers you up

a shitty suggestion in the rest of your life

which is basically it's job,

like oh yeah you should eat the 17th cookie,

or say the thing that's gonna ruin

the next 48 hours of your marriage or whatever,

you're better able to resist it.

- [Matt] Day four for Nat.

- I like the course because it's actually like stretching.

I feel like this sounds douchy

but it feels like it's stretching my mind.

- Day five, that's five hours of meditating so far.

Just wasting my days.

- [Nat] I was gonna say, imagine all the videos

that you could have done in five hours.

- It was apparent from the very beginning

that having a course, an app,

something to follow along with is helpful

for even understanding why you're doing this to begin with

and having something to guide you along the way

as you think you're doing it completely wrong.

There are tons of popular apps for meditation.

I'm using Sam Harris's.

You might find similar success with Headspace,

10% Happier, or another app of your choice.

After a few days, I started to get more comfortable,

more settled into meditation,

I also started to realize how truly difficult it is to stay

in the present moment.

How often I get swept up in my own thoughts,

and how difficult it is to not judge myself for it

when I catch myself.

I also realized that

doing two 30 minute stints in and of itself

was also pretty ambitious

and it would be much more productive if I split it out

and spread it across my day from five, to 10,

to 15 minute meditations.

It wasn't until day 11

that I started to see some of the benefits

slip into the rest of my day.

I wrote in my journal one night,

"I can feel more productive,

more locked into conversation with Natalie,

more aware of every word she says and she says a lot.

My focus has grown even when it comes

to listening to audio books.

I can feel my mind start to drift

and I'll be able to catch myself much quicker,

and bring myself back to the audio book.

I'm realizing that my attention has always been scattered

and it has less to do with the messages around me,

and more to do with the messages I'm creating

in my own mind.

I'm sitting here writing this

after a short six minute meditation.

I'm staring out of the palm trees,

a cool breeze is hitting me,

a car who's muffler seems to be broken rattles past,

I can taste my whiskey in a way that I rarely do,

I can hold onto these things longer

and yet still let them go."

So there are two things that I really liked about

Sam Harris's guided meditation.

One is that oftentimes throughout the meditation,

he'll give pause and say

the moment you find yourself lost in thought,

bring yourself either back to your breath,

catch that thought that you were having,

listen to the sounds that are appearing.

And it was a great reminder to be present, to be aware,

because every time he did mention that,

I happen to be lost in thought.

And the other thing that he does is,

for the final 60 seconds, he'll often say,

in the final minute of this meditation, just begin again.

If you found yourself lost in thought

throughout this session, for the final 60 seconds,

start again, focus on the breath.

And it made me feel as even if the past nine, 15 minutes

were complete wash, or it felt like a waste,

if I ended the meditation with 60 seconds

where I was really mindful,

where I was aware of my surroundings and I was present,

I felt as if it wasn't a complete waste,

and I felt better about meditating in general.

Living in Los Angeles there are no shortage of distractions.

So I wondered if getting away for a few days

on a miniature retreat would help expedite the process.

So it's halfway through the month

and I'm packing my bags for the desert

for quiet and solitude.

And my friends that's how you pack as a minimalist.

Ah shit, I forgot about my film gear.

(soft music)

It's really quiet here. Like eerily quiet.

I feel like I'm making a lot of progress

but I wanted to come up here to experience solitude,

experience quiet and meditate in an environment

that was almost free of distractions.

I have a fly flying around here.

So there are some distractions.

(soft music)

This fly was definitely testing me on this meditation.

I almost, it kinda broke my process quite a bit.

I felt like it was the "Karate Kid,"

or "Kill Bill" or something.

- Man will catch fly with chopstick.

- I feel like no matter what, no matter where you are,

there are going to be potential distractions.

There's always something that will potentially

come into your awareness.

And really I guess the whole idea of meditation

is just to be aware of those things

and to observe just I didn't get it.

Stop judging me.

All right man this is great.

I'm like day 18 right now,

I'm already starting to think about ways

that I can implement this into my life past the 30 days.

I don't think it's gonna be an hour,

but I do wanna find a way to bring meditation into my life.

The benefits to me are pretty clear at this point.

You know what the one thing I'll say, is that during the day

the quietness, the solitude is really peaceful,

but at night the quiet turns to terror.

It's really creepy out here.

Like we're truly in the middle of nowhere.

Oh my God somebody's here. I don't know who that is.

What is this? Who is this?

Oh hey. - [Nat] Hey.

- It was Natalie and my sister.

They wanted to join me for a couple days.

- I always thought as meditation as like

just a really pure way to relax, it's kinda hard work.

I'm not sure I love it.

Decision made I don't like it.

- After a couple more days at the cabin,

and just as many hours of meditation, I felt recharged,

and ready to get back to reality.

But before we left, I had one job to finish.

(upbeat music)

- Bye. - See you.

- I can't believe you only brought a backpack.

- I'm not gonna lie,

I think I reached enlightenment on this trip.

- [Nat] I was born enlightened bitch.

(soft music)

- And as we got back and the final days of the month went by

we wrapped up our meditation challenge.

The big question you might have is

did Natalie eventually come around to

and experience the same benefits that I did?

- No. I get really bored.

I like it once in a while, not every single day.

So I like it as a time to get,

like as a way to get time out and to relax

when I've been really really busy and chaotic,

and just like just to take a breather.

- Well thank you so much for doing that with me.

And as for myself, I feel pretty good.

I feel yeah.

I think I feel more mindful, I feel more present,

I feel like it's something that

I definitely wanna bring into my life on a daily basis.

Definitely not for one hour.

There were some negative effects

of going this hard in the beginning.

It's kinda like running a marathon

before you've ever done a 5k.

My time wasn't that productive.

Although I didn't injure myself physically,

I did find myself mentally fatigued.

And I do believe that the difference

between zero and 10 minutes of meditating every day

is a far greater difference, than 10 minutes to 60.

So I'm gonna lower this down,

I'm gonna go 10 minutes every morning for the next 30 days

and see how that feels.

The process of letting go of stuff physically in our life,

the things in our life can be relatively easy.

Letting go of things that happened in our past,

negative relationships, negative thoughts,

is something that takes a lot more work

and a lot more practice.

And I found that meditation

is really one of the greatest ways to do that.

Thanks for watching.

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There's a link down in the description. Thanks for watching.

I'm really hungry.

- [Nat] Ugh, me too.

- [Matt] Wait did you hear what I'm saying?

- [Nat] Wait do you hear what I'm saying?

- [Matt] What the fuck.

- [Nat] Wait, what? - [Matt] Oh my God.

(upbeat music)

- This is my dancing.