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.