60 Days of 60 Minutes of Meditation - Let's Not Do Anything Together

[MTF]

Do you feel overwhelmed by the incessant mind chatter? Do you struggle to focus? Do desires rule your life? Are you dealing with recurring mental issues like anxiety, feelings of guilt, shame, fear, inadequacy, stress, etc.? Do you find it impossible to just stop and relax?

As entrepreneurs, we're all about taking action. We may mask our inner issues with endless hustle. We may tell ourselves that we can't afford to take a break because our competitors will get ahead. We may use solutions that address the symptom but not the core reason. For example, we may use technology to block sites that distract us. While we won't be able to access them, our desire to check them will be back once the obstacle is gone—or we'll find another, perhaps even worse outlet to meet the underlying need.

As entrepreneurs, we often ignore our mental health. We may even tell ourselves that our mental struggles are, in a twisted way, good for us.

Stress? That's a normal part of life, isn't it?

Anxiety? It's good for me as it keeps me alert.

Incessant mind chatter? This means I have a ton of ideas.

Deep down, we may know that there's something wrong if...

...we can't sit down with our friends and family and just enjoy being with them because we're constantly thinking of our business...

...we regularly feel anxious for an unknown reason...

...we can't focus on a single thing for more than a few minutes...

...we're stuck in an endless cycle of trying one thing, only to try another to then give it up and try yet another, never going anywhere...

...we have no clarity when making decisions...

...we're wasting time arguing over politics or anything else that is beyond our control.

And yet, despite all these worrying signs, we keep ignoring our mental health.

The last year has been very difficult for me. Grief, anxiety, stress, fear, rumination, inability to focus for more than a few minutes, judgment, and lack of acceptance have been ruling my life. I'm slowly going crazy, losing control over my mind.

I started seeking solutions to get myself out of this disquieting state. Which brings me to the topic of meditation.

I'll use the words of Naval Ravikant, a very successful entrepreneur, investor, and a brilliant philosopher, to explain the why and how:

For your entire life, things have been happening to you. Some good, some bad, most of which you have processed and dissolved, but a few stuck with you. Over time, more and more stuck with you, and they almost became like these barnacles stuck to you.

You lost your childhood sense of wonder and of being present and happy. You lost your inner happiness because you built up this personality of unresolved pain, errors, fears, and desires that glommed onto you like a bunch of barnacles.

How do you get those barnacles off you? What happens in meditation is you’re sitting there and not resisting your mind. These things will start bubbling up. It’s like a giant inbox of unanswered emails, going back to your childhood. They will come out one by one, and you will be forced to deal with them.

You will be forced to resolve them. Resolving them doesn’t take any work—you just observe them. Now you’re an adult with some distance, time, and space from previous events, and you can just resolve them. You can be much more objective about how you view them.

Over time, you will resolve a lot of these deep-seated unresolved things you have in your mind. Once they’re resolved, there will come a day when you sit down to meditate, and you’ll hit a mental “inbox zero.” When you open your mental “email” and there are none, that is a pretty amazing feeling.

It’s a state of joy and bliss and peace. Once you have it, you don’t want to give it up. If you can get a free hour of bliss every morning just by sitting and closing your eyes, that is worth its weight in gold. It will change your life.

source: Jorgenson, Eric. The Almanack of Naval Ravikant: A Guide to Wealth and Happiness.

If you prefer it in audio, here it is:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2kgZ1Puye8&feature=youtu.be


Naval Ravikant recommends the following practice:

I recommend meditating one hour each morning because anything less is not enough time to really get deep into it. I would recommend if you really want to try meditation, try sixty days of one hour a day, first thing in the morning. After about sixty days, you will be tired of listening to your own mind. You will have resolved a lot of issues, or you have heard them enough to see through those fears and issues.

I decided to follow his suggestion. And then I thought: why not get some support and do it (or rather, "not do") with fellow Fastlaners.

The rules are simple:

1. You meditate one hour a day for 60 days, ideally in the morning. You sit down and do nothing (don't use any apps or guided meditation). Naval's suggested method is:

If thoughts come, thoughts come. I’m not going to fight them. I’m not going to embrace them. I’m not going to think harder about them. I’m not going to reject them. I’m just going to sit here for an hour with my eyes closed, and I’m going to do nothing.

No focus, no mantra, no dharma, no chakras, no Buddhas, no gurus, no gratitude, no scripture, no temple, no music, no gadgets, no apps.

2. You meditate every day. If you skip a day, you go back to day 1. We want to prioritize our mental health, build momentum and turn it into a daily practice. This is akin to a workout for your mind. It won't work well if you start and stop.

3. It needs to be at least an hour (use a timer). You can't do two 30-minute sessions or four 15-minute sessions. Once you start, you keep sitting until 60 minutes pass.

To give everyone a few days to prepare, we can start on Monday, December 14. Who's in?


----

Update after finishing the challenge on February 11th, 2021. Read my thoughts here:

GOLD! - HOT! - MINDSET - 60 Days of 60 Minutes of Meditation - Let's Not Do Anything Together

Day 3 Today was the worst one in that I had the least silence, but the best in that i could make observations about my thoughts more easily. My mind went on a lot of tangents, but I'm starting to see a pattern in what they're about. Most thoughts have an emotional flavour attached to them. The...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

 

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[Sheens]

In!
I'm literally too excited to write much right now

This fits perfectly with other current growth challenges, research, and even one of my new business projects. Had been using a guided nightly meditation and in transition to another form. Those can wait until after this 60 day goal.

I will be following your specific guidelines here @MTF. Mornings included and last resort will be another time of the day.

Thank you for posting this!!

 

[MTF]

Awesome, @Sheens. Let's (not) do this! Hoping we can find at least a few people willing to (not) do this

 

[valcat10]

Awesome, @Sheens. Let's (not) do this! Hoping we can find at least a few people willing to (not) do this

I'd love to participate but 1 hour just seems to be too much for me . Is there a reasoning why it needs to be an entire hour?

 

[MTF]

I'd love to participate but 1 hour just seems to be too much for me . Is there a reasoning why it needs to be an entire hour?

It's explained in my first post, per Naval:

I recommend meditating one hour each morning because anything less is not enough time to really get deep into it.

From my own experience in a float tank, 90 minutes is best because usually it takes 20-30 minutes to settle down and start relaxing. I believe it's similar with meditation. I think that many people start with 20 minutes and get annoyed because it's not "working" but you simply need more time to get into it properly.

 

[PedroDVC]

Do you feel overwhelmed by the incessant mind chatter? Do you struggle to focus? Do desires rule your life? Are you dealing with recurring mental issues like anxiety, feelings of guilt, shame, fear, inadequacy, stress, etc.? Do you find it impossible to just stop and relax?

As entrepreneurs, we're all about taking action. We may mask our inner issues with endless hustle. We may tell ourselves that we can't afford to take a break because our competitors will get ahead. We may use solutions that address the symptom but not the core reason. For example, we may use technology to block sites that distract us. While we won't be able to access them, our desire to check them will be back once the obstacle is gone—or we'll find another, perhaps even worse outlet to meet the underlying need.

As entrepreneurs, we often ignore our mental health. We may even tell ourselves that our mental struggles are, in a twisted way, good for us.

Stress? That's a normal part of life, isn't it?

Anxiety? It's good for me as it keeps me alert.

Incessant mind chatter? This means I have a ton of ideas.

Deep down, we may know that there's something wrong if...

...we can't sit down with our friends and family and just enjoy being with them because we're constantly thinking of our business...

...we regularly feel anxious for an unknown reason...

...we can't focus on a single thing for more than a few minutes...

...we're stuck in an endless cycle of trying one thing, only to try another to then give it up and try yet another, never going anywhere...

...we have no clarity when making decisions...

...we're wasting time arguing over politics or anything else that is beyond our control.

And yet, despite all these worrying signs, we keep ignoring our mental health.

The last year has been very difficult for me. Grief, anxiety, stress, fear, rumination, inability to focus for more than a few minutes, judgment, and lack of acceptance have been ruling my life. I'm slowly going crazy, losing control over my mind.

I started seeking solutions to get myself out of this disquieting state. Which brings me to the topic of meditation.

I'll use the words of Naval Ravikant, a very successful entrepreneur, investor, and a brilliant philosopher, to explain the why and how:



source: Jorgenson, Eric. The Almanack of Naval Ravikant: A Guide to Wealth and Happiness.

If you prefer it in audio, here it is:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2kgZ1Puye8&feature=youtu.be


Naval Ravikant recommends the following practice:



I decided to follow his suggestion. And then I thought: why not get some support and do it (or rather, "not do") with fellow Fastlaners.

The rules are simple:

1. You meditate one hour a day for 60 days, ideally in the morning. You sit down and do nothing (don't use any apps or guided meditation). Naval's suggested method is:

If thoughts come, thoughts come. I’m not going to fight them. I’m not going to embrace them. I’m not going to think harder about them. I’m not going to reject them. I’m just going to sit here for an hour with my eyes closed, and I’m going to do nothing.

No focus, no mantra, no dharma, no chakras, no Buddhas, no gurus, no gratitude, no scripture, no temple, no music, no gadgets, no apps.

2. You meditate every day. If you skip a day, you go back to day 1. We want to prioritize our mental health, build momentum and turn it into a daily practice. This is akin to a workout for your mind. It won't work well if you start and stop.

3. It needs to be at least an hour (use a timer). You can't do two 30-minute sessions or four 15-minute sessions. Once you start, you keep sitting until 60 minutes pass.

To give everyone a few days to prepare, we can start on Monday, December 14. Who's in?

Awesome! I've been doing 15 min right after waking and 15 min before going to sleep but wanted to extend it. I'm in!

 

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[Ma.Gico]

Im in.

 

[MTF]

Awesome! I've been doing 15 min right after waking and 15 min before going to sleep but wanted to extend it. I'm in!

Let's start on Monday then! I guess the current 15-minute habit should help you with the full hour.

Im in.

Awesome!

 

[Pard]

I’m in.

 

[MTF]

I’m in.

Cool! We start in 3 days, on Monday.

 

[SteveO]

I've been meditating 4-5 days a week for years. I am currently loaded down with projects and don't feel I could commit the time.

One nice thing is that in this overload, I am dealing with this all in relative peace.

Earlier in my life, I felt like all these things happened to me. I was a victim of events and other people's actions.

Not so much anymore.

There are feelings associated with each of these incidents that may happen 20 to 30 times a day. When I feel emotions, especially ones that feel negative, I focus on them for a few moments.

The goal for me is to recognize the actual emotion (anger, fear, frustration, etc), feel it to its fullest, and then release it with an audible sound. This may sound silly but it works for me. Less pent up energy, etc.

I love that example of the barnacles. I use one about shrines. We latch on to feelings and beliefs and develop strong belief systems around them. In these, we continually add items and trinkets to our shrines. We bolster our feelings around these by glomming on to others that feel the same way.

I use meditation in two ways. To listen to my inner self and to help dismantle these shrines. It involves a lot of reevaluating our belief systems that are so ingrained in our being. We cannot have no belief systems while in this life but we can certainly minimize them.

I plan to follow this thread and all your results. Hopefully, I will have time in the future to try this.

This is a big deal to many people. Thanks for addressing it!

 

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[ZCP]

if only @Sheens could talk me into this!

 

[MTF]

I've been meditating 4-5 days a week for years. I am currently loaded down with projects and don't feel I could commit the time.

I get that. I'm saying this jokingly, not to call you out as I'm pretty sure you could serve as a role model for meditation, but it reminds me of this:

Meditate for an hour every day unless you are too busy. In that case meditate for two hours.

Again, I get that you can't commit. Just a funny Zen saying I like that I remembered when I read the quoted part.

This is a big deal to many people. Thanks for addressing it!

Thank you for sharing your experiences! That's very valuable.

 

[MTF]

if only @Sheens could talk me into this!

What if I talk you into this?

 

[ZCP]

What if I talk you into this?

sounds probable. what would be your pitch?

 

[Olimac21]

I am in too!
I Started on Wednesday actually without having seen your post... weird coincidence. Anyways so far I have done it first thing in the morning and is helping me deal with winter blues/ covid uncertainty.

 

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[SteveO]

Wow awesome perspective @SteveO ! So reading your post made me think about this other thread that @MTF started where we were discussing about the sort of Eckhart Tolle perspective on self-improvement which much like you emphasizes minimizing belief system, self-empathy, detachment and unconditioning vs the more traditional one championed by people like Jocko Willink and Tony Robbins which emphasizes willpower, mental toughness and reconditioning yourself (ie changing beliefs) so that you can be more successful.

I think if you have time, your perspective would be super valuable in that thread, and I for one would certainly appreciate it!

I read that thread and definitely want to respond to it. It will take a lot of thought and time though. Can't do it right now but I will.

@MTF posts some amazing thought provoking information to this forum.

If I posted all my beliefs and view of ourselves and this world, you all would think I was a total lunatic...

 

[MTF]

sounds probable. what would be your pitch?

Knowing you a little, I think that you're very driven to help and inspire other people. But you don't want just to tell them what to do. You want them to take action, learn, and teach themselves so that they can later help someone else. This is largely what meditation can help people accomplish as well.

Doing this "challenge" would be powerful for you because:

1. You'll do something hard. You've already learned how to ride a bike, so you can do that, too

2. Let me quote this from your thread:

HOW MANY STUPID a$$ MENTAL LIMITATIONS ARE HOLDING YOU BACK???!!!

What if it is simpler than you think?
How many things in life are you missing out on because you aren't looking outside your own limited mind for answers?
Are there myths / dogmas / old wive's tales that are keeping you in place?
Is there something you should just GO GET DONE?

What if YOU are really all that is holding you back?

Exactly, what if?

Meditation can help you look even deeper inward and possibly find even more than you ever thought there is inside you. All of the newfound insights can help you help even more people.

3. You already want to do this. Otherwise you wouldn't post in this thread because you'd be afraid of being called out

I am in too!
I Started on Wednesday actually without having seen your post... weird coincidence. Anyways so far I have done it first thing in the morning and is helping me deal with winter blues/ covid uncertainty.

Nice! How hard the first few days have been so far?

Out of curiosity, are you dealing with winter blues in Brazil in Belo Horizonte or do you live elsewhere?

 

[Olimac21]

Nice! How hard the first few days have been so far?

Out of curiosity, are you dealing with winter blues in Brazil in Belo Horizonte or do you live elsewhere?

The first few days were alright, the difficult part is that I am waking up a bit earlier to make this 1 hour fit to my schedule. I already have the habit to meditate, is just not for too long ( 10-15 minutes and normally with some background music).

Time flies to be honest, but in some parts of the meditation I can get a bit bored or I use it as a tool for problem solving (some emotions/thoughts I know I should get rid off). Also my dreams got more lucid in general.

Oh no hahah I am in London right now so its quite dark, rainy and quiet because of Covid.

 

[Matua]

Challenge accepted.

I'm recently curious about lessons taught about living in the now, the present. So I want to be more open-minded and mindful of what I do in the world. I even meditated for ten minutes and was both surprised and disappointed that it wasn't longer than that.
When you quoted about a "mental inbox", it immediately clicks with me because after my ten minute session, I still had a lot more thoughts that needed to flow in and out of my mind to feel relaxed.

Let's go!

 

[MTF]

Time flies to be honest, but in some parts of the meditation I can get a bit bored or I use it as a tool for problem solving (some emotions/thoughts I know I should get rid off).

I guess that's the initial challenge. Later on, at least on some days, it should be just a smooth "bliss" state.

London explains everything lol.

When you quoted about a "mental inbox", it immediately clicks with me because after my ten minute session, I still had a lot more thoughts that needed to flow in and out of my mind to feel relaxed.

Let's go!

Great! You'll have plenty of time for that inbox zero state

 

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[ZCP]

 

[Mutant]

So I began meditating daily 38 days ago, & having tried to start the habit before, this is the first time it's really clicked, so I'm tempted to join, but I'm unsure about the instructions.

What I've been doing is the typical sort of follow-the-breath/focus meditation, where when my mind wanders I - without judgement - gently bring it back to my breath. Though I've only been doing it for fairly short periods of time (up to 20 minutes) I've definitely noticed I'm better at concentrating, & regaining concentration when I lose it. It's like gently pushing the distraction away is like doing a push up, & I've been getting my reps in


With this though:

You sit down and do nothing (don't use any apps or guided meditation). Naval's suggested method is:

If thoughts come, thoughts come. I’m not going to fight them. I’m not going to embrace them. I’m not going to think harder about them. I’m not going to reject them. I’m just going to sit here for an hour with my eyes closed, and I’m going to do nothing.

No focus, no mantra, no dharma, no chakras, no Buddhas, no gurus, no gratitude, no scripture, no temple, no music, no gadgets, no apps.

It's a bit like, uh, so I just sit there & think whatever I end up thinking? But I do that all the time. I live alone, work from home, & don't constantly feed music or podcasts or whatever into my brain. I used to work in high end retail, so I know I can go entire days doing nothing, speaking to no one, & not get bored. Seriously, my brain just will just witter on merrily. I'm perfectly happy in my own company.

With the kind of meditation I've been doing, there's a challenge there, & I see it's having some clear results. With the type of meditation spoken about here, I feel like either there's something I'm just not understanding about it, or it's just the kind of thing that will dramatically benefit some people who aren't used to that kind of space in their life, but not me?

 

[MTF]

It's a bit like, uh, so I just sit there & think whatever I end up thinking? But I do that all the time. I live alone, work from home, & don't constantly feed music or podcasts or whatever into my brain. I used to work in high end retail, so I know I can go entire days doing nothing, speaking to no one, & not get bored. Seriously, my brain just will just witter on merrily. I'm perfectly happy in my own company.

As far as I know, the breathing meditation that you're doing now is fine. Naval referred to meditation that involves something more complex, like, say, three seconds in, five seconds out, etc. and counting that.

Also, note this:

If thoughts come, thoughts come. I’m not going to fight them. I’m not going to embrace them. I’m not going to think harder about them. I’m not going to reject them. I’m just going to sit here for an hour with my eyes closed, and I’m going to do nothing.

So it's not about sitting there and thinking whatever. You try to be a passive observer. You don't entertain the thoughts, you don't fight them, you don't follow them. Just sit and observe in whatever way works best for you.

At least that's how I understand it and plan to approach it.

Also, here's an excerpt from Naval's interview with Tim Ferriss that may explain it better (I put in bold the key piece of advice):

Which is you sit there for 60 minutes. So unfortunately not less than an hour at a time, because it takes 30 to 40 minutes to sink in past the initial chattering. So you get to the good part or the so-called runner’s high equivalent. And you sit for 60 minutes every day and you do it for at least 60 days. And you do it first thing in the morning. When your mind is clear and you’re alert and you’ve had a good night’s sleep.

And you sit up with your back straight and you can use cushions, or you can use a chair or whatever. There’s no magic position. And just whatever happens, happens, whatever your mind wants to do, you just let it do. If it wants to talk, you let it talk. If he wants to fight, you let it fight. If it wants to be quiet, you let it be quiet. If it wants to chant the mantra or pay attention to breathing, you can do that, but you don’t force anything.

You just kind of let it happen. And so you don’t fight it. You don’t resist it. You don’t argue with it. You don’t double down on it. You just kind of let things happen. And when you do that for at least 60 days, my experience has been that you kind of clear out your mental inbox and all the craziness that was going on. All the chattering will come out. Some problems will get resolved. You will have some epiphanies. You will make changes to your life.

 

[MTF]

@ZCP, is that a yes?

 

[ZCP]

@ZCP, is that a yes?

i sure hope so!

i'm not sure i know how to 'meditate' .... got a book from one of my staff the other day. i regularly take time to focus on nothing and let the mind wonder. ...... i'll dig in and engineer this ..... keep pushing me!

 

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[Sheens]

Hey @ZCP!

The process here is engineered for you!

You get to engineer a cool sitting position you go to each morning, even pick the time each morning, set a timer for 60 min, and mark off each day until you get to 60!

Then just do as @MTF quotes from Naval:

If thoughts come, thoughts come. I’m not going to fight them. I’m not going to embrace them. I’m not going to think harder about them. I’m not going to reject them. I’m just going to sit here for an hour with my eyes closed, and I’m going to do nothing.

You know you got this.. : )

(..hell, if you don't start it could be considered winning another challenge against ya. Maybe you want to think about this some more? )

 

[CareCPA]

i'll dig in and engineer this ..... keep pushing me!

Maybe that's the point of the challenge - don't engineer it. Maybe you can't calculate your way through this one.
It's about releasing control, not engineering an experience, yes?

Food for thought (but not during your meditation).

 

[MTF]

i'll dig in and engineer this .....

Oh man, you really need this challenge

Great observation by @CareCPA:

Maybe that's the point of the challenge - don't engineer it. Maybe you can't calculate your way through this one.
It's about releasing control, not engineering an experience, yes?

Food for thought (but not during your meditation).

 

[Olimac21]

Maybe that's the point of the challenge - don't engineer it. Maybe you can't calculate your way through this one.
It's about releasing control, not engineering an experience, yes?

Food for thought (but not during your meditation).

This is so right, we need a "system" or "method" for everything really haha when the idea of this is just to let your mind flow and see what you get from it.