Billionaire Ray Dalio: Meditation is ‘the single most important reason' for my success

[SteveO]

I feel that meditation is simpler than we all try to make it out to be. Not easier, just less complicated. It is simply connecting with our inner-selves. No science needed. No change in the brain. Just a connection...

I do agree that meditation helps tremendously. But, we are still going to accomplish without it. It reduces the churn and stresses. It also provides clarity.

I meditate 10-30 minutes a day. Usually 2 sessions. It is necessary to take myself into a lower consciousness first. I try again later if there is difficulty relaxing into the proper state.

 

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[SteveO]

Yes but knowing the science shows people the benefits and can help them stay on track.

I'm very likely one of the very few people on earth that doesn't think science is the tell all of our existence. Science tells us what we witness and piece together. Science is not going to explain our spiritual selves.

 

[ChrisV]

Hedge fund billionaire Ray Dalio: Meditation is ‘the single most important reason' for my success

While that's a lofty, seemingly hyperbolic claim... he's right. If you'd like the science behind why, I would be happy to provide it. It changes the brain in way that improves certain skills necessary for success.

 

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[Andrew W]

I've seen lots of people interested in meditation here so I thought I'd come by and drop my two cents along with a Massive resource that will help tremendously. First off, I've been studying meditation for the past three years on-and-off. I'm no master but I have spent long enough to know some of the best resources out there on the topic. (Skip to end for resources).
There are an insane amount of disciplines regarding meditation but the one I use is called "Concentration Meditation."

Technique
You essentially focus on your breath and at the same time let all of your surroundings in; sounds, smells, and feelings, everything. But at the center of it all you focus on your breath, and every time you feel yourself thinking of something else Anything else, you divert your attention back to the breath.

This might seem like it doesn't do much when you first start but if you keep at it everything becomes easier. You are practicing concentrating on something intently and when you stop meditating and begin working this focus and attention carries over. If you don't believe me, just give it a try. One week is all I'm asking, if it doesn't work for you, move on. No harm, no foul. But it might just be one of the most important additions to your life you'll ever make.

Resources
First off, watch this video:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAVPDYhW_nw&t=467s

This will give you an overview of the point of meditation. No mumbo-jumbo here.

Second, get this book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1501156985/?tag=tff-amazonparser-20
I am in no way affiliated with the author or this book, however, it is perhaps the most definitive and useful meditation guide I've ever read through.

End
Thanks for reading, I hope these resources can help! This is the best resource I've found on the topic and that video is a great introduction to the benefits of meditation.
Cheers!

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

@MJ DeMarco recommends The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle and I do too.

I actually like his newer book better, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose.

 

[ChrisV]

Okay, a few people asked where to start...

@MJ DeMarco recommends The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle and I do too.

I actually recommend Practicing The Power of Now as it’s the abridged version with just the essentials.

Up tp you which one you pick though.

I also recommend the work of Alan Watts... he’s one of the best.

Also Sam Harris’s Waking Up



How to Meditate | Sam Harris

 

[Jackmar]

This is a very interesting subject to me, I've spent years getting pretty deep into this stuff and I want to share a very clear and no nonsense technique I've learned that gets noticeable results in just a few sessions (assuming your consistent).

This is very simple method and it works great for me. Meditation is close and personal and one size most certainly doesn't fit all. However, I'm pretty confident that if you try this you will find a good amount of benefit from it. If you do this in the morning regularly, there will be a profoundly positive effect on the rest of your day.

These instructions are based on Samahdi / Shamatha Meditation (AKA Concentration Meditation), which in my opinion is very well suited to increasing overall willpower and day-to-day 'personal effectiveness'. Vipassana Meditation (Insight Meditation) is more geared towards seeing through mind patterns and getting to the bottom of how you think and perceive the world (which certainly has benefits as well).

Generally 10-15 minutes a day is enough once you have been practicing but it may require some more time the first few sessions.

1. Sit with your back straight so you don't get sleepy. It's surprising how much your posture effects your mind. It's not meant to be comfortable and relaxing. It's best to approach this exercise as a sort of 'weight lifting'.
2. Pay attention to the feeling of your breath going in and out at the tip of your nose, the area of attention should be smallish, maybe the size of a marble.
3. Every time you exhale, count up in your mind if you were able to stay 100% focused on your breath
4. When you get to count 10, start over again at 1. (This can act as a check in on your progress, and is a useful tool early on. If you find yourself counting past 10, you know your mind was wandering and needs to brought back to focus.)
5. If you find your mind straying at all, and you lose focus on the breath and your mind wanders, start counting back at 1 again. Force your mind back to your breath. This takes effort. Meditation is not 'relaxing' in this sense.
6. See if you can hit to 3 or 4 consecutive sets of 10 breaths without losing 100% focus (not easy, it will take some effort). If you are able to hit 3 or 4 sets (30-40 breaths total) without losing focus, you have probably done it, you win. You will probably be in a state of mind called 'Access Concentration' in some Buddhist traditions. (I should say, having a goal like this can actually be counter productive to the goal itself. As you get closer to the goal, your mind gets excited and distracted by the idea that you are about to hit the goal. It's still good to have the goal for motivational purposes, just try to be detached from it while you're actually meditating.)
8. This state of mind feels pretty fantastic. Your body will be buzzing, and likely your body and mind will be so still you can’t even notice yourself breathing anymore. (The breath gets very very subtle in this state, and at this point, to go deeper, meditators will find a new object to concentrate on. Google 'nimitta' for an example of what to switch to once you breath is too subtle to notice)
9. I have found that reaching this state of 'Access Concentration' once every day and staying in it as long as I can manage is enough to see some crazy benefits to your overall mindset and ability to take action despite your mind.

Buddhists have mapped out quite a few states of concentration that are deeper than 'Access Concentration' called 'Absorptions' ('Jhanas'). Google 'Access concentration and the jhanas' if you want to go deeper.

 

[luniac]

I don't do sitting meditation as much as I used to. I think it's good for Zen monks who are trying to detach themselves from the world. But if you're trying to engage in the world, doing it for too long is a waste of time.

Meditation doesn't have to be sitting down and trying to clear your head. Exercising while focusing on nothing but the task at hand can be meditation. Shaolin monks use their kung fu forms as meditation. Bruce Lee used morning runs as meditation.

Also, do you really want to try and clear your head completely? Again, maybe this is good if you're trying to reach a kind of spiritual enlightenment where you spend most of the time clear headed, but this doesn't seem constructive for my goals.

A better alternative is to practice visualization and affirmations. These also clear your mind, the difference is, they keep you focused on a vision and let everything else fade into nothingness. Becoming in harmony with one purpose sounds like enlightenment to me.

Clearing your head completely is akin to fasting of the mind.
We know fasting for the body is a healthy habit, it won't cause ur body to waste away, but quite the opposite, it gets rid of the garbage accumulating in the cells, and helps ur body to run well.

Same thing in ur head, that short session where you let go of everything and can be in total mental silence is a type of rejuvenation.
Easier said than done though, it takes some time to actually succeed in allowing ur mind to empty.

I've even read research relating the "empty mind" to being "in the zone". It's possible that one is a prerequisite for the other, and we've all experienced "the zone" at some point in our lives, its the best.

If you ruminate about "engaging" with the world a bit, u realize most people "engage" all day and get nowhere right?
The whole day to day zombie slowlane autopilot lifestyle is not really "engaging".
When you achieve silence, you naturally become more aware of everything. That is real engagement.

There's been brain scan studies done to compare experienced Mindfulness meditators vs Empty Mind meditators, and their brain structures were different.
Mindfulness meditators had stronger signal in a certain part of their brain, while empty mind meditators had an even excitation over their entire brain.

All roads don’t lead to Rome | Beyond The Mind

Here's an excerpt:
For example, a 2004 study of eleven Tibetan Buddhist monks in meditation showed intense gamma wave activity in certain parts of the brain REF. Yet a study of people using a mindfulness form of meditation, also a Buddhist activity, showed alpha activity — at the opposite end of the spectrum to gamma — which was more prominent in the left frontal side of the brain compared to the right REF. In short: two kinds of meditation, both claiming to be Buddhist in nature, yield electrical activity at opposite ends of the spectrum and in similar parts of the brain. A study by Fenwick of a different form of meditation seemed to show electrical changes that resemble sleep REF. Does that mean that meditation is a form of sleep? Yet another study revealed episodic electrical activity that mirrored epilepsy-like patterns REF.


I REALLY recommend the book Beyond The Mind. It's completely scientific based, and convinced me that Empty Mind meditation is probably what "meditation" actually is.

The way i meditate is i do Zhan Zhuang. So i stand up and assume a posture and just hold it for an hour. I set it and forget it and don't actively concentrate on anything. I let my body adjust by itself, and thoughts come and go but i don't grab on to them. Every session feels easier to just let go.
After im done i feel energized like a battery at least for little while.

 

[ChrisV]

I 100% would love to know the science behind this, I've always been fascinated by the powers of our mind. Also I really need to start meditating myself, I'm going to start this evening in fact.

Okay so... meditation helps with a mental facet called Executive Function.

Executive Function is “higher order thinking.” It’s planning, response inhibition, goal directed behavior, Self Control. Read through the answers and you’ll notice a lot of the difference between the wealthy responders and non wealthy responders had to do with many of those things, most notably Self Control.

Executive functions (EFs) make possible mentally playing with ideas; taking the time to think before acting; meeting novel, unanticipated challenges; resisting temptations; and staying focused. Core EFs are inhibition [response inhibition (self-control--resisting temptations and resisting acting impulsively) and interference control (selective attention and cognitive inhibition)], working memory, and cognitive flexibility (including creatively thinking "outside the box," seeing anything from different perspectives, and quickly and flexibly adapting to changed circumstances).​

If you look at my thread about the differences between Millionaires and non-millionaires, the differences become obvious.

FEATURED! - Author spent 5 years interviewing 177 selfmade millionaires to find their secrets. Findings inside.


Meditation helps Excutive Function, Self Control and boosts willpower. It makes it easier to do the things you know you need to do, but don’t feel like doing.

We all know what we need to do to succeed, just like people generally know what they need to do to lose weight. It’s usually just a disconnect between knowing and doing. It's not usually"i don't know what to do" it's usually more like "i don't feel like doing that."

Here are a couple of other things that help executive function.

"Various activities appear to improve children’s EFs. The best evidence exists for computer-based training, traditional martial arts, and two school curricula. Weaker evidence, though strong enough to pass peer review, exists for aerobics, yoga, mindfulness, and other school curricula."

"Children devote time and effort to activities they love; therefore, EF interventions might use children’s motivation to advantage. Focusing narrowly on EFs or aerobic activity alone appears not to be as efficacious in improving EFs as also addressing children’s emotional, social, and character development (as do martial arts, yoga, and curricula shown to improve EFs). Children with poorer EFs benefit more from training; hence, training might provide them an opportunity to “catch up” with their peers and not be left behind. Remaining questions include how long benefits of EF training last and who benefits most from which activities."​

Activities and Programs That Improve Children’s Executive Functions

Also:

"The importance of social, emotional, and physical health for cognitive health is discussed because stress, lack of sleep, loneliness, or lack of exercise each impair EFs [exec functions]. That EFs are trainable and can be improved with practice is addressed, including diverse methods tried thus far."​

Executive functions. - PubMed - NCBI

Adele Diamond is one of the leading researchers when it comes to Executive fuction.

 

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[daru]

I found the book Waking Up by Sam Harris and was hooked on the idea of meditation. Built 10 minutes of Vipassana into a habit on workdays.

 

[Ninjakid]

I'm very likely one of the very few people on earth that doesn't think science is the tell all of our existence. Science tells us what we witness and piece together. Science is not going to explain our spiritual selves.

Science can't explain the nature of our consciousness.

 

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[ChrisV]

1. I use a free app called Insight Timer for my practice
2. I'm interested in transcendental meditation
3. Anyone know any good resources?

He explains how to do it briefly here:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AX9vX7YzfSo

PS, this is exactly why I hate Gary Vee.

 

[MitchC]

I was going to ask what type of meditation but that’s what the whole article is about.

Have you done any research on different types and which is best Chris?

I have the calm app on my phone which I love, I had a look at all the other apps but I preferred calm. Still need to make it a more regular habit, this thread is a good reminder of how important it is.

 

[ChrisV]

A unique perspective on mindfulness. What he is describing is not meditation at all though. It’s closer to mindfulness, and it’s not even that really.
But mindfulness is somewhat of a meditation you can do as you go about your day:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzuazdarDHE

re mindfulness: these are good (quickish) videos about the duality.... there are the thoughts.. then there is this consciousness that is aware that you’re thinking... but it’s not the thoughts itself. Understand? Because thoughts can’t think about themselves... there’s something else there that knows youre thinking. And aligning with that consciousness is part of meditation. I love how Jordan explains it especially.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIaY0l5qV0c

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6F-jyrSBgg

 

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[Rawseed]

I am completely sold on meditation and it's benefits. It seems as if three out of every four successful people in the world meditate.

I've been doing the Headspace app 'Tiny Habits style' for the past 30 days. 3 minutes a day for 10 days. Then 5 minutes a day for 10 days. Now 10 minutes a day for 10 days. And I've seen some benefits in my mood and cognition.

However, I do feel like journaling is extremely powerful as well. And it's easier to explain and to execute. If you can't get into meditation, consider journaling. Try it twice a day. Right before bed and as soon as you wake up.

 

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[Lionhearted]

LOL, he could say "brushing my teeth made me successful" and you'd probably believe him.

You'll find many average joes meditating, even I did it at one point, where is my billions?

That's like saying,"I worked out at one point, where is my buff body?" LOL This guy has been meditating since 1968! That's 50 YEARS TWICE A DAY! He continues to do so to this day! So understand the difference and the possible correlation between the two? And if he said,"Brushing his teeth made the difference" and he had a GOOD case for it I would at least investigate that too!" Note also that he said ,"Meditation was the single most important reason for his success." Language matters. He did not say,"It was the ONLY reason for his success." Now here is the thing you have to ask yourself ,"What is in it for him to tell you this?" His net worth is $18.1 BILLION!!!! He could be spending all his time doing ANYTHING ELSE! You name it he can afford to do it with a thousand of his best friends! So ask yourself WHY would he waste his valuable time telling us this if he didn't believe it and he did not think it was worthwhile telling? He's not even selling a product on the suggestion! He doesn't have to, he has $18.1 Billion! LOL Success leaves clues and when it does I listen. You can disregard the mans words but you can't disregard his success.
I suggest that you check your attitude towards super successful people. Try and see them in a more positive light. I am not suggesting that you NOT be critical but I am suggesting to have a neutral bias and base your opinion on what is actually there as opposed to what you project. For example I don't particularly like Bill Gates but I would not dismiss any success advice he has for me off hand. The guy has to know something of value! He certainly has been financially successful! If someone has a better handle on something than you do(IE. financial success), have the humility to at least ask why did it work for him and not for me? And what can I learn from them to make my life better? All the best. Thanks for responding.

 

[Captain04]

You go the way of learning from others experience, take all their advice, read all the books and I will learn through trial and error, let's see who achieves more.

 

[Thinh]

I went to the TM center once in my city and never went through with it. I went to an intro class. Its something that I have wanted to do for over 15 years, and never have done it. Its good to hear about all of the success people have had with it.

Lately, I have experienced a lot of business stress; my last company was bought out in a hostile takeover and my office(which I led) was closed, and I have just left a high stress, extremely negative environment I am happy to be away from now.

I have used Headspace a lot. Back in the 90's when I started with meditation, I learned from a book written in the 70's, which taught me to count my breaths. I would count every exhale up to 4, and repeat. e.g. exhale 1, exhale 2, exhale 3, exhale 4, repeat.

Headspace and 'mindfulness' is hard for me to do. My mind wanders, I am easily distracted, I fall asleep. I may go back to the breath counting, or look back into TM.

Just a quick tip: being distracted and having your mind wandering is totally normal. The most important (and probably only ) thing is to "catch yourself" and gently go back to focusing on your breath or sounds or whatever helps you stay focused on the present.

Also, I've seen people talking about doing it for 20 minutes. You don't have to. That's actually quite contradictory to the purpose of meditation. You can do it 5 minutes, or even just one minute. The purpose of meditation, if there is one, is to appreciate the process in itself, not achieve a result like "having done 20 minutes of meditation."

Even meditating in hope of reducing stress is detrimental.

There's this talk from Alan Watts which I personally find incredible. He compares meditation to dance or music. He talks about other things but the topic of meditation starts at 2:40, although I strongly suggest listening to the whole video. It's a whopping 12 minutes long.

 

[wyattnorton]

I grew my business to six figures a month by not meditating anymore.

 

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[The Abundant Man]

I meditate when I sleep. Does this count?

 

[socaldude]

I'm very likely one of the very few people on earth that doesn't think science is the tell all of our existence. Science tells us what we witness and piece together. Science is not going to explain our spiritual selves.

I think that science and spirituality is totally compatible. Actually, the most successful scientists were spiritualists.

It's just that a lot of academics and scientist quickly dismiss any evidence and are intellectually arrogant. Despite the fact that there is NO evidence to say that we can't connect to higher mental dimensions.

I just find it funny that the most intelligent people in our society quickly dismiss these kinds of things without evidence to the contrary and existence of evidence to support it. They will say "prove it" but a proof only exists in mathematics and logic. You can't prove the Big Bang or evolution. There is only evidence to support the theory that makes it "more likely than not to be true".

Scientist think they are the smartest persons in existence but the error of thinking there is that non-human "things" have intelligence as well. And nature as a whole is has an intelligence as a whole. And one far superior and mysterious to anything we can grasp with our fragile minds.

"Everyone who is seriously interested in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the universe – a spirit vastly superior to man, and one in the face of which our modest powers must seem humble" - Einstein

 

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[MetalGear]

I'm confused on meditation. is it just closing your eyes and not thinking about anything?

1. From the tradition that I learned, it is focusing on your breath and letting thoughts go
2. Inhaling refreshing air while letting go of the bad air through your breath
3. Some mentally envision breathing refreshing energy in "chi", and letting negative energy out
4. Accessing that higher brain order executive function described in story format

• Tons of people were inspired by the Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
• The following books share a similar tone
• More towards the meditation, mindfulness, and spirituality genre

1. Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon's Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart
   1. https://www.amazon.com/Into-Magic-Shop-Neurosurgeons-Mysteries/&tag=tff-amazonparser-20
   2. Growing up in the high desert of California, Jim Doty was poor, living with an alcoholic father and a mother chronically depressed and paralyzed by a stroke. Today he is the director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University, of which the Dalai Lama is a founding benefactor. But back then his life was at a dead end - until at the age of 12, when he wandered into a magic shop looking for a plastic thumb. There he met Ruth, a woman who taught him a series of exercises to ease his own suffering and manifest his greatest desires. Her final mandate was that he keep his heart open and teach these techniques to others.
   3. Also an entrepreneur
2. Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives
   1. https://www.amazon.com/Way-Peaceful-Warrior-Changes-Lives/&tag=tff-amazonparser-20
   2. During his junior year at the University of California, while training to become a world-champion gymnast, Dan Millman stumbled on a 94-year-old mentor nicknamed Socrates, a powerful, unpredictable, and elusive character. He taught a way to maximize performance using a unique blend of Eastern philosophy and Western fitness to cultivate the true essence of a champion - the "way of the peaceful warrior." Millman's first-person account of his odyssey into realms of light, darkness, mind, body, and spirit has since become an international bestseller about the universal quest for happiness.

 

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[MythOfSisyphus]

I found the book Waking Up by Sam Harris and was hooked on the idea of meditation. Built 10 minutes of Vipassana into a habit on workdays.

It's a very good place for the more logic oriented individuals to begin as it explains meditation without any of the guru BS.

I started meditating around 8 years ago and I view it as a meta skill that's impacted almost every area of my life. My fitness and health has improved, my finances have improved dramatically, I've increased my desire and capacity to learn and improved my relationships.

Its a very gradual change but the biggest impact it's had for me is the ability to really detach from situations or things that used to stress or worry me. I can now view things in a very calm, analytic way and then act accordingly.

Best of all though it's really enjoyable when you do it regularly. Ive found its increased my capacity to enjoy all the simple things in life that my busier, more stressed self used to take for granted.

 

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[Lionhearted]

No one is into meditation more than Indians yet how come they're one of the poorest countries?

There is probably a billionaire out there who never meditated in his life, meditation worked for this guy sure but for millions around the world it's a waste.

You can't justify everything as "he's financially successful so he must be right", I used to think like that aswell.

If you always jump on everyone's advice you won't have the confidence to do things on your own, you're always going to need guidance.

I appreciate that. There are many ways to learn. I find learning from others learned experience is easier than my own. Everyone has his own path and you get to yours.
Again the guy did not say I meditated and that is what made me a billionaire he said it helped him greatly. He runs a hedge fund so I think there is more to his success than just meditating but he did say it was the most important factor so again I think that is worth looking into. Not preaching that you should or should not.
Why are people in India poor? Same reason they are poor here I suspect. You can meditate till the cows come home but if you don't take ACTION to change your situation nothing in your life will change. Thanks. All the best.

 

[MythOfSisyphus]

I'm very likely one of the very few people on earth that doesn't think science is the tell all of our existence. Science tells us what we witness and piece together. Science is not going to explain our spiritual selves.

I think where a lot of people go wrong is this dogmatic belief that until something is 100% verified by science its BS. The types who look down on anyone for trying something that hasn't first been backed by 200 peer reviewed studies.

Science is a wonderful tool, but that's all it is. It can verify things as true and verify things as false but that doesn't mean everything in between is irrelevant or wrong to put faith in.

Many things we now hold to be true were once thought to be nonsense... The earth being round for example.

 

[mindfulimmortal]

I am now just over two months into doing TM faithfully twice a day and can say without a doubt it is the best investment I have ever made! I recommend it to anyone I meet who is overloaded and stressed. Those who say they don’t have 20 minutes to meditate are the o es who need it the most.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Olimac21]

For those starting in the meditation world, I recommend: Joseph Goldstein videos (especially on craving or non self) and the meditation apps Insight Timer/Headspace.

 

[Madame Peccato]

I 100% would love to know the science behind this, I've always been fascinated by the powers of our mind. Also I really need to start meditating myself, I'm going to start this evening in fact.

 

[MetalGear]

1. I use a free app called Insight Timer for my practice
2. I'm interested in transcendental meditation
3. Anyone know any good resources?

 

[Olimac21]

For those getting started, a very good book to read is "10% Happier" by Dan Harris, he explains his journey throughout spirituality and meditation. It is excellent because he is a great story teller and at the beginning he was very skeptical about these two topics.