The Importance of Daily Ritual
Meditation brings a kind of calmness that is so necessary in life. It’s a ritual, it’s a ritual you do every single day, and getting into the habit of doing something every single day is transformative just by itself. I can’t express how deeply, deeply important it is to me, meditation, how it has changed me, how it has made my life more bearable, even much more beautiful. I advocated, I can’t find words to advocate it, it’s so important. And the problem I have is it’s such a trendy thing, and so many people are doing it, and I’m somebody that kind of hates trendiness, that it makes me feel a little bit weird that I’m doing that, but it’s still something that I’ve been doing for many, many years, and it transcends the kind of fadishness of meditation. So get rid of all of the cliches about things you’ve read it and approach it in the following way. So the first thing about meditation is it’s a ritual, it’s a ritual you do every single day, and getting into the habit of doing something every single day is transformative just by itself, right? So I do it in the morning when I first wake up. Some people prefer to do it at the end of the day. They’re both equally good, although at the end of the day, the mind is kind of looser and a little harder to control. But I’m sitting on pillows, and I’m looking out, and I’m kind of, I’m, it’s like I’m almost being thankful that I’m alive, that I didn’t die the following evening. And I’m seeing the morning as it is, and, and I’m just sort of like greeting the sun, I’m greeting the new morning that has arrived. And it’s an incredibly great feeling to just every day sort of look at the world and go, all right, I’m starting a new day. It’s the morning, it’s, it’s fantastic, everything is fresh and new. I can get rid of all of my old thoughts, all of my old burns and anxieties. It’s a new day. You do that every single day, and you become addicted to it, and does not start your day with that feels kind of empty and meaningless. So just in the process of doing something every single day like that will transform you, it will transform your mind in a very powerful way.
The Power of Calmness
The other thing is meditation brings a kind of calmness that is so necessary in life. So sometimes you’re in a situation where everything is coming at you, people are yelling at you, you’ve got emails are piling up, you’re getting stressed, you’re getting kind of cranky, etc, etc. And you go, God damn it, I gotta calm down, I gotta find a way, I better do something, I better take a pill or drink a beer or do something. Meditation doesn’t operate that way because you’ve practiced it all the time every single day. You don’t have to try it, it comes up within you naturally. So because every morning I’m calming my mind down, I’m making it still, I’m trying to get rid of all of those intrusive thoughts. When that moment comes where people are yelling at me, screaming at me, emails are piling up, everyone’s getting cranky, I don’t have to think, I don’t have to try it, just naturally rises up in me. Don’t react, Robert, why react? It doesn’t matter, nothing matters. So when I’m meditating, as I’m emptying my mind, as I’m trying to go into this Zen state where everything kind of drops out, I’m meditating on a particular word in which I’m not going to bore you with. Suddenly thoughts will come into my head, oh, you didn’t respond to this person, you better return that email, where are you gonna go tomorrow? You know, are you going to go on your bike ride tomorrow? Oh, you better return this phone call. Let’s say come in. I go, this isn’t important, this doesn’t matter. I’m trying to do something much more essential for my life. These Petty thoughts worrying about them at seven in the morning, I’m not going to change anything by worrying about them. So get rid of them. That process now goes with you through the whole day. So when you start having Petty thoughts and things start intruding and it’s disrupting your concentration, they just evaporate on their own. You don’t have to try because you built up this daily, daily habit, right?
Conquering Mortality
And so the other thing is, obviously, I talk a lot about confronting your mortality and confronting the idea of death itself. And inevitably, as you meditate, thoughts of death and separation and those kind of anxieties prop up. It’s almost automatic, right? And so it teaches you first of all to welcome those thoughts, to not try to repress them, to try and go into them more deeply. And then it becomes part of your practice. So I often go, you’re here in this morning, and you’re alive, and this is what’s surrounding you. You’re looking at a bush because this is literally what I see. You’re looking at a bush in front of you, Bush of ivy above you is the Blue Sky outside your hearing, the occasional whistle of a train and the birds chirping and a crow croaking. That is what’s going on. That is the world right now, minus all of your thoughts. You’re going to be dead sometime, and all of that will be gone. That won’t have any meaning for you. You’ll be dead, you’ll be asleep, you’ll be buried under the ground of sleep for the for eternity, right? So think about that, Robert, and think about it deeply and intensify how beautiful and how amazing it is to actually be alive in this morning. It calms you down. It gives you a daily ritual, something you look forward to. It helps you deal with the anxiety of confronting your mortality. It helps you deal with any kind of anxiety. And it helps you prioritize what is truly important in life. It gives you a sense of this isn’t so important. Why am I worrying about it? Okay? And to not have to do that without any effort for have that to just be a part of you is so liberating and so empowering.
The Importance of Routine
And so the thing that you must do is you must try and make it a routine because if it’s not a routine, it won’t work for you. And when I began, I began with five minutes, five minutes every day. You can afford five minutes. Try any form of meditation. I advocate Zen because to me it’s the best of all, but you can try vipassana, you can try Transcendental Meditation. Mindfulness is absolutely brilliant. I’ve met a lot of people who’ve used the mindfulness practice. Five minutes in the morning, okay? Then you make it 10 minutes after a couple months. I am now up to 45 minutes every morning. And I started at five because I kept wanting to increase it, etc, etc. But carve out those five minutes and start doing it every day.
Summary
Daily meditation fosters essential calmness, transforms habits, and enhances life’s beauty, helping to confront anxiety and mortality.
Highlights
🧘♂️ Meditation is a daily ritual that brings calmness.
🌅 Morning meditation allows for a fresh start each day.
🌌 Regular practice transforms your mindset and reduces anxiety.
🌿 Meditation helps prioritize what truly matters in life.
🕊️ Confronting thoughts of mortality enhances appreciation for life.
⏳ Start with just five minutes to build a routine.
🌟 Consistency in meditation leads to profound personal change.
Key Insights
🧘♀️Ritual Importance: Engaging in daily meditation establishes a vital ritual that cultivates inner peace and stability, crucial for navigating life’s challenges.
🌞Fresh Perspectives: Morning meditation offers a unique opportunity to embrace each day with gratitude, fostering a positive mindset and readiness to tackle daily stresses.
🌊Reducing Anxiety: Regular meditation practice acts as a natural buffer against anxiety, allowing a calmer response to life’s pressures and disruptions.
💭Life Prioritization: Meditation encourages a deeper reflection on life’s priorities, helping to distinguish between trivial worries and what truly matters.
⚰️Confronting Mortality: Embracing thoughts of mortality during meditation can lead to a richer appreciation of life, helping to alleviate fears surrounding death.
⏱️Routine Building: Starting small with just five minutes can lead to significant changes over time, establishing a sustainable meditation habit.
🌈Transformative Change: Consistent meditation practice not only enhances mental clarity but also promotes profound personal growth and transformation over time.
Mindmap
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