July 2019 TDM
The Law of Average Issue
Welcome to the third issue of The Daily Meditator ✌🏾This is your monthly resource for fun, quirky, interesting, and noteworthy happenings in and around the worldwide meditation community—curated by Bliss More author and daily meditator Light Watkins. Our intention is simply to provide you with more inspiration for committing to your daily practice. In this issue, we discuss the color of wellness, threesomes, a "Billion" ways to meditate, and more. Enjoy, and if you feel charmed, please share with your circle. As always, sending you a big "Namaste," "Sat Nam," or "Jai Guru Deva" wherever you are in the world.
[ PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT ]
More color needed in the wellness space
Have you ever attended a wellness class or event and wondered, "Where's the diversity?" We sincerely hope that thought has crossed your mind at some point in today's 4.2 trillion dollar, ultra-white wellness industry. If not, then it's an even bigger problem because it means the severe lack of diversity in the room, on the panels, and on the top-10 lists, is going mostly unnoticed by the very people who can do something about it: wellness practitioners.
While some experts cite socioeconomics, education and disposable income as reasons for the lack of black and brown faces in the myriad of wellness offerings, each of us wellness advocates must assume personal responsibility for requesting that the brands and studios we support do more to increase diversity in their offerings.
I think we can all agree that a more ethnically-diverse environment is a far richer one for exploring the various holistic approaches to healthy living we care about, like meditation. And many practitioners and brands would be more motivated to take their offerings to underserved communities, or perhaps create a sliding-scale to make them more inclusive. In the meantime, we should intentionally support the brands and practitioners who are going above and beyond to bring more color into the room.
[ MEDITATION & RESEARCH ]
How to avoid a threesome with "S"
Looks like there could be an unintended third party in your bedroom calling the shots during sexy time. The name starts with an "S," and it controls how excited or romantic you're able to be while under the sheets. Of course, we're talking about stress—which shows up mainly in the form of anxiety.
According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, anxiety affects nearly one in five Americans age 18 and older—which means the intimate lives of 40 million Americans are being inadvertently sabotaged by stress.
In short, anxiety leads to the production of the hormone cortisol, and cortisol suppresses sexual desire. Under the influence of stress, your body essentially thinks you're being chased up a tree by a hungry tiger—which is not exactly the vibe you want your body to be in when attempting to be sexually aroused.
Meditation, on the other hand, has been shown to significantly reduce cortisol in the blood, which helps to soften the hard edge of anxiety.
The fix: Do a "quickie" meditation with your partner before, during, or after intimate relations to take the focus off the normal stuff you may be worried about that could otherwise lead to performance anxiety.
[ MEDITATION & POP CULTURE ]
A "Billion" ways to meditate
Apparently, meditation and finance go together like dollars and cents. If you're a fan of the Showtime series “Billions,” you've probably noticed how the billionaire hedge fund guru played by Damian Lewis and Paul Giamatti's ruthless U.S. district attorney character rarely pass up a chance to meditate, whether in their office, at home, in cars, or anywhere else they can sit with eyes closed.
This obsession with meditation in television is intentional. As it turns out, Brian Koppelman and the show’s two other creators are all daily practitioners of Transcendental Meditation, which is a style that’s also become increasingly popular with many in the entertainment industry, both in front of and behind the camera. This means we'll likely be seeing meditating characters in more shows and movies in the seasons to come.
[ MEDITATION & LIFESTYLE ]
Real-world tips for single moms who meditate
A frightening statistic about single motherhood is that you have twice the depression rate as dual parents. So when you’re single and raising kids on your own, experts are now recommending meditation as a means for protecting your mental health.
But finding time to meditate as a single Mom is easier said than done, and often requires some creative license with the day-to-day practice. Below are three tips for meditating on the go from Breeze Etta, a meditating mom herself (originally published in Elephant Journal):
Optimize your in-between moments
Traffic lights and parking lots can be your new go-to meditation spots: Appreciate these in-between moments to simply pause and breathe. Keep your eyes open and use the pause to take five deep breaths while at a red light or before going into the store.
Make it a family affair
Kids love to visualize and play pretend, so we have a vast opportunity to help them grow this part of their mind. I like to have them imagine their favorite place on earth, somewhere they’ve been, or hope to visit someday. Some kids like the freedom of this, and the best part is you get to sneak in a meditation too.
Meditate past guilt
Chant words like: love, light, lift, sink. I like to choose four words with intention. These four remind me of my purpose in the moment to give and be love and light to myself and my kids (and project that into the universe). The last two, lift and sink, remind me that I can lift up and let go of the pressures of the day, the unrealistic expectations I’ve put on myself, quiet my busy mind, then sink back into the earth below me to feel grounded, centered, and present.
[ MEDITATION & TECHNOLOGY ]
The calm before the Calm
So, Calm just raised another 27 mil. After raising 88 million in funding this past February, the popular meditation app recently added 27 million more to the pot, and the app is now valued at a billion dollars. The company plans to use the extra dough to expand into more “self-help masterclasses, stretching routines, relaxing music, breathing exercises, stories for children and celebrity readings that lull you to sleep."
Bottom Line: We're thrilled to see that investors are excited enough about the possibilities with meditation-related offerings to invest some serious money into its future. What's good for one is good for all.
[ REALITY CHECK ]
The Law of Average
Question: How long does it take for the average person to earn a black belt?
Answer: An average person can't earn a black belt. You can't be average and become a master of something. At some point, you've got to be above average—either in your level of commitment, your discipline, your routine, your habits, whatever. Going the extra mile has got to become the norm. That means you'll often have to show up when no one else is watching, and motivate yourself.
Bottom line: When it comes to meditation, 90% of mastery is simply showing up on a daily basis, even when you don't feel like it... especially when you don't feel like it.
[ READ. WATCH. LISTEN. ]
Ready to take it up a notch?
Read: Tea and Cake with Demons
Self-compassion means making friends with all of who we are—demons (ego) included. Which is why we can't wait to add this book to our summer reading list. Adreanna Limbach, lead teacher at New York-based drop-in meditation studio, MNDFL, unravels the stories that keep us entangled in self-doubt. Read now
Watch: Samsara
"Samsara" is Sanskrit for the Earthly cycle of creation and destruction. This 2012 documentary was filmed in over two dozen countries around the world and took five years to complete. Every frame was captured with 65mm cameras, a gorgeous (and expensive) widescreen format that offers unparalleled detail. And the resultant movie is a nonverbal and beautiful guided meditation on the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. Watch now
Listen: Under the Skin Podcast
Oprah and one of the greatest spiritual teachers of our time, Eckhart Tolle, present a 10-part series on Eckhart’s groundbreaking book A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose. These uplifting conversations give us practical tools to discover an enlightened state of consciousness. Listen now
[ REPORT FROM THE FIELD ]
Name: Kelly Dye
Occupation: Designer and retail store owner
Lives in: Santa Fe, NM
Learned to meditate: 4 years ago
Report from the field: “This month I’m celebrating my mediversary, but it’s really a much bigger milestone - it’s my anniversary of waking up. Four years ago, I was a frazzled fashion ad exec in NYC signing up for a 4-day meditation course to help manage work stress and chronic migraines.
"Boy, did I get more than I bargained for! Meditation instantly and dramatically re-wired my nervous system. The 3rd time I sat to close my eyes in class, I ‘died.’ That’s the best way I can describe the phenomenon. I was paralyzed in my body and an energy within me released with such force that it felt like I was combusting from the inside.
"It was terrifying and magnificent. And it was only the beginning of the extremely odd, magical, blissful and sometimes overwhelming experiences that have unfolded since. Kundalini, shakti, and ‘spiritual awakening’ are all terms attached to this sort of cosmic unfurling.
"While the expression of energy in my case is admittedly unusual, this wondrous universal energy is perfectly ordinary - innate to ALL OF US. It’s been profound for me to embody this energy so tangibly because it’s given me the undeniable understanding that everyone is enormously powerful. Powerful beyond their imagination.
"Everyone has the wisest guru of all, sitting inside themselves. There is nothing to seek, nothing to learn, nothing to discover outside the self that is more true than what we are. And what is that? Some say nothing, some say everything, some say the universe, the cosmos. I say love. I have meditation to thank for jolting me out of slumber to remember.”
[ WHO TO FOLLOW ]
Two of our favorite daily meditator Instagram accounts with a purpose
Sah D'Simone (left)
Sah is an author, a meditation teacher, and transformational coach. He loves to dance as a means of healing and celebrating life, and isn't bashful about sharing it social media. His IG account is full of wisdom, light-heartedness, dance moves, and encouragement to meditate each day. You can follow him here
Jacy Cunningham (right)
Jacy is a meditator and fitness guru. His IG account is highly inspirational and motivational. Scrolling through it reminds you to get outside and move! In a recent caption, Jacy also encourages his followers to "be silly. Take risks. Cry. Travel the world for LOVE. Lose it all. Find it all. Do it again. And never, ever, let me hear that you’re bored." You can follow him here
“All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”
Blaise Pascal
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