March 2023 TDM
The Gratitude Issue
Welcome to the 47th 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 meditation teacher, Light Watkins and co. Our mission is simple: to help broaden the horizon of what a daily meditator looks like while providing you with relevant information and timely inspiration for staying committed to your daily practice.
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[ MEDITATION & NEWS ]
This Meditation App is Offering Free Memberships to All Pink Slippers
Now you can Breethe a little easier while looking for employment. A meditation and stress management app is offering a 3-month free membership to the recently laid-off.
Breethe, a global meditation app with more than 12 million downloads, wants to support the thousands of workers facing career uncertainty. To qualify for the free membership, you need to email reset@breethe.com with any type of confirmation of your layoff. Get more details here.
Bottom line: When in between jobs, a few practices will help you get clear on your goals like daily meditation.
Former Foster Kid Brings Meditation to Foster Kids
Meditation: the gift that keeps on giving. Demetrius Napolitano, who grew up in the foster care system, and was introduced to meditation by one of his foster fathers, created Fostering Meditation three years ago. CBS profiled his story here.
Fostering Meditation is a public school program that provides mindfulness training to nearly 400 students at Public School 108 in East Harlem, New York. The program aims to help children who are struggling with being in the foster care system.
Mr. Napolitano, who also works with three New York City foster agencies, teaches adults how to use mindfulness to manage stress. He shows them how to be present and build the inner strength to face the stresses of daily life, and ends his sessions with an affirmation made between each student and a mirror.
Bottom line: We love seeing how many ways people from all walks of life can use meditation to help others.
Light is gearing up for his next Vedic Meditation Teaching Tour. He will be hosting trainings in Los Angeles, New York, Austin, and Atlanta starting in March. BE AMONG THE FIRST 10 PEOPLE TO REGISTER, and get complimentary access to a VIP meet & greet with Light on the evening before the training commences, PLUS a signed copy of his most recent book, Knowing Where to Look. Book your spot now.
[ MEDITATION & HEALTH ]
Mindful Running: Why Meditation is The Science-Backed Way to Improve Your Running
Shoes (check), phone (check), mantra (check). Research now shows that meditating before and even during a run can help you optimize your workout. Although many runners consider the act of running itself to be meditation, if you actually meditate in addition to your run, you can improve your time, and stay more motivated when you hit the “wall.”
And the benefits of a short, pre-run meditation aren’t purely mental, says running expert Emma Bord: “Physically, meditating before running can be a great tool to relax and stretch out the muscles, breathing into any aches and pains and relieving the body of tension.”
How to incorporate meditation with running: A) Focus on your breath by breathing slowly and intentionally a few times. B) Set your intention, by going for a certain speed or distance. And C) Use a mantra, such as “I am running strong” or “I am running relaxed.” Click here to read the full article
Bottom line: Now you can really mean it when you say, “running is my meditation.”
[ MEDITATION & PARENTING ]
Mindfulness Helps To Boost Self-Esteem Among Teenagers
Research says social media makes teens more materialistic. No surprise there. According to Yoga Journal, a recent study of more than 800 teens hints that the unsurprising link between social media use and materialism may be tied to teens’ comparison-based self-esteem.
When introduced to mindfulness, teens had an easier time flipping comparison into gratitude, which did wonders for their self-esteem. All it took was 10 minutes a day of mindfulness practice, said Harvard psychology professor Sara Lazar and the teens in the study began experiencing forging more gratitude-based thinking habits.
How to incorporate mindfulness into daily habits: Help your kids learn to pay attention to what they are sensing and experiencing. If they are brushing their teeth, notice what the toothpaste looks like, what it smells like, what sounds they hear, what it feels like, etc. It’s learning to notice and appreciate the small things that eventually lead to more gratitude and happiness.
Bottom line: This of course can be applied to adults too. More mindfulness of the little things equals more fulfillment in life.
Enroll in Light’s New Masterclass: The Preparing for The One Masterclass is a comprehensive six-week bootcamp that helps you become your best self, identify your ideal partner, and optimize your most attractive qualities in preparation for meeting The One. Whether you're single or in an unsatisfying relationship, this masterclass promises to provide you with valuable insights and tools for attracting and choosing the right partner for a healthy, happy relationship. Enroll now
Positive & enlightening. I really enjoyed this call. I found myself looking forward to Tuesdays when I know a new module would come out.
— Jill H
[ MEDITATION & POP CULTURE ]
Actor Michael Cera Credits Meditation With Helping Him Land A Role
Is the meditation cushion the new casting couch? According to The Hollywood Reporter, actor Michael Cera, who played Brando in David Lynch’s Twin Peaks, suspects that he got the role because he had recently finished a Transcendental Meditation course and was invited to Lynch’s house for a meet-and-greet (and meditation) with the director. Mr. Lynch is one of the most outspoken advocates for meditation in Hollywood and heads up the David Lynch Foundation which teaches meditation in schools and underserved communities throughout the United States.
Bottom line: If misery loves company, then happy people also want to work with other happy people.
The Happiness Insiders® is a diverse community of folks who are actively engaged in cultivating real, lasting happiness through daily inner work, created and facilitated by long-time meditation teacher and inspiration author, Light Watkins. The Happiness Insiders® is the world’s first secular online community for learning a variety of practical, real-world spiritual practices that are intended to help you create the lasting happiness you ultimately desire. Click here for more info
Popular Challenges:
108-Day Meditation Challenge
108-Day Healthy Eating Challenge
108-Day Movement Challenge
108-Day Strength Challenge
108-Day Double-Dose Challenge
30-Day Mindfulness Triathlon
30-Day No Complaining Challenge
30 Days of Gratitude Challenge
Popular Masterclasses:
Find Your Purpose
Overcoming Fear
Radical Authenticity
How to Stop Overthinking
Preparing for The One
Manifesting Abundance
Accessing Your Potential
How to Move On After Breaking Up
[ REALITY CHECK ]
Get the Sanity Insurance
By Light Watkins
Once, while standing behind two cowboys at a car rental counter, I overheard the car rental agent trying to pressure the cowboys into getting the additional protection, citing cautionary tales of past customers who had to pay exorbitant amounts because they got into an accident after declining the insurance.
The one cowboy looked at his buddy and quipped, "Man, I don't plan on getting into no accident. Do you?" His buddy answered, "Nope." And they declined the insurance.
Their logic made me chuckle because who, in the history of accidents, ever planned on being in one?!
And it's also why I put meditation in the same category as car insurance because it essentially serves the same function: protection from unanticipated drama.
Those who decline to sit for 15 or 20 minutes to start their day are subject to accidental bouts of anger, anxiety, or worse. And using the cowboy's logic, most people opt out of meditating because they don't plan on overreacting.
If you're prone to skipping meditation, it's wise to start viewing that time as your daily "sanity insurance," because you just never know how the day is going to unfold.
[ READ. WATCH. LISTEN. ]
Read: That Sucked, Now What?
That Sucked, Now What? by Dr. Neeta Bhushan is a practical and refreshing guide to personal growth that focuses on overcoming life's challenges with grace and resilience. Dr. Neeta draws on her years of research, personal experience, and professional expertise to offer a real-talk perspective on how to handle difficult moments in life. Through relatable stories and engaging writing, Dr. Neeta encourages readers to embrace chaos and see challenging moments as opportunities for growth. Whether you're dealing with heartbreak, failure, or disappointment, this book is a valuable resource for anyone looking to move forward with confidence and resilience. Read more
Watch: Senator Cory Booker’s Instagram Feed
Senator Cory Booker's Instagram profile is definitely worth checking out. He posts awesome stories every morning, ranging from inspirational messages to classic fables. His posts provide refreshing insights and perspectives on life. They are non-political, and it’s a great way to start your day. Following him on Instagram so you don’t miss out.
Listen: Listen, Dream (Alan Watts, Boreta & Superposition)
'Listen, Dream' by Alan Watts, Boreta, and Superposition is a beautiful collaboration between the late philosopher Alan Watts and electronic musicians Boreta and Superposition. They've blended excerpts from Watts' lectures with an atmospheric electronic music backdrop, creating a truly mesmerizing experience that's definitely worth checking out. Check out Listen, Dream on Spotify
Have you listened to Light’s podcast, The Light Watkins Show? If inspiration was a drop of water, The Light Watkins Show would be like an ocean. Each candid interview is sure to leave you uplifted, inspired, and motivated to follow your heart, take a leap of faith, and believe in yourself. Listen or watch now.
[ REPORT FROM THE FIELD ]
Meditation increased my ability to just enjoy life.
What have you gotten from meditation? Meditation has helped me to discern the difference between me— my true self and my mind, the activity of my mind. And it's given me an opportunity every single day to meet that part of myself to meet with my mind and to learn more about the patterns and the tendencies of my mind, and to create more space in between me in that activity, which increases my levels of peace, which increases my ability to just enjoy life. It increased my ability to access equanimity.
Strangest meditation moment? I haven't had many strange experiences, but the thing that comes to mind is the first time I experienced timelessness. I meditate for 20 minutes and I usually have a timer. I remembered dropping into meditation one time and literally feeling like it was one moment later that my alarm was going off. And it was like, "Where did that 18 minutes just go?" It was definitely strange to experience that the first time.
Most unexpected benefit of meditation? The most unexpected benefit of meditation is the fact that I can always lean on it whenever I need people to leave me alone. My family, my friends, everyone knows that I'm an avid meditator and I'm usually the person that everyone turns to for everything. So when I need people to just leave me alone, I put on my headphones even if I'm not meditating, I'll pretend that I'm meditating and everyone just magically disappears and everyone just leaves me alone, and it's a beautiful thing.
[To see the latest from Brix, go to brixtraining.com & @BrixFitness on YouTube]
Two of Our Favorite Instagram Accounts with a Purpose
Mo Gawdat (left) has had an incredible career, serving as Chief Business Officer at Google [X] and writing several books on happiness including his international bestseller, Solve for Happy. But what really sets Mo apart is his passion for spreading happiness to one billion people. He's dedicated his life to researching happiness, and his mission is to help people learn that it can be achieved and shared. He's the host of the chart-topping podcast Slo Mo, where he interviews some of the wisest people in the world about purpose and happiness. And with his latest book, That Little Voice in Your Head, he's providing a practical guide to retraining our brains for optimal joy. He's also the co-founder of Unstressable, which aims to help people avoid stress, anxiety, and burnout. So give Mo a follow and let's join him on his mission to spread happiness! Follow him @mo_gawdat
Alexi Panos (right) is a truth seeker on a mission to mainstream personal development. She turns big ideas into fun, bite-sized goodness that spreads positivity and love around the world. She created SOUL SCHOOL, a global community of souls who are serious about living their unique truth and creating with a sense of purpose. She is also the co-founder of The Bridge Method and The Bridge Experience, high-octane human potential trainings that yields incredible results. Through her non-profit, E.P.I.C., she facilitates global leadership training programs that give people the tools they need to implement global giveback initiatives to communities in need. Alexi is insanely committed to empowering ONE BILLION people to harness their unique gifts to create a “Compound Inspiration Effect” that changes our world. Follow her @alexipanos
You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.
— Maya Angelou
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