Rather than having you try to focus on something, this technique allows you to let go of your mind while also redirecting it inward. Some people who’ve practiced this type of meditation have experienced different benefits related to stress, anxiety, trauma, emotional reactivity and general happiness. Some haven’t. Releasing control of your mind has different effects on different people. If you’re curious what effect it might have on you, sign up for this four night class.
You can read comments about the class here.
Classes are at 7pm EST. If you are interested, enroll in the form below, and I will contact you with class dates.
I’ve tried other types of meditation and didn’t feel they helped me. What's different about this technique?
I was the same way. It took me years of trying different types of meditation before I noticed any results. This was in part because I felt that I was lousy at paying attention and didn’t find I improved with practice. I have been able to see benefits from meditation largely through using parts of different types of meditation that aren’t related to focus. I’ve combined these pieces into a practice that requires almost no mental effort to enable my mind to unwind. Some, but not all, of the people I have taught this technique have reported experiencing interesting states of mind during the practice (which is not the goal) and some have reported benefits outside of their meditation (which is the goal.)
How do I know this will help me?
You don't. However, that is true with any type of meditation. Even in research studies where a meditation technique has been shown to be effective, there is an average effect, but I haven't seen a study where it worked for every person.
What I have seen is that the most profound effects of meditation tend to be for people who have been affected by trauma in their lives. For this reason, I give preference for spots in my class to people who have experienced trauma. In addition to the individual stories I have heard, there is a good amount of evidence that different types of meditation are effective in healing trauma.
It is important to note that we won’t discuss anyone's personal trauma in this class. If this technique works for someone who has experienced trauma, as they practice, the effects of trauma will begin to loosen their grip on them.
How does the class work?
The class includes up to six people with me on google hangout on four consecutive evenings for about 60-75 minutes each night. If you decide to incorporate this technique into your life, we will have a few follow up classes to ensure you continue to practice correctly.
There is a 20 minute Google Hangout introductory session that provides more information on the technique, so you can see if you want to take the course.
What is the class commitment?
There are two steps to being accepted into this class:
Attend a 20 minute online session where I give some information about the technique so you can make a more informed decision whether this is something you want to learn.
You and I can have a google hangout video chat so you can ask questions directly, and I can decide whether I think you are a good fit for the class. I won't ask you anything about your past, except possibly about your experience with meditation.
Assuming you want to learn this type of meditation, I will ask you to commit to the following things. I'm not asking you to make any commitments to me - only to yourself. You don't owe me anything if you enroll in the class.
Attend all four days of the class. If you want to leave the class before the four days are over because you decided it's not for you, that's fine, but don't blow it off for American Idol.
Meditate for 20 minutes a day before day 2, 3 and 4 of the class (that’s the homework.)
Where have you taught meditation?
For years I taught meditation as a volunteer in two city jails. More recently I have taught in a homeless shelter where I volunteer and a course specifically for AA members right as the Coronavirus epidemic was beginning. Since then I have taught courses exclusively in Google Hangouts at a couple of nonprofits; to some therapists and to friends and other people who found me on the internet.
Why are you doing this for free?
I can't say that I have a great answer that fully explains my motivations, but upon hearing that I am not personally in recovery, people in AA have asked me this enough that I feel I should address it.
Part of it is for the same reasons that most people do volunteer work - because I care about helping people but also to help me feel better about myself. However, a significant reason comes from how I came to incorporate meditation into my life. In my 20’s I started to believe that meditation was one of the keys to life. I went into a new age bookstore and asked for the least spiritual book they had on meditation. In the 25 years since then, my views on spirituality and religion have significantly evolved. While I do think that meditation is very connected to these concepts, I haven’t figured life out, so I mostly steer clear of that in my class and focus more on the technique than on meditation philosophy. I do think that this is a limitation in the class. The best way I have figured out how to incorporate philosophy into my class is to make it free. That said, I don’t begrudge people who charge to teach meditation similar to how I wouldn’t blame a farmer for charging people for food.