New Year's Meditation Challenge
Everything you need to know, all in one place
Catch up here:
Day 1: Anyone can meditate, even you
Day 2: How to be OK with intrusive thoughts (Sebene Selassie)
Day 3: How to stop judging your body (Sharon Salzberg)
Day 4: How to get out of your head (Jeff Warren)
Day 5: Let it be (Sebene Selassie)
Day 6: The express route to mindfulness (Joseph Goldstein)
Also: full recording of the live check-in for all subscribers
Big picture:
7 meditations from my favorite teachers delivered daily to your inbox starting January 6th + three live check-ins with me (the first for everyone, the second two for paid subscribers).
All the details:
When: Monday, January 6th through Sunday, January 12th.
What: Every day for seven days, I’ll send a different guided meditation straight to your inbox. If you’re any level of subscriber already (free, paid, founding), you’re all set. If you’re not, just hit the subscribe button. On Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings, I’ll go live on the Substack app to answer questions and give support (Thursday and Sunday sessions will be for paid subscribers only).
Who: I’ll guide the first meditation, and then some true maestros will deliver the rest of the goods. The contemplative all-stars are: Sharon Salzberg, Sebene Selassie, Jeff Warren and Joseph Goldstein. Their meditations each have a different focus, including: how to manage intrusive thoughts; how to go easier on your body; how to get out of your head, and more.
Why: So many reasons. If you’ve always wanted to meditate, this is a great way to get started. If you’ve fallen behind on practice, this is your way back into it. If you want to discover new teachers and try new ways to meditate, this is also for you.
But perhaps the most important feature of this challenge is something psychologists call, “social support.”
Booting up a new habit can be really hard. If you do it with other people, that can make the whole thing much easier. Which is why I’ll be offering three live check-ins for anyone who has questions.
The first live check-in is Tuesday January 7th at 7p ET and is open to all—you just need to download the Substack app to participate. The next two, on Thursday, January 9th and Sunday, January 12th (also at 7pm) are for paid subscribers only.
At the Sunday session, I’ll give you some thoughts on how to keep going with a practice (and also how to start again).
If money is an issue, email free@danharris.com and we will hook you up.
Can’t wait to chop it up with you. If you want, you can drop some questions in the comments.
Excellent! I begin my retirement January 1 and will be able to fully participate. Onward!
Thanks, Dan. I started my tenth year of meditation in August 2024. Your first book provided some encouragement in my early days. I haven’t had any trouble maintaining my practice, but it will be refreshing to get instruction and inspiration from these great teachers (especially Jeff Warren, who’s long been one of my favorites). Until then, Happy Holidays!