220 Comments
founding
Sep 24Liked by Dan Harris

Loving this real view of the mental dustbin of meditation. Always feel less than because I try to meditate between tasks - kids, food, taxi service, work etc etc. Feel I should be wearing linen trousers and a cheesecloth smock. Reality is very different. My meditative mind isn't full of lofty thoughts and deep insights - it's full of shopping lists and doctor's appointments and realisations that my stomach is creeping over my waistband.

Expand full comment
author

To me, your practice sounds perfect. As I always say, the goal is not to reach some special state; it’s to get familiar with the mind as it is, so that all of the random thoughts don’t own you as much. So, bravo!

Expand full comment

It’s to be there with whatever is there in that moment. Sometimes it’s beautiful, and sometimes it’s terrible…

Expand full comment

Love it. The thing that brought me to your book and app was your ability to be accessible and relatable. This is just one more way, we can feel connected to the humanity in all of us.

Expand full comment
founding

👍🏻

Expand full comment

I also like that more relatable, casual and real way of communicating and maybe not everything has to be so carefully planned and prepared. I love the spontaneity of someone’s thoughts, it’s a special kind of energy.

Expand full comment
Sep 24Liked by Dan Harris

Thanks Dan. I was meditating at the same time as you were. Did breath, body and LK. I always journal after I sit. This is like a video journal. :) It is also helpful to hear some of your thoughts and how you dealt with aversion and other hindrances.

Please do this again. I am so happy to be a part of this community.

Expand full comment
author

OK, I’ll keep doing it! I’m really just testing a bunch of stuff to see what sticks. Cannot emphasize strongly enough how grateful I am to all of you for tuning in and giving feedback.

Expand full comment

Can confirm: this video is a good idea I’m not on social media and would love more of this type of content on Substack!

Expand full comment
founding

Exactly the same. Not on social media anymore (thanks Elon) so this kind of thing is great.

Expand full comment

I am not in social media either. I enjoy this with Dan.

Expand full comment
Sep 24Liked by Dan Harris

Loved this Dan and so glad I took a few minutes to watch the video. At the moment, I am trying to tune in more in general but I have ADHD and my brain is hyperactive at ALL times and constantly goes off on random tangents, most of which are somehow negative and often unhelpful. It really helped to know that most thoughts are like that and that that's ok. It's not wrong. Thank you so much for this.

Expand full comment
author

Not wrong at all! In fact , the act of noticing all of it means you’re doing it correctly. Also, for some people with ADHD, walking meditation can be very helpful.

Expand full comment

When I was leading spiritual retreats for the Presbyterian Church pre-retirement, I was able to purchase a portable labyrinth and was stunned by people's experiences, including neurodiverse folk. I'll never forget the women who went as she sat in the center. in our debriefing she said she felt like she had truly meditated for the first time after years of feeling like a failure.

Expand full comment

That’s a great tip Dan. Thank you. I have done some of Sharon Salzberg’s walking meditations from the podcast and they are wonderful, although we live near a main road and I need to have a little awareness of the environment, so get even more distracted than usual;)

Expand full comment

Dan's friend Jeff Warren also has great meditations and meditation hacks for people with ADHD. He's helped me normalize and accept my mind when it just won't settle!

Expand full comment

I love Jeff’s meditations Karen and so pleased you’ve found them helpful too x

Expand full comment
Sep 24Liked by Dan Harris

Thanks Dan for "Post-meditated". I was introduced to your podcast just about a year ago when you spoke in Colorado and I was able to see you via the internet. I have followed you since and today's very real visit to your unshaven thoughts reminds me of how you have enriched my meditation practice. No longer do I need to "pretend" to know what I'm doing or behave like others who seem more polished... in fact your unpolished approach is very helpful.

Expand full comment
author

We can be a community of messes.

Expand full comment

Maybe it’s just more real, and maybe all the content out there is overly polished? We live in such an unnatural way. 😅

Expand full comment
Sep 24Liked by Dan Harris

Very, very helpful to see/hear the nitty gritty of your practice. Validates my experience! Thank you!

Expand full comment
Sep 24Liked by Dan Harris

Ok. My vote is I really liked it. Appreciated your raw and vulnerable thoughts. And the morning like. Although I have been meditating for 9 years, it is helpful to hear the experiences of others. Thanks!

Expand full comment

Yep, like it. Keep it up, please.

Expand full comment
Sep 24Liked by Dan Harris

I always enjoy a walking meditation (when I can, never enough) in nature. (Forest near my house). And I will touch the tree trunk, the weeds, the flower who's name I know but don't remember... A slow walk. (No sweat!!). A slow walk including touch (just not poison ivy hahaha!!).. It connects me. Grounds me. Even a short one. #IPMF

Expand full comment
Sep 24Liked by Dan Harris

I love post meditation musings. The other day I did my meditation on the beach in the morning sun with the sounds of sea birds, boats, people walking by. It occurred to me that the outside sounds were arising and passing in their own time and place without my analysis but thoughts had a stickiness to them that turned into more thinking rehearsing ruminating etc. So it became a practice of considering thoughts as inconsequential as sounds (of course aware that a siren for example should be heeded). That sit was so awake, aware and accepting and allowing of everything that was arising, and gave me such a grounded, openness that stayed with me for hours 🙏 Days actually, today is Tuesday and that was Saturday 😅 Anyway, I think we can learn from each others experience, so I dig the post-meditated idea 💪✌️

Expand full comment
Sep 24Liked by Dan Harris

Really great, yes please more of these! Super useful suggestion to use the microscope of your mind to investigate the discomfort. I have a question: how do you deal with mosquitoes as you sit outside (at this point I avoid meditating in my yard because of the little buggers): do you swat it away (doesn’t feel very wholesome) or do you endure the torture?

Expand full comment
author

Bug spray usually does the trick. But if I was really getting eaten, I would just go inside. I don’t think I could endure the torture. I’d rather be a blood donor in a different context!

Expand full comment
Sep 24Liked by Dan Harris

Good morning Dan,

this was fantastic. It was authentic and real, and having that it was very quickly after your meditation I feel like your thoughts were sincere and fresh.

Definitely keep doing them

and it also made me realize that meditation is such a journey And how difficult it can be and then we all are really much closer & connected then we think.

Thanks for sharing and I like the beard and messy hair ❤️

Expand full comment
Sep 24Liked by Dan Harris

It was validating for me to hear your "post-meditated" insights...so if we're voting on whether to see this more regularly, I vote yes. Also, re: meditating outside: during the COVID lockdown, my husband and I started having our morning coffee outside on our janky covered patio. We've kept up the tradition without fail--and regardless of the weather-- (only missing for travel or tragedy) and about 18 months ago we added our morning meditation to this outdoor ritual. Our dogs, the birds, trains-planes-automobiles, neighbors aggressively mowing and blowing--all add up to make the busy-ness in the mind seem "less monolithic" and to your point, more connected to the bigger picture.

Expand full comment
Sep 24Liked by Dan Harris

Dan - your video and reading these comments really help me to feel common humanity this morning. whenever I remember that so many others experience similar things it eases my pain. Connecting with our common humanity is so critical to maintaining connection and being open to compassion in the midst of this chaotic busy world. Thank you!

Expand full comment
founding
Sep 24Liked by Dan Harris

I love this kind of post. It feels so real like we are all in community together being ourselves. Thanks for setting a good example of being humble and human.

Expand full comment
author

The community aspect of this thing has only begun to dawn on me in full. I’m starting to suspect that will perhaps be the most powerful part of this new project.

Expand full comment

I think your suspicions are correct. 😁👍I have been meditating for a long time and this is first time I have felt belonging to a community.♥️

Expand full comment