Rabbit Hole

From the Dropping In – An Omega Podcast: “In his conversation with Omega digital media director Cali Alpert, Jeff reveals why he thinks meditation is one of the most radical acts, how we can tailor a practice to fit our individual needs, and how we learn best in community.”

I knew parenting would be rewarding and challenging. I didn’t know it would be everything – like the life I had before, except now in 3-D, with the vanishing point always in sight.

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of The Consciousness Explorers Club, my friend Andrea Cohen made this beautiful 2-minute animation. The CEC is dedicated to the playful exploration of meditation, in a way that empowers participants and communities to be their own teachers.

From CNN: “The stress of this the pandemic is getting to us, and today’s election is only heightening the anxiety for some. Today CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta shares tips for coping with all this extra anxiety. Jeff Warren tells us about his experience with meditation and explains some of the benefits.”

From the Joyous Health Podcast: “In this episode, Jeff shares his background, how his interest in meditation began, and how he uses it to support his own mental health.”

This week’s guest is Writer and mediation teacher Jeff Warren. If there is such a thing as a rockstar meditation teacher, Jeff is certainly in the conversation.

What does the practice of dynamic care look like in real life? From protesting to sewing masks, from making documentary films to listening to records to exploring genealogy, in this article I showcase a range of creative practices, submitted by all of you. The community is the teacher.

In this episode of Now or Never, Jeff explains why he created the “most boring” videos ever and why slowing down is important for ourselves and our communities.

Jeff and Dan talk all about the wide-world of practice beyond the meditation cushion, about what it means to be your own teacher and Jeff’s idea of the different stage of practice that people all go through – regardless of their particular commitment.

I’ve seen a lot of posts vilifying scrolling through social media, bingeing on food or news. The advice is to exercise instead, to eat well, get a good night’s sleep, etc etc. This prescription completely ignores the seismic life shift we’re all experiencing.  It is denial masking as medical advice.

When you live on a ship at sea, everything gets amplified in the narrow interiors: ruminations, moods, behaviors. Enter COVID-19, and the fact that many of us are stuck inside. Ping ping ping, go the signals. I don’t know about you, but I’m starting to get a clear picture of what I’m comfortable with, and what I’m not. 

What a thrill it was for Jeff to be joined live by Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello. They had an open and honest conversation about meditation and maintaining mental health in these wild times. Then Jeff led a short guided practice- with over 40k joining in from around the world. Amazing.  

“If someone says ‘Love in the Time of Corona’ one more time I am literally going to punch them.” A post is about knowing when and how to meditatively engage with our anxiety and our discomfort, and knowing when and how to pull back and rest.

Healing and growth, self-regulation and self-understanding — these are too idiosyncratic, too personal, too fundamental to depend on specialists-only. We also need to depend on ourselves and one another. In my mind, nothing will accelerate this more than recasting “teaching” as a creative social activity that any informed person can engage in.

Recently I did a Do Nothing Project broadcast on the subject of equanimity, the skill of accepting our experience in the moment. I did OK for the intro and the guided meditation, but then things went off the rails. A post about the perils of losing yourself in caring.

If a practice is important to us, if it’s deepening our engagement with the world, if it’s teaching us about who we are, then you can be sure many of these basic skills are present and probably increasing. Understanding the skills is central to being your own life teacher, and to sharing practice with others.

Lately I’ve been thinking about the word “practice”. Both established practices lots of people do – yoga, tennis, active listening – and weird customized practices people invent – visualizing success, pretending to be a tree, or darning moth holes while listening to Amy Winehouse. 

From the Evryman Podcast: “You don’t need to run to the science, the science is cool but go to your own experience, do the experiment and see what’s there.”

This week’s guest is Writer and mediation teacher Jeff Warren. If there is such a thing as a rockstar meditation teacher, Jeff is certainly in the conversation.

The most important element for sustaining a meditation practice isn’t what practice to do, or how to do it, it’s how to show up, day after day. It’s structure.

I think then: this freedom is better. Freedom from freedom. Freedom from myself, freedom from the dizziness of a million choices. Parenting is very clarifying. I know my job: keep Eden and Sarah alive. There’s only one thing to do and it is not about me.

From the Running for Real podcast: “What if I told you that you could meditate at any time of day, doing any activity? Would you be more likely to try it? You may be thinking that meditation is only for those people that already have their life together, or for people without children, or less-demanding jobs. But that isn’t true! Meditation is for everyone, and today you will find out how it can work for you”.