“Meditation is the beneficial caffeine”

The fact that we are comparing caffeine and meditation in the same sentence seems important to me, it helps to separate from the word “meditation” such concepts as religion, magic, guru and detachment from the world. Meditation is not the lotus position and sitting in it for many hours, it is the process of knowing our thoughts and feelings, from which we can draw conclusions on how we can become happier.

Like coffee, it makes us feel more energized and more productive. For the effect to work with coffee, you must drink it every day, many people do this more often. It is the same with meditation: it must be done regularly to feel the effect.

One of the first people to compare the two was Emily Fletcher, founder of the New York-based Ziva Meditation school and my Mindvalley teacher. With a lecture of the same name, she came to the Google office and explained that there is a scientific explanation for this comparison: adenosine, a substance that your body produces to feel sleepy in the evening and fall asleep, is blocked by caffeine. That is, caffeine does not allow you to feel how tired you are, but it does it artificially. After one cup, it is not uncommon for you to feel jittery or even very tired.

Researchers from the University of Waterloo (Canada) found that meditation for 25 minutes a day improves brain performance and cognitive abilities related to achieving goals and behavior patterns. The scientists found that mindfulness meditation “focuses the brain’s conscious processing power on a limited number of targets” and “reduces the processing of non-essential information.” In addition, they noted the preservation of the result throughout the day, and not just after meditation.

The full effect on the body is not fully understood by science, it is only known that these effects are achieved due to the release of endorphins and improved blood circulation in the brain. That is, both make us feel less tired, with the difference that during meditation we really relax, and not just drown out the feeling of tiredness. The rest that the body receives is several times deeper than sleep – although this does not mean that sleep can be replaced.

Another “side” effect of meditation is the ability to see extraordinary solutions. This has been studied in detail at the University of La Verne in California – the researchers argue that this condition can be compared to how Starbucks founder Howard Schultz came up with the idea of ​​​​his coffee shops. It happened when Schultz was walking around Italian Verona on a business trip in 1983 and became interested in the city’s developed coffee culture. Before him, thousands of foreigners came to this city, but only he had such a successful idea.

How to start meditating?

This can be done anywhere – on the floor or on the couch in your home, sitting or standing on the bus, even at a business meeting. How long it will take and what you will concentrate your thoughts on, you have to decide for yourself. I would recommend paying attention to the following components:

Unity – with all the surrounding world, both living and non-living.

Thanks – for everything that happened to us over the past day. Sometimes my thoughts run away thankful for what happened a year ago. This is my favorite part, don’t limit yourself to it.

Forgiveness and love – we forgive everyone who once treated us unfairly, thereby asking him to forgive us too.

Visualization Imagine your goals and dreams as if they have already been fulfilled.

Intention of the day – Focus on what matters most. What is your main plan for today? Look forward to the pleasure of solving this problem.

Blessing – thank what you believe in: God, the source of energy, the people around you – for the fact that they guide you and give you energy.

I developed this six-phase meditation with my husband, Vishen Lakhiani, with whom we founded Mindvalley. We practice it to the alpha sound, which helps us immerse ourselves in the state.

No time for meditation?

This is one of my daily rituals, she brings me pleasure. I am sure that meditation is enjoyable for everyone, and there is no one who does not enjoy it – it’s just so easy to prioritize other things during the day. For example, you planned to meditate in the evening, but noticed dirty dishes or an empty refrigerator. I will not hide the fact that I myself often missed meditation because of this, but then I wondered why routine things prevent me from doing what I want?

I decided to introduce into my life the same approach that I use in business – to consciously choose what I spend time on and do only priority things. Cooking and cleaning fell into the category of things that I don’t really like to do and that someone will do for me and will be happy to make money on it. So I delegated the conduct of my life.

Could I also delegate meditation? Of course not, just as I cannot delegate moments of intimacy with my children and husband, music lessons and learning a foreign language. Many business owners, many managers and leaders know that sometimes it is so difficult to delegate. But this is the first step to business success. Recognize that other people can do things better than you.

One day, Cherry and I were vacationing on the island of our friend, Virgin founder Richard Branson. We saw how he spends the day: playing tennis in the morning, doing water sports in the afternoon, having dinner with us in the evening. He obviously didn’t work 12 hours a day. Vishen asked how, with a schedule full of time for himself, he manages to manage a group of more than 300 companies, eight of which are valued at over a billion dollars. He replied: “You know, I have a mission, a passion. I come up with an idea and then I look for someone who can do it better than me and I just infect that person with my passion.”

And this is a beautiful principle that we can apply everywhere. The woman who cooks in my house loves to cook. She loves it, she makes money for a living. And I buy myself a few watches every week. Try and you “buy” yourself some of your time. Set aside part of it for meditation, and you will get even more energy and time.