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The Rich Roll Podcast

Light Watkins On Dispelling Meditation Myths — And Why You Should Adopt A Daily Practice

The Rich Roll Podcast

Rich Roll

Health & Fitness, Education, Self-improvement, Society & Culture

4.812.9K Ratings

🗓️ 2 April 2018

⏱️ 113 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

“Life is going to catch up to your practice.” Light Watkins We all want to be happy. So why is it so elusive? The problem isn’t information. We all know our contentedness is linked to eating right, sleeping well and surrounding ourselves with those who elevate. We get the importance of confronting our emotional challenges. We're well aware that life is better when we cultivate gratitude and serve others. And yes, we know we should meditate. The science is clear. The evidence is in. And yet for so many, the gap between information and action is an impossibly untraversable canyon. Perhaps you resist the traditional trappings that swirl around the idea of meditation — the robes and incense a bridge too far. Maybe you can't get your legs to perfectly fold, monk-like, without cramping. You decided you just don't have the time. Or perchance you tried it, only to give up because you just couldn't get your looping mind to shut off, convinced meditation is just not for you. Relax. You're not alone. But today's guest poses an important question: What if the problem isn’t meditation itself, but your approach? In other words, what if it were easy? Meet Light Watkins. Beyond having the coolest name of all time, I would characterize Light as a generous, highly accessible and contemplative entrepreneur of mindfulness. Always convivial, impressively composed, and quick with a laugh, he has been practicing and teaching Vedic Meditation for twenty years. Among his thousands of students you will find bankers, artists, politicians, CEOs, care takers, educators, comedians, rock stars, soccer moms and seekers of all kinds. An active blogger and in demand public speaker (check out his TEDx Talk), he's also the founder of The Shine — a volunteer-based, pop-up traveling variety show that leverages music, film, philanthropy and storytelling to inspire people to do more, give more, and be more. In addition, Light recently penned a new book entitled, Bliss More* — an accessible primer that does a bang-up job of dispelling the many myths and misunderstandings that swirl around meditation with a very grounded approach and practical tools that will inspire you to finally adopt that daily practice that has to date, eluded you. So let's put all those myths and misunderstandings to bed, once and for all. Because we can all use a little more bliss in our lives. And we all deserve to be happy. Watch & Subscribe on YouTube: http://bit.ly/lightwatkinsrrp I sincerely hope you enjoy this exchange with one of my very favorite people. Watch & Subscribe on YouTube: http://bit.ly/lightwatkinsrrp One final note — for more on Light and his background, check out our first conversation, RRP #172 back in August 2015. Peace + Plants, Rich Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

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0:00.0

I think therapy is a great thing, but we end up talking about what happened when we were

0:06.1

children for a lot of the time, and how it's still playing out in all of our relationships.

0:11.3

And that just means the stress triggers are still very active in your body.

0:15.3

And so what meditation does probably more effectively than most other interventions is

0:19.7

it can neutralize those triggers.

0:21.9

You don't forget what happened.

0:23.4

You don't even forget how you felt when it happened, but it no longer dictates how you

0:27.9

react today.

0:30.6

That's Light Walkins, and yes, indeed, this is the Retro Podcast.

0:41.1

Who doesn't want to be happy?

0:52.1

Or at least happier?

0:53.1

I mean raise your hand.

0:54.1

We're all going to raise our hands, right?

0:55.7

We all want to be happy.

0:57.6

We all want less stress, less anxiety.

1:01.4

And in exchange, we're looking for greater connection, more contentedness, more balance,

1:07.0

more presence, really more joy, right?

1:11.5

But why is this so elusive?

1:15.6

Well, the problem isn't information.

1:18.7

We all know that solutions can be found in what we put or decline to put into our bodies,

1:24.7

how we eat, how we move, how we sleep, who we choose to interact with, how we interact

1:29.9

with others, the extent to which we're willing to confront and work through our issues

...

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