'Just meditate' is terrible advice for someone with severe anxiety. Instead, start with awareness in daily life. The tight chest in a conversation. The release of tightness when it's over. The smile knowing you made it through. Mindfulness of these moments shows anxiety doesn't own you.

To understand yourself, you must examine yourself like a scientist looking at bacteria under a microscope. Not to judge. Not to be harsh. But to see what's truly there; not what you think is there. So when you can see your habits, beliefs, and actions for what they are, it can ignite a fire of change that only you can put out. Do you have the courage to look?

Much of the content I consume seems performative. Sure, I am the consumer, but every relationship is a two-way street. That’s why I try to write from my heart, rather than put my ideas in a container just so more people might see them. After all, my number one value is honesty. And when I stray from what’s true, it’s a disservice to anyone kind enough to read what I write. The last thing I want to do is deceive.

To all the men out there keeping it together while everything inside of you feels like it's falling apart... I see you. I feel for you. I'm here for you. You will get through this. You always have and always will.

Overwhelm suffocates. It’s like like you're drowning, gasping for breath, as you swim to safety. Walking around with this feeling is why people are always on edge. But if you can cut through overwhelm, you can breathe. Awareness is a sword that’ll help you do so, and awareness sharpens with meditation.

You don't need to believe your negative thoughts about yourself. Especially the ones that keep you down: • I'm not good enough. • I'll be happy when... • I'm not as talented as so and so. Those are just mental programs you've inherited. The truth of the matter is this: You're worthy of love, and you are enough. You always have been and always will be. Took me until I was 30 to truly understand that. At 32, I'm still practicing how to embody that.

The more “stress reduction” methods I see floating around, the more I realize I know and practice most of them. • Mindfulness • Meditation • Brain dump journaling • Exercise And honestly, many of you are doing these things, too. So what gives? Why is there still stress? Why does it seem like these techniques “don’t work”? Because stress will always be around. It’s something that reminds us of real and imagined danger in our lives, and without it, we’d carelessly plummet to our demise. However, it’s also important to note that these techniques, in fact, DO work. But you can only experience this through noticing. You must notice how you feel once the practice is over. Whether it’s exercise, mindfulness, meditation, or journaling, I often find there’s a literal sigh of relief post-journaling session. There can also be a release of muscle tension after meditation or being mindful of my body. There’s also a level of relaxation that arises after releasing the pent-up energy in my body through exercise. So if you’re someone who’s feeling like stress never ends, pay close attention next time you engage in one of these practices, or other practices you may use in your own life. Because when you notice the absence of stress, you are relieved of stress.

If your meditation practice feels burdensome, you might be an aversive type. An aversive type is one of the three Buddhist Psychology personalities, in addition to desire and deluded. Aversive types will do whatever they can to prevent events from occurring or push things away they don’t want. In this case, sitting in silence with your own mind. I know this is something I’ve experienced over a dozen times throughout my meditation journey. But each time I let go of that resistance and do my practice, it’s worth it.

Sometimes, you need to light a fire under your ass. Other times, the fire needs to ease. Too little fire, and passion goes out. Too much fire, and passion becomes destructive. But finding that balance is key to long-term success.

Your meditation practice should always be something that feels like it’s working for you, not against you. If your practice is feeling like a self-improvement project, it’s a sign to ease up on your effort, change your practice environment, or change your duration of practice. Making one small change can help shift the practice back in your favor.

3 reasons why you shouldn't believe all of your thoughts: 1. Thoughts aren't always true 2. Believing negative thoughts is a one-way ticket to self-loathing 3. Impulsive thoughts lead to impulsive action, and impulsive action often leads to regret What thoughts would you like to stop believing?

Mindfulness isn’t just a type of meditation; it’s a tool of self-discovery. When you become mindful, you become aware. When you become aware, you start to notice a lot more about your thoughts, emotions, actions, and perspective — four essential ingredients for a healthy mind and body. As a result, you start to notice what leads to motivation, joy, and contentment. In the neuroscience world, what produces dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin. You also learn what leads to a lack of motivation, upsetness, and anxiety. This patient process of understanding yourself is quite literally the difference between a life that’s satisfying and fulfilling and a life that’s unbearable and soul-sucking. You just have to start paying attention.

I’m excited to announce that I’ll be teaching an Introduction to Insight Meditation course starting on October 31st! The course runs for 4 weeks, and it’ll help you do the following: • Develop a meditation practice that works for you • Quiet your busy mind through breathing and body connection • Cultivate compassion for your feelings • Create clarity of heart, body, and mind through continuity of practice If you’ve been interested in starting a meditation practice, but you don’t know where to begin and want to be supported by fellow practitioners and an experienced teacher, I encourage you to reach out and ask me about the series.

Something we can learn from trees: They stay rooted in nearly any conditions. We too can stay rooted in our lives. We just have to grow our roots strong. To grow strong roots, we mustn't be reactive. To decrease reactivity, meditation can be helpful.

The essence of meditation isn’t to clear your mind, achieve enlightenment, or become Zen. The essence of meditation is to get in touch with your true self. The parts of you that have been drowned out by your caregivers, teachers, friends, and society. Because when you start hearing those parts of you, you start tapping into and listening to your true self. So if you want to discover truth, meditate.

The self-improvement industry is often a self-fulfilling cycle of suffering. Because of how it's packaged, we unconsciously set unreasonable standards for ourselves. We try to accumulate $100,000 in 90 days. We try to lose 40 pounds in 12 weeks. We attempt to heal all of our trauma at a one-week Vipassana retreat. When we don’t achieve those unreasonable goals, we trigger shame. Over time, the shame worsens as we keep falling short of goal after goal. This way of living is toxic. Sadly, it has become habitual for many of us. So it slowly destroys us from both the outside and the inside.

Be careful not to outsource your innate wisdom to those trying to profit off of some “self-improvement” offer. You’re better off tuning into your own heart. Yes, it will take a lot more time and you’ll have to be patient. But it will be worth your while because it will be true to you. Not just another loss of money and trust in yourself.

Many men hide behind suppressed emotions each time they say, “I'm fine”. I know I have. Many times I've said that, underneath the surface, I've been worrying about my health, finances, my purpose on Earth, and whether I've lived a meaningful life. This creates a lot of anxiety, which can manifest as tightness in the chest or stomach. It can create a mind that's busy telling false stories about how you've missed your chance at fulfilling your potential. It can create a central belief system of not feeling like you're enough. As all that builds, it gets heavy. The heavier the burden, the harder it is to lift. But real strength starts with awareness of what's going on in your mind, body, and heart. Once you see what's there, you can start to heal.

How I know my meditation practice is working: Stubbed my toe on a chair; didn’t even react.😂