Meditation and Long-form of Life
The passage of time is not created equal. In other words, we experience time very differently, pending on our state of mind at the moment.
Through time, we learn and we grow. And also through time, we can *choose* to enhance the mental muscle to have us stay in what I call the state of “long-form of life” for as long as possible.
Let me explain by first stating what the “short-form of life” is.
In the short-form of life - our time is fractionalized. We are constantly distracted1, anxious, worried, and feeling insecure. In response, our mind and body set out to “hunt” for stuff to fill that insecurity by mindlessly flipping TikToks, by overeating, and sometimes by judging others2.
In the short form of life, life passes fast and slow. Going through the day, it feels slow but it feels fast as days and weeks go by!
Now, look at the other way.
In the state of long-form of life - we are in the zone. Our minds generally stay at one point3. And the reason it can stay still is that we can use the mental muscle to contain it.
Just like a strength workout where we use free weights to grow our physical muscles, in mental muscle training, the followings are my “gym equipment” to help me gain more control of the grip:
Meditation / Chanting -
This might be the most well-known method in reclaiming our awareness, by sitting still and “doing nothing.” There are numerous books and researches published on how meditation can trigger certain parts of the brain to give us new perspectives on things. As for chanting - in Zen Buddhism, there is something called HuaTou (话头), which consists of intriguing questions such as “who is chanting right now” or “who were you before you were born” - and the to-be-enlightened keeps repeating/chanting on those HuaTou until one gets to the next level of calmness and focus. You might not need a Zen-like HuaTou to get to a similar result, that’s why some people chant sutra, mantra, or phrases that they feel close to their hearts.
Reading -
Frankly, you might not need to read sophisticated books - it could be anything. But ideally, it should be the ones you enjoy so that those books can help you stay “in the zone”, for as long as possible.
People get smarter not solely because of the materials they read but mostly because reading enables them to be in this “long-form of life” state longer than the others.
Writing / Journaling -
Just like reading, it can be of any topic. Forget about the grammar error - be spontaneous, be vulnerable, and have fun. At least that’s what I’m trying to do, though still not very good at it!
Zoning Out -
Sometimes doing nothing is doing everything. By resisting the short-term urgency of filling the void, one can make peace with oneself. The persons we like and dislike the most are ourselves, which is why we are in this forever conflict of egoist pride and needy insecurity - both of which seek constant validation from the outside instead of the inside.
Workout / Running -
Maybe that’s why many people can become addicted to this.
Camping / Hiking -
Nature is a wonderful reservoir for new energy and inspiration.
Admittedly, our minds are not that easy to tame. It’s like a lion that has been roaming freely in the wild since the beginning of time. And we’ve been “hunted” by that lion day in and day out.
But the good news is, even lions can be trained, with a strong and persistent will.
Why is that important though - the ability to calm our minds and slow down our thinking process?
So that we can be aware.
Be aware of the life situations, the emotions, and all that are in front of us, in the very presence4.
Oftentimes, my mind is like a spinning wheel. Sometimes it’s spinning so fast that is out of control. Maybe it’s just a fancy way to say that I am easily get distracted, that I can’t focus, and that I don’t have the mental muscle to direct my mind. I thought that’s only common for startup and VC people since in our field of work, things are changing constantly and rapidly. But as it turns out, everybody’s mind is spinning fast, every single day.
I’ve done all that. And it did not feel good.
It might still wander around here and there - and that’s okay, let it.
From legendaries Buddha to Gahdin, from tech icons Steve Jobs to Jeff Bezos, from famous investors Warren Buffett to Ray Dalio, all of them emphasized the ability to “observe”, fully and truthfully.