Ep. 6: How to Establish a Meditation Practice

De: Alice Fraser, Ash Ranpura

So now we know all about meditation but in this episode we want to try and understand how to actually establish a meditation practice. So Ash and Alice turn to the US TV anchor Dan Harris. Dan used to think meditation was bullshit but now he is something of an evangelist. He tells his story and explains that maintaining a meditation practice is hard but if you can do it it really does have long-term benefits.

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Excited to get started

I appreciate the background information before diving into meditation. I like the last episode the most

Fantastic content!

You will LOVE it! Always great content from these two! Every episode keeps you engaged!

Alice Fraser is a treasure and should do more series on Audible

She and Ash have great chemistry, although it maybe added up to more in the Habit series. Would love more from the two of them.

As for the series itself, it is overall excellent with some high points and a couple subpar guests it gets through with appropriate skepticism and humor. Robert Wright is always wonderful (even trotting out the old Matrix story), and I would listen to him or Alice talking for hours. Hopefully he does her podcast Tea with Alice at some point. Then the background on Burmese meditation is fascinating, told through personal experience by one host and an excellent historical overview by the other. That stood out as something a generic meditation podcast would not have.

I would have liked some more honest exploration of Ash’s failure to cultivate a meditation practice. The discussion of it as a habit and comparison to exercise was very helpful, and is a natural lead in to the series on habits.

I would say the basketball discussion is humorous but entirely skippable, and the Newshour anchor at the end is likewise nothing special. They do a good job of keeping any guests who are self-promotional or boring from taking too much time though, and the way the show is edited has consistent humor and a realistic mindset.

Then the actual overview of meditation as social science fodder is excellent as well. I think it might be a bit credulous, but it’s pretty hard to say for sure without the actual science and a lot of statistics homework. It is telling that the scientists all seem to come to their work on meditation from a personal conviction or experience.

Great find and I hope there are more of these coming from Audible!

Great and inciteful!

I learned a lot and was introduced to a different way of thinking about meditation that will definitely benefit me 😃

And I'm starting!!

Yes this podcast has pushed me to finally give it a go and for at least a month, even if just for a minute. common we've all got a minute and more a day. what would you rather do... feel miserable after 5min on social media or take a minute to 5min or more for yourself. improving yourself. it's a no brainer for me. Thank you for this valuable podcast. loved it!

Wait, that's it?

i feel like I learned a lot in this series about the science and why of meditating but I expected to have at least one episode at the very least talking about the nitty gritty of how to do so and guiding you through it, and I didn't get that. Then I was like, okay maybe there will be a suggestion at the end of a follow up podcast on how to actually do it step by step. Nope. Definite let down in what was otherwise a really good series