How Many Meditation Sessions Does it Take to Start Experiencing Something?

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Welcome to the Eastwesticism podcast where our host Todd Perelmuter shares the lessons he's learned spending eight years living with gurus, monks, lamas, and shamans across 35 countries and five continents. Join in the journey as he brings the best scientifically proven methods for living your best life from the east and the west, straight to you. The path to peace, love, health and happiness starts here. 

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Hello, and welcome back to path to peace with Todd Perelmuter. I'm your host, Todd PErelmuter, thank you so much for listening.

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Today, I'm going to talk about a very common question. How many meditation sessions does it take to feel something?

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This is a really great question. Because whenever we start anything, we're going to want to know, is it worth our time? What are the benefits, how long does it take, and so forth. Everything we do, we think about that. But whatever we do, whether it's learning a new sport, learning an instrument, learning a language, everybody will advance at their own speed.

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Some people will have a natural talent and ability, some people will need to work a little harder. But what we do know with 100% certainty is that everybody can get benefits and can improve with practice.

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Also, whether it's basketball, or meditation, you know, when we learn basketball, we'll start with maybe dribbling and bouncing the ball. And you can get decent at bouncing the ball on the first day. And maybe not too bad at shooting, but maybe defense and maybe certain other maneuvers are going to be a little more difficult to lay up, etc.

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But that doesn't mean you can't get some benefits right away. And meditation is beautifully the same way. You may not reach a super heightened state of awareness after your first time. But you may notice you're a little more relaxed, you're a little more easygoing, you got a little less tension, and maybe even back or shoulder pain. And if you do it properly, you really can notice some benefits right away.

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However, it's also just like learning language. It's a long process. And we don't need to rush ourselves. Because meditation is really all about developing patience, and not putting super tight deadlines and demands on ourselves. It's about accepting where we are.

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And just being fully in the moment, and we're not attached to any future outcome whatsoever. The meditation is about being here. And now there is no goal we hope for while we're meditating. Although we may have goals we achieve, but meditation must simply be about the sitting down, closing your eyes, and giving yourself that time and space. As far as the thinking mind goes, that's all there is to need to worry about. The rest falls into place. 

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If you go play basketball, and on your first day, you want to be Michael Jordan, you're gonna get really disappointed, and you're probably going to quit, because you aren't living up to your expectations of yourself. And so we must set reasonable, small goals. And what that really means is just being fully present in what we're doing at the moment.

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We often like to tell people, when starting meditation, that the full results, the full benefits, the feeling at peace and at ease and reaching a place where we can meditate and not let that generate negative emotions within us because at first of course, we are thinking of all the things we'd rather be doing and what we're going to eat next. But over time, it becomes a peaceful joy. And that is when the real magic happens. That is when it it nourishes us and it feeds our soul.

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And we'd like to tell people that can be on average between one and three months is very common for people to just say wow, how did I ever live without that it can take some people up to six months. And but if they are doing it enough. And we usually recommend about 20 minutes a day. But we also recommend people not pushing themselves more than they can handle. 

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Some people can do a minute, five minutes, 10 minutes, and that is o k, because they need to find their limit and not push themselves too far. They need to make it sustainable. And they need to slowly, patiently with themselves, increase their time, and work up to hopefully 20 minutes is what a great goal would be. And if you can do 20 minutes twice a day, you're going to double your benefits and double the speed. 

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And we, you know, recommend it so highly to start and end your day with a meditation. But everyone is different, and everyone's at a different level. And so you work your way up slowly. But when I first started meditating, I was the worst meditator. I was so fidgety, I couldn't sit still, for two seconds, I was like scratching my head, scratching my chin and constantly moving squirming on it to be anywhere else. And I was like, This is not for me, I don't think so.

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But I stuck with it. And within about two months, is when I really, I could sit still for an hour or longer. And I just don't even know how I lived without meditation, the benefits are so profound the difference when I miss a day, which is almost never because it's so profound. And I want to be the best person I can be to all my loved ones. And so I try to do it every single day, and I almost never fail. 

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Occasionally life gets in the way. But you know, we just do our best. And we do not regret and feel bad. And attack ourselves, we just love ourselves even more, and we just can't wait to get back into it. And we just get back into it right away. And we never miss a day, you know, and unless it's that extreme, unforeseen emergency that just makes it impossible.

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But because we do it every day, we can still get through that day because we have those tools in our spiritual tool belt, to be mindful and to be present.

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And to make our daily life a meditation practice, and that is the ultimate goal, living in that meditative state at all times, fully present, using our mind as the tool it is when we need it and not letting it use us 24/7 With incessant constant, repetitive, negative, unconscious thoughts. And it is possible and it takes a while. 

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They say the Buddha trained for seven years learning about meditation and spirituality. And then he finally sat under a tree for 49 days. And it was on that last day that they say he obtained supreme enlightenment.

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So be patient. But you can get benefits right away. You might not see it but others might see it.

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But the more aware you become of subtlety and nuance, the more present you become through meditation, the more you'll realize how big an impact it's having. And that is when you will really wonder how you ever lived so long without it. 

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I hope that helps answer your question. And please follow us on social media, Instagram and Twitter at @toddperel.

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And thank you so much for listening peace and love.

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