On this Mindfulness at Work episode, we talk to David Gandelman, who is a spiritual teacher, about meditation and how it changed his life. David teaches meditation to over 100,000 students on the Insight Timer App, at Cornell University, and at his studio in Los Angeles. He is also the founder of Meditation School where he helps people learn to calm down, ways to get more sleep, and helps them discover what they want to heal.
The reason people first explore meditation is to lower their anxiety by 20%. They do learn to turn off their anxiety and find inner peace but they also learn a lot more. This can be scary, so many people give up because when we first start meditating, the outer noise of our lives comes inside. People become uncomfortable but if we can forge through and continue practicing, we can eventually use it as a teaching tool for a deeper awareness of ourselves. David says, "Anxiety is the icing on the cake so it would be great to uncover what’s beneath it." Sticking to a meditation practice is the hardest part because it's unfamiliar. We all try to avoid any initial discomforts in our lives but in facing the discomfort we create growth and learning for a better way of living.
Meditation is energetic maintenance. It's as if we are cleaning our "inner pipes" when we acknowledge our deeper feelings. Those feelings turn into thoughts, which turn into beliefs that are exhibited in our behaviors. This is because our feelings ruminate in our heads, and we try to figure things out based on those feelings. Meditations break through those patterns that aren’t necessary and reset our energy.
We often look outward for validation in life and begin to believe things like money matters more, love matters less. When we turn those outer eyes inwards and look inside, we grow and see what really matters to us.
David has learned 4 steps that meditation helps:
1) Find it
2)Feel it
3)Face it
4)Heal it
And 5th- is to ask yourself, Now What?
He has learned that often our thoughts are using us instead of us using them. He uses meditation to figure out how he can remain the master of his thoughts.
David encourages working parents to meditate to clear energy, to be in the present moment, and to bring higher energy. They will then find the answers they seek. He believes parents automatically treat their kids the same way their parents treated them, even if it's damaging. Actually they should get to know their child’s 10,000 year-old wisdom soul. Kids want to be seen by their parents - He asks, "Can you see them for the spirit they are inside their body?"
He shares what his own parents think of him being on the Insight Timer App with David Brand and Elizabeth Gilbert. They were thrilled and very proud of him. They appreciate his entrepreneurial spirit. In fact, he teaches entrepreneurship meditation as well as, speed dating and relationship meditations. He believes there’s a way to find your balance and fulfillment through meditating in all areas of your life.
David Gandelman is also the co-host of the Energy Matters podcast, Grounded Sleep Podcast, and teaches meditation at Cornell University and NBC Studios. His meditations have been streamed for over 30 million minutes on the meditation app, Insight Timer. He connects energetic experience, ancient wisdom traditions, and humor, to create a safe atmosphere for people interested in learning to meditate, and developing their natural spiritual abilities. To reach him:
https://energymattersacademy.com
https://www.davidgandelman.com/
https://www.meditationschool.us/
