Why I Meditate | A Doctor Explains

[@saratonnan]

Your openness about your struggle with negative thinking is so refreshing to hear. Knowing you're going through growth in the same way as we all do gives me encouragement. Love these talks about meditation. ❤

[@jankelsey9738]

I've been meditating for 15 years. I've attended many intensive spiritual retreats. Since I've began meditating I've been able to overcome much of my negative, resolved a lot of anxiety and ADD, and have had many direct experiences into the fundamental nature of pure consciousness that most neuroscientists can only dream of. As an RN I rely on science to explain the external objective world, but for inner subjective deeper/higher truth there is nothing more revelatory than meditation. Namaste Zdogg!

[@ZDoggMD]

🙏

[@timbrown9305]

@@ZDoggMD 15 years is a long time!!!! I can go for an hour MAX!

[@timbrown9305]

15 years is a long time! I can go for about an hour MAX!!!!

[@laurenhills239]

When I was a kid I would sit in my room with the door locked and just stare at a wall until I wouldn’t feel real. It was always such a trippy experience & it was like I was detaching myself from my physical body & experiencing something I could never explain. I stopped doing it for awhile but mediation has brought me back to this experience.

[@drmartinyoung3761]

Fellow doctor - new to meditation via the Waking Up app - this is such an important video! Watched it twice and will watch it again. Pure gold!!!

[@ZDoggMD]

Nice to hear from a colleague! Stay tuned, I’ll be trying to do more of this in the future as my own experience gets more solid.

[@DrRRaza]

Been Meditating and feeling better than I ever have.

[@dailydoseofmedicinee]

The emotional benefits of meditation can include:👍 Gaining a new perspective on stressful situations. Building skills to manage your stress. Increasing self-awareness. Focusing on the present. Reducing negative emotions. Increasing imagination and creativity.

[@kimberliegregg9726]

Your so vulnerable to this audience I adore you!!!

[@jessicajessica8690]

I'm glad you actually made this public.

[@AngieF8]

Thanks for accidentally going live! I've been planning to resume mindfulness practice regularly again since Covid has triggered so much stress I've had near panic attacks for the first time in decades. Thanks for reminding me/us. I think the "Universe" helped you accidentally share with the world🥰🙏🏻

[@markgellman101]

Amazing, intelligent, honest, elegant description of the importance of taking this first person video game and pulling back to observe and play it as the third person, brilliant!

[@tonydaniels6352]

You have a real depth of direct experience. I sat up when you said you are the witness. There is not one thing you said in the video I would disagree with.

[@reedclippings8991]

I was expecting to make a snide comment about how the reason to meditate has nothing to do with its health benefits...but then you absolutely nailed it.

[@ZDoggMD]

I hate that s**t too! Meditation is much more than some branding or trying to sell productivity or lowering blood pressure.

[@beran2433]

I just started meditating and it has been life-changing. I’ve related so much to what you’ve said about your negative self talk. Thank you for sharing this and making it public! Also, this sounds weird. But I fall asleep to your videos when I can’t sleep. Something very comforting about them 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@georgeshepherd3381]

When does the past happen? Now...... I love this!

[@georgeshepherd3381]

I've heard all of this framed as "There's only one of us in the room..."

[@jmburko]

Love this! Thank you! I’ve been meditating for 20 years ....saved my life! Love your videos! 💗💗💗

[@AngiePeacockMSW]

This is your best video ever. Hands down. Thank you for being so grounded and for being a light in this dark world.

[@sandyt9977]

Beautiful Zdogg.. just pure raw emotions @ 24:48! Fellow MD down under practising meditation for the last 15mths. Many many more layers to uncover but would love a list of those you meditate to. Love eckhart tolle. Also.. despite health professionals prescribing mindfulness to most these days .. I find it odd that very few try it out themselves.. if my colleagues ask about meditating I will be pointing them to this video.. you've described it so eloquently.. even if they are 'only words' as you've said.. nothing compares to the real experience!

[@DrDipsh1t]

This is why I say that everyone could benefit from a 12 step program. There's a reason the slogan "just for today" and "one day at a time" is paramount in recovery: it's to keep us grounded in the moment and not live in the past or worry about the future.

[@DrDeusExMachina]

You may have just saved me

[@amydisanto8865]

What a great video. I’m glad you accidentally went live to everyone. Can you post the names of the people you are following, I would love to look at them too! Thank you ❤️

[@podcastaltafidelidad]

HI dr Damania. Lately primary care here in Spain is more chaotic then ever. I am a primary care physician and I love my job. But some times or many times I also hate my job too! Phrmaceiticals, lack of time! What the hell! I feel I have to lie yo make it through the day and it gets frustrating. Any way, meditation and yoga nidra has helped in soooo many ways! And I love the fact yo listen to you talking about this. I have been listening to your interviews. DR barichiara, Dr Gahndi, Dr Bandavid, Dr Prasad, Dr Verghese. Its been great to drive to my job un the morning and it just wants me to be a great Dr who has an impact in my patients because some times we forget! By the way, KZbin is better then facebook. This meditation talk has been actually funny! After 50 patients 8 hours it has been positive, sprituality, and humor at the same time. Thanks Z Dogg looking forward for more teachings, interviews full of analyzes fun and humor, because in the end this is life!

[@erepiaddict]

Thank you for your openness. Reading The Power Of Now and A New Earth (Tolle), changed how I thought about everything. I practiced Mahayana Zen Buddhism ( the middle way) and your talk reminds me to get back to meditation 🧘‍♀️. Thank you 🙏🏻

[@MarthaCherian]

Being in the NOW and knowing your true self is an awesome experience and can be attained thru meditation. Thanks for doing this video :)

[@TheGneissgirl]

Dr. Z - Wow! First of all, thank you for mistakenly putting this out on your basic page for all to see. You perfectly described something that I have felt and struggled with since I was a child. That feeling of being 'inside' your body/head and the rest of the world exists outside of you and where the rest of that world has no idea how you are thinking or feeling and how that can make you feel isolated or alone has haunted me for decades. Where you mention that there's no 'face' that you're experiencing as your projecting to the world and all you see is open 'stuff' and there's no 'me', has been something that has crept into my mind for most of my life. I was never, and am still not able to understand what that means or how I process that. However, when you described it I felt that maybe you know what I'm feeling and that I'm not crazy! Thank you.

[@georgeshepherd3381]

Breathing is the means by which air becomes us and we become air...

[@POMORDHA1]

Zudin, this was an inspiring talk that I thoroughly enjoyed. I have recently started practicising mediation after coming across Sam harris's books and his mediation app. You and Sam talk off the same exact hymn sheet. You both say repeat the same benefits and point to the waking up experience. I fully got your message in this video based on my limited experimenting with daily mediation. More power to the both of you.

[@AnneGorman]

I like what you have to say. Today is Monday and I always seem to miss the live program.

[@katwoods8514]

I feel like listening to you in this video that I can tell that you're actually, deeply happy.

[@artt3165]

I'm going to say 2 things as a meditator for nearly 50 years. First, you need to be careful because you've read a lot about meditation and that can lead to self delusion where you begin to believe you've "seen the light" when all you've really done is create a self delusion around what you've read about what's "supposed to happen" when you meditate. *Not* making any judgements here just pointing out something I've experienced and seen happen over the years. Second, I'm here in whatever this place is with the rest of you. I didn't and don't create this place in my mind but I do presently occupy this container which is unique to me. At some point this container will grow old, infirm, and eventually die. But, this container *is not who I am* it's only the representation of who I am at this moment in this place we all share. When the container goes away I will continue on and whatever that form is will be the true essence of *me* Just a bit of perspective from someone who's on the path with you and a bit further down the path.

[@ZDoggMD]

Thank you for this!

[@tonydaniels6352]

To pick up on your point about self-delusion, thinking that you're a bit further down the path might be just that. 😊

[@georgeshepherd3381]

Shinzen Young refers to this as a "complete experience", and that even washing the dishes can become a "complete experience".

[@jmer9126]

One of your best videos ever. Thank you ❤️

[@shabeehahmed376]

Being an Indian MBBS final year student,being in a limbo at home, without the clinicals, listening to all this want myself to do this kinda things.

[@ErikaEmody]

I’ve leaned to recognize when Little Erika Mind is getting out of control when I FEEL IT IN MY BODY. And usually it’s that self-referencing thinking that gets me in that place. I have learned to identify that feeling in my body to know that it’s my self-referential thinking that stems from fear. Always fear. Love is all there really is. I have to re-learn that every damn day. And that’s ok.

[@lindarothera7838]

I did a hatha yoga & meditation course, there was a moment when awareness was like being in a fish tank looking out,4 dementional , fluid ,colors, shapes sensing interconnected jelly infinity sorry words cannot express it

[@francesco5581]

Greatly enjoyed this , there are parts that don't fit my logic like the "now" experience, but overall delicious ! It's interesting how science is carving his own path(s) to spirituality (something that 30 years ago was unthinkable )

[@jacquelinehudson4943]

Love your coined term "Alt-Middle". Re Meditation- Yes! Every day.

[@jacobvance429]

You have this talent to eloquently put into words my shared thoughts, for the most part lol, that which I am unable to articulate quite so well.

[@michaelsutton60]

Dan Harris has a brilliant book about his struggle with meditation.

[@georgeshepherd3381]

Equanimity! I love your characterization. I plan to become a supporter... Shinzen Young "The Science of Enlightenment" is REALLY good. I'm always looking for all these ideas expressed in a "non-mystical" way! "Why Buddhism is Right" by Robert Wright is good, too. Big Alan Watts fan, too...

[@richardhannigan3543]

I am Lisa who is actually your supporter under my husband's Yahoo channel. I wanted to have you check out the Art of Living SKY meditation and breathing. It would be a possible great addition to your practice. Right up your alley. I loved this video - you are very wise This video is the reason I decided to become a supporter. I also love your reasonable attempt to see all views about various topics. I am a nurse practitioner. It is a pleasure to join your tribe.

[@ZDoggMD]

Thank you Lisa! 🙏

[@gingerschultz3258]

This is great to get out to the general public. We can choose to witness ourselves and this human body that does what it does yet it doesn’t have to determine our worthiness. And we can do the same with the outside world - witness it instead of attaching our self worth to what the outside world does. As within, so without.

[@suewhite-baisley1137]

I love this❣ Thank you so much❣🙏 Namasté🙏

[@Kerrchung]

I've tried meditating before and been... Unsuccessful. Maybe its time to try again. Also something new I picked up from you today... Alt-middle. I like that. Makes me think of other possibilities, like a radical centrist.

[@MammaKat1]

Just Chop Wood-Carry Water.

[@k9hannibal]

Thanks for sharing public! 🙏🏼

[@georgeshepherd3381]

Thank you for going live"

[@jaredsmith3738]

You need to go on Rogan or the view or something. You're the doctor anerica needs right now!

[@khall8384]

Have you checked out the town of Fairfield, IA?

[@jorge86rodriguez]

Very well put together

[@brianlion123]

Zdogg have any pointers on.beginner meditation? I have severe health anxiety and want to start.

[@ZDoggMD]

Grab an app (Waking Up, Headspace, anything you like) and do some guided meditations and you'll start down the path!

[@analiliamalagon8207]

thanks for your video, please what is the name of the meditation you did, i will love to do it too.

[@isaacglassman2416]

Hey Z, have you tried an official vipassana course? If so, how was that experience for you? By the way, I admire your openness to different strategies of meditation. One size doesn't fit all and it upsets me when certain teachers stress the superiority of their strategies.

[@georgeshepherd3381]

After listening to this and reflecting, I had this thought: I hear the term "co-creation" bantered around a lot. I am now coming to the conclusion that "co-creation" might not be the most accurate-- the term carries with it the connotation that I am a wizard or conjuror of reality. It seems more accurate to hold the viewpoint that I'm (my body, that is) part of everything else going on and that everything else has the right to do what it's doing at the same time. Then, it becomes apparent that I'm constructing all these cicumstances as I go along (both favorable and unfavorable circumstances :-) ). How can anything at all happen without everything else going on at the same time?

[@dawnpaulhamus4740]

Thank you for sharing : )

[@katherinegordon7615]

Missed your posts

[@mikehorvath1748]

Question for you ZDogg subscribers - why does it appear that the only way to become a subscriber is through Facebook? Is there a better way? Thank you!

[@ZDoggMD]

Nope you can join via KZbin beta test as well: kzbin.infojoin

[@cwag9442]

How do you start meditating? I understand it is a practice, and as a true beginner I find it difficult to quiet the mind. How did you start? What did you struggle with?

[@teresapatrick742]

I started using the Head Space a few months ago. It answers your questions very well!

[@rosemarieloncaric-spataro2861]

Stress can kill you and meditation relieves stress. Functional breathing is amazing

[@tracyschiermangeorgis6672]

It is so helpful.

[@ginnyt.2219]

Thank you.

[@debdoty7573]

Namaste y’all,

[@rerimontgomery6272]

I like this with the now moment

[@rerimontgomery6272]

Like your now philosophy

[@georgeshepherd3381]

There's a guitarist named Steve Vai (who at one point played with Frank Zappa) who did a show focused on guitar technique on Tuesdays, and one focused on deeper issues (like the ones you discussed) on Thursdays. He was contantly telling viewers about the differences between the two topics... and that Thursdays were not specifically devoted to guitar technique. "Under it all" example where he talks about meditation: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oZ60dmOBecRrbsk

[@ZDoggMD]

I used to idolize Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson, and those other guitar “gods” growing up. I knew Steve was into some s**t, but had no idea about this, thanks for pointing me to it!

[@georgeshepherd3381]

@@ZDoggMD Yes... always been a fan for all them. Have you seen this G3 clip? Satch, Vai, Morse AND DiMeola... grew up on 'em! kzbin.info/www/bejne/l5mTip6EebSEasU Are you playing now (please say "yes"-- I love knowing people are still paying attention to this kind of music...)?

[@georgeshepherd3381]

@@ZDoggMD Also a Larry Carlton fan? (Thinking a lot about how he recovered after being shot in 1988 after having just turned 40)!

[@georgeshepherd3381]

@@ZDoggMD And this is good. Vai on diet: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jYvdhaignK2Kq68 And Vai on facing depression: kzbin.info/www/bejne/o3qoo5qXnt2JsKc

[@ZDoggMD]

@@georgeshepherd3381 oh my God Al DiMeola is a God

[@hanskung3278]

I understand how meditation has helped many....but what I don't get is there is never a now we can be as,when we think of the now then it's the past....I just don't get it....also I wonder if this, meditation a secular answer to what religious or do with faith. Peace.

[@reneetufo205]

Amen!

[@trainingdogsshorts1261]

*ZDoggMD* Cool !! keep doing

[@Rickpa]

Don't just do something. Sit there!

[@cherlgolja5402]

I love yoga 🧘🏻‍♀️🧘🏻‍♀️🧘🏻‍♀️🧘🏻‍♀️🧘🏻‍♀️

[@dav5580]

Z for President

[@rerimontgomery6272]

Interesting the fear issues are linked to many blind in humanity And it is always followed by wrath This is pattern of man's big blind spots

[@sophieoshaughnessy9469]

You just get more lovely. Poster man for meditation.

[@cherlgolja5402]

What zodiac sign are u please share 🧑🏻‍🦲

[@georgeshepherd3381]

Language is scrawny. It's impossible to describe all this in colloquial language. For example, what do we mean by the word "you"? "You" is overloaded- do we mean "the construction labeled as 'you'", or "everything/universe"? We blithly interchange the meaning as speakers and therefore become confused as listeners.

[@RabbitofPeace]

🐰 Fantastic Vibe.❤️ love the video......❤️ ❤️ s ❤️ u ❤️ b ❤️ with love.❤️ Much success and happiness.❤️ _St_ _ay_ safe and _con_ _nec_ _ted_ ❤️ 🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰 🐰🐰

[@Hyumanity]

You sound reasonable and mindful but yet utter so many despicable descriptions about people, fwads/aclowns/idiots, who are acting in good-faith and are genuinely pursuing truth. The latter is important because that means with such people you are able to have a dialogue that is dialectical and didactic to get closer to what is true. Unless you are certain you know the truth? You may say oh they might bombard me with studies after studies. Well I’m sure there are ways to make this most optimal and we can start by not having a time limit on the dialogue, meaning it can span days or more if necessary. I’m curious. Please answer this: in your meditative state, would you still behave the same way? I don’t understand how the abilities you gained from meditation has you behaving this way. Are you just harnessing your attention to be a terrible version of you? “Love is the rule”

[@vikinginger1889]

Love this guy. But this is called feeling the spirit or the Holy Ghost. Welcome back to religion and God, America.

[@terry4137]

Prescribe yourself some Valium! Smh