For the last 8 weeks, I’ve been reading “Bliss More” by Light Watkins. #blissmore

I first came across Light Watkins while out training for Dublin Marathon 2018 and listening to the Rich Roll podcast. If you have time, watch the interview on YouTube. The interview itself is much better in visual but this time out, I was just listening to the audio.

I have dabbled in the black art of meditation before I came across Light and this book. I’ve used guided meditations (Jon Gabriel, Sharon Salzburg), I’ve used apps (Headspace, Insight Timer, Calm) and I’ve even done a course in mindfulness. All of my previous endeavors into meditation has started in good faith, in fact, they started out of a need to manage stress in a better and more natural way but I never felt any progression with these approaches, even the mindfulness weekly course I did. I went through the motions, listening attentively to the guided instructions, anchored in the breath, same time, same place each day for as long as you can stick to it. Long story short, I never really felt that meditation held any water for me. Until now…

The cheesy tagline to this book – How to succeed in meditation without really trying – despite being an adaptation of another famous title, was at first a bit lost on me. As I finished this book last night and looked again at the tagline, I saw it in a whole new light. It is incredibly apt for this book but you may not realise it until the end.

Light takes the art of meditation and reframes it in a way that makes it far more understandable, progressive and enjoyable than ANY other method I have ever come across. Take for example the need to sit in a classic lotus pose to do meditation properly. Gone, no need!

I have never felt comfortable in this position. Instead, we should sit like we are binge-watching Netflix. Hurray! We all know how to do that one…

This position is far more comfortable and as a result, your mind is not being drawn to any discomfort arising from the seating position but is instead free to roam free. Lights technique is based around E.A.S.Y – Embrace, Accept, Surrender and Yield To. I can just imagine him raking his brain to think of a relevant meaning for Y to get this acronym to work.

The sitting position is just one small but hopefully relatable example of how this approach is different.

Overview of E.A.S.Y

 

4 Things I loved the most about this approach

1. I don’t need anything – no phones, no equipment, no apps – to do this meditation each day. I just sit up in bed when I wake up and launch into it. This has made it a million times more likely that I will practice daily – there are no blockers to me doing it.
2. The settling sound concept. While not original, I had never seen a good implementation of this that resonated with me. Think the big gong sounds in the Insight Timer. This is much more personal.
3. Getting deep! Using this approach, I have never felt as much progression before. I have felt myself go so deep in 10-minute meditations that I have not wanted to come back out sometimes. Pure bliss.
4. The meaningful exchange. Nobody values what they get for free. I am still considering what my exchange should be but whatever I settle on it will represent my commitment to sitting daily to do this practice. Making a meaningful exchange makes you more committed.

In summary, this is a superb book to read if you are interested in a real, long-lasting, sustainable health gain. Intellectually we all know that meditation is good for us, but what was lacking was a simple and sustainable way to execute it. Well, now we have the way. Bliss More.

Yours in health and happiness,

JP