The hottest Meditation Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Health & Wellness Topics

The Paradox Of Spirituality

Weekly Wisdom • 238 implied HN points • 09 Feb 23
⛪ Faith & Spirituality Meditation
  1. Spirituality is a complex, elusive concept that defies easy definition, with a focus on ethics and virtue.
  2. Spirituality often involves a path of introspection and transcendence, which can include practices like meditation and prayer.
  3. Spirituality provides a framework for exploring meaning, prosocial behavior, and interconnectedness in both personal and societal contexts.

the puzzle without a name

Thicket Forte • 419 implied HN points • 08 Mar 23
📖 Philosophy Meditation
  1. Life can feel like a puzzle where you don't have all the pieces or instructions. It's frustrating when things don't fit, and you might feel lost trying to figure it all out.
  2. Real progress comes when you discover new ways to understand or solve your problems. Each new insight can change everything and make life feel more complete.
  3. It's easy to think you've reached the end, but there's always more to explore and understand. Keep questioning and seeking out those hidden pieces, even if it feels challenging.

Dissociating From Pain

Desk Notes by Charles Schifano • 121 implied HN points • 06 Jun 25
🏥 Health & Wellness Meditation
  1. Dissociating from pain can help you experience discomfort without letting it control your mind. Instead of fighting through pain, focusing on it can make it feel less overwhelming.
  2. This practice can lead to a calmer response to stress and frustration in everyday situations. By observing feelings instead of reacting immediately, you can reduce your irritation and stay more composed.
  3. However, it's important to be careful with this detachment. Ignoring pain signals can make it harder to notice when something is truly wrong, so balance is key to ensuring awareness of bodily sensations and emotional responses.

Meditations on taste

Overthinking Everything • 314 implied HN points • 22 Nov 24
🍲 Food & Drink Meditation
  1. Mindful drinking can be a unique practice. For example, focusing on the taste and feel of a bitter drink like Cynar can help you discover what you truly enjoy.
  2. Trying new foods mindfully can change how you perceive them. It’s possible to find that things you thought you liked aren’t as enjoyable when you pay close attention to their flavors.
  3. Understanding your preferences might take some experimenting. Even if you learn you don’t like something, it helps you figure out what you do enjoy.

Mouse Melon & Monkey Mind

Seven Senses • 179 implied HN points • 15 Oct 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Meditation
  1. Explore new experiences for your senses, like art, food, and scents. It's fun to try different things that make you feel alive.
  2. Meditation can help you connect with your thoughts. Meeting your 'Monkey Mind' can be a way to understand your busy thoughts better.
  3. Engaging with different sensory activities can lead to joy and inspiration. It's important to take time to enjoy the little things around you.
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Energy work is a shortcut

Trying In Public • 99 implied HN points • 18 Jan 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Meditation
  1. Energy work can be a shortcut to feeling grounded and engaged in life by noticing what fills your energy bucket and what drains it.
  2. Energy is always present and movable, and there are actions you can take to shift it when needed, such as writing, reading, or dancing.
  3. Discovering your own shortcuts to feeling joyful, productive, or smart can empower you to take control of your life direction.

Be Still

Investing 101 • 73 implied HN points • 26 Jul 25
⛪ Faith & Spirituality Meditation
  1. It's important to listen to your body. Sometimes, even if you have the urge to keep going, you need to take a break and prioritize your health.
  2. Writing can be challenging, especially when tackling complex ideas. If you're feeling overwhelmed, it might be better to step back and clear your mind.
  3. Taking a moment to pause and reflect can help you regain your focus. It's okay to slow down and not force creativity when you're not feeling your best.

2024 - Gratitude in Public

Clinsights • 98 implied HN points • 08 Jan 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Meditation
  1. Daily gratitude for small moments can bring immense joy and fulfillment.
  2. Finding peace through meditation and quiet reflection is a powerful practice.
  3. Expressing gratitude for the people in our lives can deepen connections and foster positivity.

The "I" Of Your World

Weekly Wisdom • 159 implied HN points • 21 Jun 23
⛪ Faith & Spirituality Meditation
  1. The world is experienced through your thoughts, which may not always reflect reality.
  2. Understanding the mind is key to understanding the world - thoughts are a layer between you and reality.
  3. Meditation is about befriending the mind and making direct contact with the world, moving beyond the illusion of separation.

Weekly Wednesday Wisdom #8

Weekly Wisdom • 159 implied HN points • 02 Mar 23
⛪ Faith & Spirituality Meditation
  1. The newsletter summarizes a mix of content on business, spirituality, and personal growth from various sources like authors, marketers, and speakers.
  2. The importance of relationships in human happiness is highlighted based on findings from a study discussed in a podcast.
  3. The author is contemplating on balancing commercial and creative interests, working on fundamental skills, and has embarked on the challenge of writing a book, spurred by a sense of urgency and mortality.

The Alabama Sutta

Weekly Wisdom • 119 implied HN points • 09 Nov 23
⛪ Faith & Spirituality Meditation
  1. The text draws parallels between a 90's country song and Buddhist philosophy by connecting the themes of restlessness and ignorance from the song lyrics to the Buddhist concept of fetters.
  2. The ten fetters in Buddhism represent psychological obstacles that must be overcome for spiritual liberation, similar to cognitive biases in psychology.
  3. Methods to break free from these fetters include inquiry, self-inquiry through writing or meditation, and becoming confident in the absence of the perceived obstacle.

Win the morning, win the day.

Weekly Wisdom • 139 implied HN points • 23 Feb 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Meditation
  1. Having a good morning routine sets the tone for your whole day by ensuring your sleep, purpose, and passion are aligned.
  2. Key elements of a morning routine include light exposure, cold exposure, breathwork, movement, meditation, and journaling.
  3. Flexibility in your routine allows for adjustments based on time availability, and focusing on meaningful activities is more crucial than a perfect routine.

Follow Your Flow

Weekly Wisdom • 59 implied HN points • 07 Feb 24
⛪ Faith & Spirituality Meditation
  1. It's important to follow your flow and cultivate a relationship with your muse in whatever form it takes.
  2. Flow, as described by Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi, is a state of being characterized by selflessness, timelessness, effortlessness, and sensory richness, associated with meaningful moments and achievements.
  3. Finding your flow requires effort, but the rewards of reaching a state of effortlessness are definitely worth it in the end.

Why don't gurus scale?

Sasha's 'Newsletter' • 173 implied HN points • 06 Dec 24
🎭️ Culture Meditation
  1. Some gurus are really talented at helping people and can create big changes quickly. However, their personal skills often don't scale to help more people.
  2. Gurus rely on their personal charisma and unique techniques, making it hard to replicate their success on a larger scale.
  3. Many in the spiritual scene may struggle with growing their impact because their methods are too personal and can't reach a wider audience.

Let Them Eat Sex Magic!

Daniel Pinchbeck’s Newsletter • 11 implied HN points • 03 Dec 25
⛪ Faith & Spirituality Meditation
  1. If automation eliminates most jobs, people could spend their freed time on deep inner work like meditation, tantra, and psychedelics as a path beyond mere cultivated leisure.
  2. The psychedelic movement has largely been absorbed by capitalist, utilitarian priorities and needs integration into disciplined esoteric or initiatory practices to foster genuine inner transformation.
  3. Capitalist commodification has warped sexuality and human relationships, making them transactional, and scandals like Epstein expose the hypocrisy and ethical corruption among elites and spiritual figures.

Received Wisdom

Dada Drummer Almanach • 62 implied HN points • 19 Jun 25
🎶 Music Meditation
  1. Giacinto Scelsi viewed composing differently; he saw himself as a spiritual medium instead of just a composer. He believed he was receiving ideas rather than creating them.
  2. Scelsi's music is tied up in a mystery, with questions about what truly constitutes his music — the improvisations he made, the recordings, or the transcriptions by others.
  3. Frances-Marie Uitti, a close collaborator of Scelsi, interprets his music as a flowing, continuous thought that can be deeply felt and experienced, rather than just heard plainly.

Meditation as Wakeful Relaxation: Unclenching Smooth Muscle (26/30)

psychotechnology • 12 implied HN points • 27 Nov 25
🏥 Health & Wellness Meditation
  1. Relaxation and wakefulness can coexist: training “wakeful relaxation” means coordinating mind and body to release tension, which makes you less reactive and reduces anxious mental looping.
  2. Patterns of muscle tension—especially in vascular smooth muscle—act as bodily “stances” that stabilize certain feelings and thoughts, and persistent smooth‑muscle latches can shape experience with relatively low energy cost.
  3. You can work to unclench these latches through targeted practices like ultra‑slow body scans, deliberate clench‑release cycles, and heat/cold exposure, using attention to track and loosen latched tissues.

My meditation teacher, Roger Thisdell (21/30)

psychotechnology • 12 implied HN points • 22 Nov 25
🏥 Health & Wellness Meditation
  1. A pragmatic, technical coach teaches Vipassana and frames enlightenment as a non-mystical psychological and phenomenological phase shift.
  2. This approach suits independent, non-religious practitioners who want skill-focused guidance rather than a spiritual master or a community, and it's not a substitute for professional mental-health treatment.
  3. He is open to discussing drugs and cognitive enhancers as tools to accelerate insight while emphasizing meditation's specificity, and he offers income-adjusted sliding-scale pricing for sessions.

Things are getting kinda crazy

Charles Eisenstein • 2 implied HN points • 10 Feb 26
⛪ Faith & Spirituality Meditation
  1. A feeling that reality is breaking is growing as major revelations and events shift public understanding and spur deeper investigation.
  2. A multimedia project (videos and a podcast) is exploring sanity, myth, and collective stories, showing how ancient tales like the Eight Immortals still speak to modern life.
  3. There’s an emphasis on contemplative practice and community through an online summit on stillness and prayer, and the work is supported by reader subscriptions.

Befriending the soul.

Neckar’s Notes • 60 implied HN points • 25 May 25
⛪ Faith & Spirituality Meditation
  1. Making time for your soul is important. It helps you connect with your true self and understand what you really want.
  2. Slowing down and being present can lead to deeper insights. Instead of just staying busy, it's good to reflect and listen to your inner thoughts.
  3. Asking yourself meaningful questions can spark creativity and understanding. These questions can help you explore who you are and what you truly care about.

Meditation

Pav writes • 58 implied HN points • 18 Nov 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Meditation
  1. Meditation can help lower anxiety and enhance clarity and focus.
  2. When meditating, focus on being present and come back to the present when thoughts arise.
  3. Meditation may reduce suffering by helping individuals not identify with their thoughts and emotions.

Maps of Emptiness

10-year Horizon • 179 implied HN points • 27 Feb 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Meditation
  1. Different meditation approaches offer various maps to navigate the inner space.
  2. Understanding concepts like emptiness and suffering can deepen meditation practices.
  3. Exploring Jhanas and seeking contemporary meditation resources can enhance the meditation experience.

Orage's "Active Mind" - Introductory Thoughts

Journal of Gurdjieff Studies • 59 implied HN points • 03 Aug 23
⛪ Faith & Spirituality Meditation
  1. Orage's work involves psychological exercises and essays that relate to Gurdjieff's teaching.
  2. Orage's exercises focus on intellectual development through manipulation of numbers and words, observation, and visualization.
  3. Orage's writings explore the relationship between different centers of the brain and emphasize the importance of self-observation in psychological development.

[Online workshop on Wed] The Art of Inner Archeology: Intro to Gendlin Focusing

Cozy Philosophy • 19 implied HN points • 10 Mar 24
⛪ Faith & Spirituality Meditation
  1. Gendlin Focusing is a technique that helps reconnect with the wisdom within our bodies, teaching us to listen to our emotions with kindness and curiosity.
  2. The workshop offers a space to learn about self-healing, self-awareness, and improving relationships through Inner Archeology and Gendlin Focusing.
  3. To join the workshop, one needs to register as a Limicon attendee, granting access to multiple events and a network of like-minded individuals.

Accessing Evolutionary Intelligence

What's Important? • 23 implied HN points • 19 Jul 25
⛪ Faith & Spirituality Meditation
  1. There's a guiding force in the universe that can help us grow and improve our lives. By connecting with this force, we can make better choices and find more fulfillment.
  2. Keeping a diary of what energizes us can change our lives. When we notice what activities give us energy, we can plan our days to include more of those things.
  3. Morning moments between sleep and waking are special for insights. Writing down what comes to mind in that time can reveal helpful ideas without judging or editing them.

Neural Annealing: Directing Psychedelic Trips Towards Healing (25/30)

psychotechnology • 5 implied HN points • 26 Nov 25
🏥 Health & Wellness Meditation
  1. The mind is like a lattice of beliefs that can get stuck, and adding ‘heat’ lets those stuck parts loosen so the system can settle into a healthier arrangement.
  2. Psychedelics can act as that heat, melting rigid or traumatic beliefs and allowing new, more accurate views to form — but they work best when you intentionally direct the process rather than just watching visuals.
  3. You need skills and safeguards: cultivate tolerance for uncertainty, body-based awareness, and therapeutic practices, start with small doses and good set/setting, and respect that these tools can be both powerful and risky.

Concentration

mindmagic • 39 implied HN points • 24 Mar 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Meditation
  1. Attention has three aspects: reach, duration, and flexibility.
  2. Reach is about the limits of working memory, duration is how long you can focus, and flexibility is how quickly you can switch focus.
  3. Improving concentration can be achieved through specific exercises like games, meditation, and continuous learning.

Methane

Pavle Miha • 39 implied HN points • 11 Jun 23
📚 Literature Meditation
  1. London faces challenges due to unusual warm weather, leading to disruptions and tensions among residents.
  2. Infrastructure work and power outages disrupt daily life, forcing individuals to adapt and navigate challenges.
  3. Story explores themes of community, meditation, and personal experiences in a changing, uncertain world.

Weekly Wisdom #11

Weekly Wisdom • 39 implied HN points • 10 Aug 23
⛪ Faith & Spirituality Meditation
  1. Wisdom can be explored through open-ended inquiries and examining its opposite, foolishness.
  2. Deep diving into spiritual practices like Buddhism's Ten Fetter model and Zen koans can offer valuable insights and resources.
  3. Resources on effective communication, such as writing as a Zen practice and analyzing popular TED Talks, can enhance communication skills.

Positioning your Neck for Now

Splattern • 39 implied HN points • 06 Aug 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Meditation
  1. Relaxing your neck can help you stay present and reduce discomfort. Keeping your neck aligned can make it easier to focus on the now rather than what you desire in the future.
  2. Maintaining good posture is attractive to others. If someone can control their body well, it shows confidence and self-responsibility.
  3. In social situations like flirting, it's important to balance your own attention with the attention on the other person. This can create a more enjoyable and mutually respectful connection.

Gratitude?

Random Minds by Katherine Brodsky • 56 implied HN points • 27 Nov 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Meditation
  1. Meditation classes can focus on specific themes, like gratitude, which may surprise you. It's important to check the class details to see what you'll be learning.
  2. Experiencing anger during meditation is normal and can be a part of the process. It's okay to feel frustrated sometimes, even when you're seeking calm.
  3. Gratitude practices can be challenging and may not always lead to instant peace. Remember that finding peace takes time and patience.

New report: How altered states shape our minds

Monomythical • 53 implied HN points • 20 Nov 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Meditation
  1. The jhanas are meditation practices that can create strong, blissful experiences similar to psychedelics. Many people who try them report significant changes in their lives and well-being.
  2. There is still limited research on the jhanas, which makes studying their effects challenging. Most researchers have not yet focused on these practices, making it harder to find participants for studies.
  3. A new report highlights the experiences of people who attended jhana retreats, providing valuable insights. It aims to spark more questions and research into how these meditation states influence our minds.

Your Heart Knows It-

Charles Eisenstein • 1 implied HN point • 22 Jan 26
⛪ Faith & Spirituality Meditation
  1. Comments on Substack are being turned off so the creator doesn’t spread themself too thin.
  2. Conversation is being moved to a dedicated forum on Mighty Networks (naascommunity.org) for discussion.
  3. Short videos will keep being posted frequently, and readers are encouraged to subscribe or support via Substack.

On Mindfulness

Orbis Tertius • 158 implied HN points • 15 May 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Meditation
  1. Mindfulness is more than just stress relief; it has scientifically proven benefits like reducing stress, anxiety, and depression.
  2. Mindfulness, rooted in ancient contemplative tradition, aims to help individuals truly understand subjective reality and live in the present moment.
  3. Mindfulness practice involves meditation to develop the capability to be less distracted, recognize thoughts, and connect with experiences throughout the day.