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“Michael, if you think retreats are necessary to learn meditation, why would I pay you for a course? Why not just do a retreat? Isn’t your course just a pale imitation?”

Yes, my course is just a pale imitation. No disagreement there.

Are you kidding me? A 10-day retreat is a serious commitment. You are giving up 10 days of your life (really 12, because you spend a day traveling there and a day traveling back) to do NOTHING other than meditate.

There’s no Internet, no TV, no books, no journaling, no socializing, no music, no anything other than sitting and walking and eating and sleeping.

And you’re probably going to have trouble sleeping.

If that sounds like fun, I hope you do it.

“But, I still don’t get why I should pay you for a course.”

You probably shouldn’t.

Look, the course is good for you if you want to learn what the big deal is with meditation. If you want to understand the basic idea so that you can try it out and see how it fits into your life.

Is it better to do a retreat? I don’t know. Chances are, if you’re asking me this question, you’re not doing a retreat.

Anyway, I hope the course is useful for you. I hope it inspires you to do a retreat, in fact.

When you’re ready, take action.

—Michael

P.S. There are many forms of action. Paying me for a course is one. It’s called “putting your money where your mouth is”, and it’s a powerful way to commit to something.

I want you to do something for me.

But first:

Difficulty is a state of mind.

It feels difficult because you’re setting too high standards for yourself.

That’s your choice and yours alone.

Almost there…

Other people may have expectations for you, but that doesn’t mean those expectations are spelled out clearly in their own heads. People don’t usually know what they want, and they certainly don’t know how to ask for it.

The advantage of eliminating the concept of difficulty is that it gives you freedom to perform badly. When you realize that perfect performance is impossible, you suddenly have more room to make mistakes.

Wait for it…

Instead of trying to meet objective standards, you can try to meet your own predetermined criteria for success, which are chosen based on whatever you’re trying to do.

This is what happens when you take other peoples’ standards too seriously:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaEcZW0eyEg

—Michael

Oh, right… Click this link.

Someone wrote in a (much lengthier) Facebook comment:

“I don’t understand how you get from point A to point B. It doesn’t logically make sense to me in thinking about it, and in actively trying it I don’t find that the technique helps ME get the results you suggest it should…

I just hear a certain kind of thinking constantly. It’s always “you’ll know it when you see it” or “just play what feels right” or “I don’t want to cloud my playing by reading a book about it” … pick a similar phrase, I’ve heard thousands by now….

I’ve seen many players use that kind of philosophical line of thinking to justify why their ignorance is actually superior to the knowledge of someone who’s spent time practicing mechanics and learning theory…”

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This was my response:

“You’ve heard other people say similar things using them to justify their ignorance. I have, too. That, however, is not what I’m doing.

Ignore the words if you don’t like them. Do the exercises and let your mind generate its own words. This will give you the ability to learn things even from people you “disagree” with. Also, it will give you a way of thinking about things that works for you, even if it doesn’t make logical sense.”

Please click this link.

—Michael