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  • What’s the probability you’ll meditate today?

    Hey, I have this meditation class you might be interested in.

    You’ll be guaranteed to get 30 minutes of meditation into your week. And, I’ll give you a homework assignment, which will help you incorporate this into your daily life.

    “But, what’s a few extra minutes? What’s the difference if I go or if I don’t go?”

    Every single minute you spend meditating makes it easier to meditate in the future.

    You have this fantasy that you will be able to solve your “can’t meditate consistently” problem once and for all.

    That’s not going to happen.

    You need to hack away at it until you figure out what’s going on underneath the surface. The only way to do that is to try meditating and see what happens.

    “Can’t I just do this on my own? Why would I come to your class?”

    Yeah, you could do it on your own. But, will you?

    Seriously, look at your own behavior and see what you’re likely to do.

    Tell me, right now, how many times have you tried it on your own?

    “I don’t know. Lots.”

    What would you estimate is the probability you’re likely to meditate today for 30 minutes?

    “If I do it, 100%. If I don’t do it, 0%. “

    Which is it?

    “I don’t know.”

    Obviously, if you sign up for the class, the probability will be close to 100%.

    If you don’t…well, let’s figure it out.

    How many days in the past 30 days have you meditated for half an hour? Give me a number.

    “Yeah, yeah, I get it.”

    No, I’m serious. Give me a number.

    “Um…3?”

    So, the probability that you’ll meditate on any given day in a 30-day month is 10%.

    “But, if I make a decision to do it, it will happen.”

    Alright, how many days have you made a decision to do it? Give me a number.

    “Um…10?”

    So, out of 10 days in which you made a decision to meditate, you actually did it 3 days.

    Thus, the probability that you’ll meditate on a given day, given that you made a decision to meditate that day, is 30%.

    On the other hand, if you sign up for the class, the probability you’ll meditate is almost 100%.

    Which do you think will lead to better results?

    You don’t need more willpower. It’s much easier to simply trust people like me to make this problem disappear.

    “How do I know you’re trustworthy?”

    You don’t know. I might not be.

    But, do you have a better idea?

    Besides, if you sign up for a class, and you don’t like the class, I’ll give you your money back.

    “Alright, where do I sign up?”

    Take a look at the schedule.

  • KorMusic: the new calorie-free classical music substitute

    Last night, I did an Instagram live about how to play the piano.

    In it, I introduced a new kind of music called KorMusic. It's like regular classical music, only better.

    KorMusic is the result of my many hours practicing, performing, and collaborating with other musicians. It solves all kinds of problems, such as:

    • How to stay in tempo (e.g., with a metronome or a conductor).

    • How to untie physical knots (e.g., fingers getting tangled up).

    • How to untie mental knots (e.g., overthinking, perfectionism, stage fright).

    • How to sight-read quickly and accurately enough.

    • How to play as fast or as slow as you want (and how to make good compromises that will allow you to shift smoothly between tempos).

    It's based on mindfulness and acceptance, which sounds like weird hippie shit but isn't (unfortunately, the hippies got there first).

    At first glance, it may seem like KorMusic is a parody, but it's not. KorMusic is serious business.

    However, in order to go under the radar, you sometimes have to pretend to be a comedian. The alternative is too terrifying to contemplate.

    You can watch the replay on YouTube or on Instagram.

  • Drawing should be painful

    Last night, I did a drawing demonstration live on Instagram.

    Everyone should learn how to draw.

    Well…everyone already knows how. But, it's still worth practicing.

    Drawing practice must be specific, technical, and mentally painful. Otherwise, you're just goofing off.

    At the same time, you need to distance yourself from your results. Otherwise, you're just being a crazy perfectionist.

    Human beings are always pulled in those two directions.

    Staying in the middle is the hard part.

    (and don't even think about compromising.)

    You can watch the replay on YouTube or Instagram.

  • So long, 2020. The year in review.

    2020 is drawing to a close, and I wanted to update you on what I’ve been up to this year.

    While avoiding the coronavirus, I’ve managed to create quite a bit.

    Let’s take a quick tour of some of the highlights. I hope you find these links useful.

    Mindful Piano Basics

    The year started off with the launch of the beta version of my piano course, Mindful Piano Basics.

    The course isn’t open right now. But, I also made a $5 Piano Lesson.

    E-Book

    I wrote an ebook for amateur pianists called Take Yourself Seriously.

    Mindful Piano Facebook Lives

    I did a 7-part Facebook live series on how to play the piano with mindfulness.

    Talking Videos

    In February, I began posting talking videos, mostly on Instagram. Throughout the year, I’ve posted approximately 369 (and 58 were made in one single day!).

    Here are some highlights:

    Email Cult

    I re-branded my email list as an email cult, and have sent out 171 helpful emails in 2020.

    Many of those are available in the email archives.

    Meditation Practice

    I’ve logged 581 hours of meditation on Insight Timer. This isn’t all the meditation I’ve done, but it’s everything I used Insight Timer for.

    No Problem

    I created a meditation course called No Problem.

    Podcast

    In August, I launched the Self-Defined Human Podcast. So far, I’ve published the following episodes:

    1. The Drama Triangle
    2. Stop Setting Boundaries
    3. Seventy Minus Nineteen
    4. Why I Hate Piano Teachers
    5. This Podcast is a MIstake
    6. F*** Yoga with Fabienne Egger
    7. When Meditators Get Cancelled, with Blake Shields Abramovitz
    8. Meditation for Musicians
    9. Videos are Awesome
    10. What Music Teachers Are Getting Wrong, with David Servias
    11. Universe Walks, with Samantha Faulhaber

    Instagram Lives

    I’ve done a bunch of Instagram lives, such as:

    Album

    Michelle Murray Fiertek and I released an album of American art songs called Every Tiny Thing.

    Free Digital Products

    I created a whole bunch of free digital products, which you can find on my “hey you” page.

    Other Paid Products

    Meditation Classes

    I started offering meditation classes on Zoom. Check out the schedule.

    KormanYoga

    I invented my own school of yoga (KormanYoga), authorized myself as a teacher in this school, and made a video demonstrating some basic techniques.

    I also wrote about what’s wrong with yoga.

    Skills

    I got much better at:

    • Audio editing
    • Photo editing
    • Video editing
    • Acting
    • Drawing

    Spreading Ideas

    People have started associating my name with concepts like “radical acceptance”, “toxic positivity”, the Drama Triangle (Victim/Persecutor/Rescuer), and the Empowerment Dynamic (Creator/Rescuer/Coach).

    Disappointments and Regrets

    I lost over 100 friends who don’t appreciate my style of helpfulness. I was called “racist”, “narcissist”, “fraud”, “harmful”, “dangerous”, “manipulative”, “troll”, among many other names.

    I got a phone call from the police as a result of one or more complaints that had been made regarding my social media posts.

    I wish I hadn’t done the following so much:

    • Toned things down so as not to upset “experts”.
    • Pandered to beginners and friends.
    • Eaten so much pasta.
    • Refrained from being helpful for fear of scaring people off.
    • Avoided creating products because of misguided attempts at following bad marketing advice.

    I also wish I had done a meditation retreat this year.

    Goals for 2021

    • Practice conversation.
    • Create more advanced material that’s truly helpful.
    • Ignore conflicts with experts and social justice warriors.
    • Make more money.
    • Market my ideas without holding back.
    • Set it up so that people can easily pay me to learn piano, meditation, calligraphy, drawing, and yoga without any logistical or psychological obstacles.

    Happy New Year!

  • Don’t complain until you’ve tried it

    Joe: Hey Michael, I’m having trouble playing the piano.

    Michael: Oh yeah? What’s wrong?

    J: All sorts of things. I can’t play fast. I can’t stay in tempo. My fingers keep getting tangled up. I just don’t feel good about it.

    M: Yeah, that’s normal.

    J: What should I do?

    M: Well, you know JS Bach said something about how “all one has to do is hit the right keys at the right time and the instrument plays itself.”

    J: That’s pretty vague.

    M: No, it’s extremely specific.

    J: Huh?

    M: I’m serious. He’s telling you exactly what you need to do.

    J: I don’t get it. First of all, my problem is that I can’t play the right keys at the right time. Second of all, that can’t be ALL you need to do. What about expression and dynamics and all that?

    M: One thing at a time. What are you having trouble with?

    J: I can’t play the right keys at the right time. I mean, I basically can. But I can’t do it fast.

    M: Right, that’s because your nervous system isn’t conditioned in the exact right way to make that happen.

    J: Yeah, that’s an understatement. So, what do I do? Practice slowly?

    M: No, that’s just a folk remedy you heard from a piano teacher. You have to train your nervous system to comprehend the exact causes and conditions of everything involved here.

    J: I don’t understand.

    M: What don’t you understand?

    J: What should I practice?

    M: I just told you.

    J: Your advice is incredibly vague and non-specific. You’re not telling me, step-by-step, what to do.

    M: Oh, I didn’t realize you wanted step-by-step instructions. You came to me with a vague problem, after all. I was giving you a general solution.

    J: Fine. But, I don’t know how to be precise with the formulation of my problem.

    M: Neither do I.

    J: So, what do I do?

    M: It sounds to me like you’re having trouble playing a specific piece of music. If that’s the case, you would need to dig into that particular piece of music and figure out what’s going on.

    J: Hm, OK. I’ve been practicing it forever, and I can’t get it right.

    M: Have you tried the waterfall technique?

    J: No, what’s that?

    M: It’s a practice technique I invented that will help you train yourself to play absolutely anything.

    J: Oh yeah, I think I remember you posted that on a piano teacher Facebook group a couple years ago. Wow, they really tore you apart. I’m not sure I want to be associated with someone like you…

    M: Don’t be silly. You know as well as I do that none of them even considered trying it.

    J: True. So, how do I do it?

    M: I’ll tell you, but first you must promise that you will try it, and that you will only raise objections and concerns which are based on your experiences trying it, and not on your theoretical or conceptual prejudices or ego-driven, a priori, assumptions about what constitutes proper piano practice.

    J: I don’t know if I can promise that. When I joined the world of classical music, I did swear an oath to keep the open-minded part of my mind firmly closed.

    M: Yes, but you can break that oath.

    J: That’s morally wrong, though.

    M: Yes, it is.

    J: So, I can’t learn from you.

    M: Fair enough.

    J: Then, what do I do?

    M: Sounds like you’re stuck.

    J: You’re not helping.

    M: What would you like help with?

    J: I want you to teach me the waterfall technique.

    M: Do you promise that you will try it? And not complain until you’ve tried it? And only complain about stuff that came up while trying it?

    J: That sounds extremely unreasonable.

    M: Take it or leave it.

    J: Fine, I promise.

    M: Great. Here’s how it works: (1) Choose a piece, and decide how many beats there are per measure. (2) Set your metronome to the maximum tempo. (3) Play the piece by dropping your arms on the keyboard, once per beat. (4) Ask yourself, “is this how I want this piece to sound at this tempo?” If the answer is yes, go back to step 2. If the answer is no, decrease the metronome by 1 click and go back to step 3.

    J: That can’t possibly do anything.

    M: You promised you wouldn’t complain yet.

    J: But, it’s obviously ridiculous.

    M: Ridiculously powerful, you mean.

    J: No, I mean ridiculously ridiculous. What is this supposed to do for me?

    M: I don’t know. You’ll have to try it and see.

    J: I won’t try it until I know what it’s supposed to do.

    M: OK.

    J: What do you mean, “OK”? You said this would help me.

    M: I said you must try it before complaining about it. And, you promised to do that. So, what will it be?

    J: Fine, I’ll try it.

    M: Wow, you’re a special person. NOBODY tries it.

    (later that week)

    J: Michael, you’re right. This has totally changed my life.

  • Why it’s so hard to “just do nothing”

    “Just do nothing.”

    What a confusing instruction.

    (Meditation teachers love to give this instruction, as do music teachers.)

    Sometimes it takes the form of “trust yourself”, “go with the flow”, “let it happen”, “get out of your own way”, or “stop overthinking”. But, it’s always the same thing.

    The confusion comes up when you try following this instruction, and you notice that your own actions fit into one of three categories:

    1. Things you feel like you’re “doing”.

    2. Things that seem to be happening on their own.

    3. Things where you aren’t quite sure if you’re the one doing them or not.

    Categories 1 and 2 are no problem. If you clearly feel like you’re doing the thing, you can easily stop doing it. And, if it seems to be happening on its own, you don’t need to stop doing it.

    Category 3, however, is another story.

    First of all (spoiler alert!), no one’s home. There’s no “you” to begin with. So, that should be a clue that this is a…weird…problem.

    Still, those category 3 actions can be maddeningly frustrating. It might seem like:

    • You intended to do something, and it didn’t happen.

    • You intended not to do something, and it happened.

    • You intended to observe yourself doing it, and you got distracted in the middle.

    • The act of observing the action changes the action.

    • The harder you try to observe it, the more it changes.

    • The action keeps changing in subtle ways that always seem to be slightly outside of your intellectual grasp.

    • Doing the action causes more problems than not doing it.

    • Not doing the action causes more problems than doing it.

    Second of all, this is progress. You’re coming to terms with the paradoxes surrounding your sense of agency and intention. So, you should celebrate that.

    Here are a few things to try:

    1. Let your body do the thing, and observe how much of it is actually done by natural physical forces (gravity, inertia, etc.), not by “you”.

    2. Let your body do the thing, and observe how much of it is actually done by your desire to seek pleasure and avoid pain, not by “you”.

    3. Force yourself not to do the thing, and notice what happens.

    4. Refrain from making any decision about whether you’ll do the thing, and instead whine and complain about how frustrating it is.

    Practice all of these.

    Meditation class is tonight, Wednesday, December 30, at 9:00 PM EST.

    Also, there will be a class tomorrow, Thursday, December 31, at 3:00 PM EST.

    There will be no class on Sunday.

    Remember: you can’t just read about this stuff. You have to practice it. That means you must spend hours and hours meditating. If you come to the class, that’s some time right there that is guaranteed to be well-spent.

    • © 2020-2026 Michael Korman

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