Category: Email Archives

Sometimes the problem isn’t that reality sucks (is that ever actually the problem?), but rather that you’re just not synchronized with reality.

When you’re not synchronized with reality, your performance is going to be subpar. It’s just the nature of it.

A couple years ago, I was going to figure drawing sessions regularly. 3 hours of continuous drawing, with only short breaks here and there. My whole body hurt. I was frustrated. For the first few sessions, I was miserable.

But then, my mind started to synchronize with my drawing.

It’s not a permanent shift. It happens once in a while, and it stays synchronized for a period of time, and then it falls back.

That’s why you warm up.

Until you’re warmed up, you should expect that everything you do will suck. You warm up by moving the pencil on the paper randomly, allowing things to catch up.

Your mind is too fast.

Don’t try to slow it down.

Let it speed up and force everything else to catch up to it.

This is the point of meditation. It’s why it was invented. It’s a deliberate practice of synchronizing the mind with reality (that’s what “enlightenment” means).

It’s not an all-or-nothing deal. There are levels to it. But that’s the point.

If you’re not meditating by this point, you’re probably not interested, and there’s nothing I can say that will save you.

However, maybe there’s a chance you just haven’t heard the message yet.

So, here’s the message: sign up for No Problem and learn to synchronize.

—Michael

Someone unsubscribed from this list with the reason “spam“. Coincidentally, someone else said my content was “egotistical“ the same day.

This bothered me, because I don’t send spam.

Every single email I send out to you guys is intended to be helpful and inspiring. Sure, I often put links to products I’m selling, but these are certainly not unsolicited commercial emails.

Still, it made me wonder…am I clearly offering helpful advice?

So, I decided to take a look at the last 10 emails I’ve sent out to see if there are indeed helpful tips in them.

Here’s what I found:

1. Here’s Some Great Advice I Got

(The tip: To prevent anxiety from messing up your life, stop fighting the anxiety.)

2. No, Meditation’s Not Supposed To Be Easy

(The tip: Why you need to persist through the difficulties in meditation.)

3. This Email Might Worry Your Mind

(The tip: To make tasks easier, explore your ability to disobey your mind.)

4. Why I Don’t Believe Life Is Supposed To Be Good And Why That Attitude Just Makes It Hard

(The tip: How to prevent situations from becoming worse than they need to be.)

5. Who Wins In A Fight: Meditators Or Non-Meditators?

(The tip: Be specific about what benefits you’re expecting awareness and equanimity to bring to your life.)

6. Why I Don’t “Focus” While Meditating

(The tip: Why trying too hard to focus in meditation is counterproductive and what to do instead.)

7. Five Mistakes That Even Serious Meditators Make

(The tip: A handful of things you can stop doing in meditation that are just making it more frustrating for you.)

8. Top 10 Meditation Resources

(The tip: Essential tools that I’ve found useful.)

9. These 3 Ingredients In The Kitchen Will Let You Move On To The Next Thing Quickly

(The tip: Why the folk wisdom about mental health only leads to more stress.)

10. Why Technique Vs. Interpretation Is The WRONG Debate

(The tip: Exactly how trying too hard to learn a skill sets you up for crippling perfectionism.)

So…yeah. These sound like helpful tips to me.

I’m not sure how anyone could read it otherwise.

And now for the “spammy, salesly” part of the email: I think you would benefit from my No Problem meditation course. It will teach you how to incorporate the above wisdom into your own life.

—Michael

“No, Michael, it’s not a problem.”

You might think that’s horrible advice, that it’s invalidating to someone with a real problem.

Let me tell you a story:

One day, I had anxiety and it sucked.

I sat down to meditate and a weird thing happened. I suddenly didn’t mind the anxiety…it felt neutral, not bad. However, I saw trying to get rid of the anxiety was STRESSING ME OUT.

This was a huge relief, as then I could stop making things worse.

If you want the relief of not making things worse, you should be meditating.

No Problem will get you started.

It’s easy:

1. Follow this link.

2. Sign up.

3. Enjoy your new life where you’re no longer making it worse.

—Michael

P.S. I got the advice from a teacher on a meditation retreat. I was freaking out because I was seeing weird stuff when I closed my eyes and thought I would never be able to sleep ever again.

“Meditation is hard. What am I doing wrong?

“What’s the right posture for meditation?”

“I can’t meditate because I can’t sit still.”

I hear these frequently asked questions all the time (the last one is more of an excuse than a question) from people who are thinking about signing up for No Problem.

I used to think meditation would be easy. I mean…it seemed easy. Looking at meditators, they seemed so relaxed, so at peace.

It never occurred to me that meditation was supposed to be difficult.

One day, I was super-frustrated with my meditation. My body just didn’t feel comfortable, and I couldn’t sit still.

I tried moving in every possible direction and adjusting my posture in every possible way.

But, I was stuck. The frustration wouldn’t budge (I even asked lots of people for advice, including Sharon Salzberg).

I had two choices:

1. Do I quit meditation, or

2. Do I push through it and hope for the best?

I knew I’d have to be persistent if I wanted to overcome that particular obstacle. But, I persevered, and eventually overcame it.

Nowadays, that particular frustration doesn’t bother me anymore.

I’m glad I saw the inherent difficulty in meditation and stuck with it.

Meditation is hard, but if you do it the right way, you’ll have the tools to forge your path.

No Problem gives you the tools you need.

Are you ready to get going?

If so, sign up here.

—Michael

I used to obey my mind all the time.

One day, I was playing the piano and my mind was telling me: “Go slower! You’re going to mess it up!”

I was kinda tired that day, and overwhelmed, and for whatever reason, I just didn’t listen. I kept playing fast, because the music felt like it should go fast.

It wasn’t until I finished playing that I realized what had happened: I had accidentally done the opposite of what my mind told me to do.

This was a shocking realization, because I hadn’t even been thinking about it that way.

But, I couldn’t deny the fact that the music felt easier to play, and after listening to the recording, I heard that it sounded pretty good.

I had never noticed that I even had the option of going against what my mind said.

I asked myself: “is my mind really my friend?”

How about you? Is your mind your friend?

If you’re not sure, maybe you should take some time to watch how your mind works.

The No Problem meditation course will show you how to do this.

Signing up is simple:

1. Follow the link above.

2. Choose one of the two options for signing up.

3. Complete the lessons in the course.

Let’s get to the bottom of this.

—Michael