#793: How to Calm Your Inner Storm — A Guided Meditation to Tame Restlessness with Zen Master Henry Shukman

Do you struggle with anxiety, stress, or other strong emotions? Are you struggling to find time to relax in the busy modern world? If so, you could benefit from meditation: a practice that many people find helpful for reducing stress, sharpening focus, and getting their thoughts in order. People from all walks of life, both religious and secular, have practiced and written about meditation for thousands of years, and it continues to be a popular relaxation method today.

In Shortform’s Master Guide to choosing a meditation practice, we’ve gathered the best time-tested advice on meditation from some of its most respected experts and teachers, from yogis and Buddhist monks to present-day self-help experts like Jen Sincero and Julia Cameron. To help you find the meditation practice that’s right for you, we’ll explore the meditation practices of four major traditions: Buddhism, Hinduism (yoga), Christianity (prayer), and modern Western thought. We’ll close by offering some tips for incorporating meditation into a busy modern lifestyle.

Do you get irritated, angry, anxious, or emotional more easily than you would like? Mindfulness meditation may be worth trying. Being mindful means observing your thoughts and emotions as they arise, without succumbing to your typical kneejerk reactions. You discover the roots of your anger, greed, and selfishness, and you learn to banish these psychic irritants. Ultimately, you become more at peace, and friendlier to other people.

Mindfulness in Plain English is an approachable introduction to mindfulness and meditation. These are practical tips and truly written in plain English with little spiritual mumbo-jumbo. Inside are practical tips on how to start meditating and deal with common problems.

In recent years, meditation and mindfulness have swept across the West and become popular tools for everything from stress management to productivity, focus, and spiritual seeking. But amidst this excitement, say Daniel Goleman and Richard Davidson, the facts have been distorted and the signal has been lost in the noise. In Altered Traits, they clarify what we do and don’t know about meditation—as well as what’s been overhyped.

In this guide, we’ll discuss how they define meditation, why it’s proved difficult to study, and what we know about its effects. We’ll also discuss what the research on meditation shows: that meditation alters traits, or produces lasting changes to your brain, behavior, and experience of life. Throughout the guide, we’ll comment on related research and perspectives, and we’ll broaden the authors’ discussion of traditional Buddhism, Buddhist terminology, and Buddhism in the West.

In When Things Fall Apart, Buddhist nun and teacher Pema Chödrön provides guidance on how to find courage and compassion amid pain, loss, and uncertainty. She writes that pain and suffering are inevitable parts of life but that these experiences can also be opportunities for growth and transformation. Drawing on ancient Buddhist wisdom and practices, Chödrön shows us how to cultivate self-awareness and acceptance and face life's challenges with grace and resilience.

In this guide, we explore Chödrön’s views on why we suffer—what causes emotional pain and perpetuates it during challenging times—and outline what you can do to turn these experiences into opportunities for growth and healing. We also compare Chödrön’s teachings to insights from other Buddhist teachers and mental health experts and provide additional context about Buddhism so you can better understand and apply these concepts to real-world challenges.

Do people who turn their backs on religion leave something crucial behind? Atheist philosopher and scientist Sam Harris thinks they do. He argues that those who reject the contemplative aspects of faith traditions are missing out on the contentment that comes from seeking transcendental states of mind, which has historically been the domain of religion.

Harris is known for encouraging skeptics to confront religion. In 2017’s Waking Up, he lays out a reason-based approach to spirituality that’s rooted in what science and meditation teach about the workings of the human mind.

In this guide, we’ll explore Harris’s definition of spirituality, what neuroscience says about the nature of consciousness, and Harris’s argument that while consciousness is real, your sense of self is an illusion. We’ll examine what spiritual enlightenment looks like from a secular worldview, its implications for self-improvement, and what science and theology have to say about consciousness, the soul, and the mind.

Are you often bogged down by negative emotions? Does this keep you from getting what you want from life? In Letting Go, David R. Hawkins explains how to move from feeling stuck to being happy and at peace. He argues that if you release negative emotions and welcome positive emotions, you can improve your mental and physical health, strengthen your relationships, and invite greater success in all areas of life.

In this guide, we’ll look at common ways we avoid dealing with difficult emotions. Then, we’ll explore Hawkins’s strategies for identifying, accepting, and releasing unhelpful emotions and discuss the benefits of this process. Finally, we’ll examine how the energies of different emotions affect our lives. In commentary, we’ll explore alternative perspectives on dealing with emotions from psychology and neuroscience. Additionally, we’ll explore commonalities between Hawkins's ideas and those from various spiritual traditions.