I love to be surprised,
and it happens less and less when you get to be an adult.
We are living in a world of everything available all the time,
and we are blessed that when we want something,
we can usually open our Amazon app and simply buy it.
My mom used to always say, anticipation was one of life’s hidden treasures.
She was right… and it is a rarer and rarer gift these days… in the time of right now…
Anyway, long intro - SORRY!…
A few weeks ago, while meeting with a long lost friend, whose become a dear new friend, a mentor and an inspiration… Joe Mechlinsky - he gave me a gift.
It’s called “MUSE”.
If you are one of those people who likes to meditate, or tries to meditate, or wants to meditate… read on.
So, I’ve been trying to meditate for years now, on and off. I’ve read much about it, and tried it. I’ve downloaded the apps. I seem to go in spurts. I do it for awhile, and then less so.
A BIG part of my problem is that I don’t know what the heck I’m doing. I don’t know if I’m doing it right. I don’t know if it’s working or not…
So… I take my new gift home and open it up.
MUSE is an electronic sensor headband that ties to an app that tells you REAL TIME the activity in your brain. All of a sudden you are able not just to figure out how “effective” your meditation practice was, but moment by moment it tells you through the increased rain or waves or wind - the increased activity in your brain.
Safe to say….
It’s AWESOME…
I initially thought to myself, “oh no, not another device”. But, it’s a device that makes great sense and adds great value.
Additionally, the app tells you how many seconds you have of
ACTIVE brain
NEUTRAL brain, and
CALM brain…
First time out - my first 15 minutes - I had 3 SECONDS of calm brain in 15 MINUTES and NO BIRDS!
3 SECONDS of calm!
Oh - and the “BIRDS”… when you achieve a certain level of calm for several seconds then you hear a bird… and you can measure your “success” if you will (at least if you are a competitive num nut like myself) in number of birds you heard (which the app quantifies).
For the past several weeks, I sat down and put on my electronic headband and acted out my best zen mind… and day after day ZERO birds…
“I don’t feel stressed” I thought to myself. Maybe because I don’t know what stress is… But, I did feel unsettled.
Day after day I tried, and day after day the birds stayed quiet…
The past two days the birds have been singing… yesterday I heard 17 birds and today I heard 26… that is the second highest number of birds I’ve ever recorded and the highest on dry land ;-) (my highest was one day a month ago when I meditated in my hot tub… crazy results 55 birds…).
Anyway, MUSE is so very awesome. It helps rational, engineering minded Zen seekers, like myself to be able to tap into the universal spirit…. and still quantify the results to measure efficacy and progress ;-)
It is a special gift… when you get a gift that gives you the ability to get better at life… the ability to more effectively measure and clear your mind…
It was a beautiful surprise and I expect it will be a surprise gift that keeps on giving…
Meditation is not for everyone…
it’s for everyone that is trying for a more open mind, a more open heart, and an ever more spiritual ride…
I recommend MUSE to any and all…
It’s interesting… we can tell ourselves whatever we want about the state of our peace and joy… the state of our calm. But, our brains don’t lie. Whether it’s “stress” or simply “noise'“… We don’t function the same. We don’t feel the same. We can’t connect the same… when our brains have a constant state of background noise…
Kind of like trying to enjoy a great movie with the loud sound of static in your ears… or on the soundtrack… it’s agitating, distracting, frustrating… and so often we get used to the noise and the static as part of the movie’s soundtrack.
Meditation is the practice to turn down the static … so that we can fully enjoy the show of life…
and, MUSE helps…
NOTE: I receive no residuals nor am incented in any way to promote this product… ;-)
in calmer harmony,
Nestor