<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Today's episode of</span> <em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Qualys</span></em> <span style="font-weight: 400;">is from podcast</span> <a href="https://peterattiamd.com/samharris/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">#34 – Sam Harris, Ph.D.: The transformative power of mindfulness</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Qualys</span></em> <span style="font-weight: 400;">is a subscriber-exclusive podcast, released Tuesday through Friday, and published exclusively on our private, subscriber-only podcast feed.</span> <em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Qualys</span></em> <span style="font-weight: 400;">is short-hand for "qualifying round," which are typically the fastest laps driven in a race car</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">—</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">done before the race to determine starting position on the grid for race day.</span> <em><span style="font-weight: 400;">T</span></em><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">he Qualys</span></em> <span style="font-weight: 400;">are short (i.e., "fast"), typically less than ten minutes, and highlight the best questions, topics, and tactics discussed on</span> <em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Drive</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Occasionally, we will also release an episode on the main podcast feed for non-subscribers, which is what you are listening to now.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Learn more:</span> <a href="https://peterattiamd.com/podcast/qualys/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://peterattiamd.com/podcast/qualys/</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Subscribe to receive access to all episodes of</span> <em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Qualys</span></em> <span style="font-weight: 400;">(and other exclusive subscriber-only content):</span> <a href="https://peterattiamd.com/subscribe/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://peterattiamd.com/subscribe/</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Connect with Peter on</span> <a href="http://facebook.com/PeterAttiaMD%5dFacebook"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Facebook.com/PeterAttiaMD</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">|</span> <a href="http://twitter.com/PeterAttiaMD%5dTwitter"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Twitter.com/PeterAttiaMD</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">|</span> <a href="http://instagram.com/PeterAttiaMD%5dInstagram"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Instagram.com/PeterAttiaMD</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></p>
Actionable Insights
1. Practice Vipassana (Insight) Meditation
Engage in Vipassana, or insight meditation, which is considered a fundamental practice to break free from distraction by thought and perceive everything without a conceptual lens.
2. Apply Mindfulness Universally
Integrate mindfulness into all aspects of your life, as it can be practiced during any experience, such as working out or watching a movie, without exclusion.
3. Practice Choiceless Awareness
Cultivate choiceless awareness in mindfulness meditation by simply noticing whatever arises—sounds, sensations, moods, and thoughts—without the filter of constant thinking.
4. Start Mindfulness, Then Expand
Begin mindfulness practice by focusing on a single object, such as the breath, and then gradually expand this awareness to encompass the full range of your daily experience.
5. Meditate to Overcome Thought
Engage in meditation to move from being lost in thought to being clearly aware of the object of meditation, as thought is the primary obstacle to overcome.
6. Recognize Thought as Obstacle
Understand that being lost in thought is the primary obstacle in meditation, as our default mode involves constantly telling ourselves a story without awareness.
7. Cultivate Positive Attitudes
Use specific positive states of mind like loving-kindness (metta), sympathetic joy, compassion, or equanimity as objects of meditation to intensely inhabit and cultivate these attitudes.
8. Practice Concentration Meditation
In concentration-based meditation, focus intensely on one object (e.g., a mantra) to absorb your attention and reduce the arising of thoughts, which can lead to positive states of mind.
9. Use Meditation Apps
To deepen your meditation practice, utilize readily available meditation apps, as many of them are effective tools for guidance.
10. Find Resonant Meditation Teacher
When using meditation apps or seeking guidance, find a teacher whose explanation style resonates with you, as individual preferences vary; examples include Jeff Warren and Joseph Goldstein.