What is meditation? This is a question that's been asked thousands of times. And for good reason. From breathing to transcendental to zazen, there are a mind-boggling amount of meditations types out there. For the newcomer, this can not only be confusing, but probably leaves you wondering, “What possibly could all these meditation styles have in common?”

Failure sucks. 

It’s painful, embarrassing and can make you feel worthless. 

We all want to feel good about ourselves, but when we fail, self doubt creeps in. It’s no wonder that most dudes avoid failure at all costs. 

But you shouldn’t. 

Hate seems to be everywhere. 

Angry rants infuse news stories. 

Rageful comments fill your social media feeds. 

And shouts of f-bombs and “asshole” are common in debates among your acquaintances. 

You may think, “What has the world come to?”

When did people become so hateful, biased and brainwashed? To the point they can’t tell the difference between truth and lies… 

We live in an age of gurus.

Online influencers, self-righteous celebrities and political know-it-alls, many of whom have fiery opinions.

​If you disagree with them, they’ll demonize you, take cheap shots and use name calling to discredit you. Where did all this hate come from? And why are people so swayed by it?

Attempting anything new takes a leap of faith.

A jump into the unknown.

​Learning a new skill can bring up some pretty scary, uncomfortable feelings. So how can you cope?

Jim did it again.

He drank all the coffee and didn’t brew a new pot.

So typical…

You scoop a few grounds into the filter, and return to your desk un-caffeinated and edgy to the sound of Sarah tapping her foot on the floor—like a woodpecker who just found a fresh Pine tree. You want to tear out your hair.

“Why can’t my coworkers be normal?!”

Cursing under your breath, you don some headphones and try to focus. But you’re fuming. Is there another way? How can you deal with colleagues who are rude, annoying and just don’t get it?

​There is a solution. And it starts before you even step foot in the office.

You’re in a rut.

Maybe you were dumped by your dream girl. Fired from your job. Or fail again and again at your personal, career or life goals.

Nothing seems to go your way. As losses piles on in a never-ending cycle of misery…

You ask yourself, “Why even wake up in the morning?”

When you’re in a slump, life can seem hopeless. You may be so buried in self doubt, depression or despair that you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel.

​But what if there was a step-by-step process to dig yourself out?

“Did you live under the kitchen table?”

This is what people ask when I tell them I lived in a dining room for a year.

It’s understandable.

Such a scenario is, well, obviously uncommon.

Likely more uncommon is that I consciously chose the dining room out of 3 other damn good, or at least normal, living choices.

In other words, I had options.

​“But why on earth would someone purposefully live in a dining room?” you say.

It’s happening again. 

You’re following your breath in meditation. Breathe in. Breathe out. 

You think you’re doing it right. Your mind seems to clear. But, you can’t ignore one teeny, tiny issue…
 
Your eyes are heavy. 
 
And while you seem to be on breath nine, you’re not so sure. Maybe you’re on breath eight? 
 
It’s getting hard to focus and your head nods downward. 
 
Your neck snaps back up. 
 
Now, you’re fighting to stay awake. 
 
You don’t want to blow your meditation session. You were doing so good! 
 
But you just can’t win. 
 
You give into the zzzzzz’s and fall asleep in meditation. 
 
Dammit. 
 
There goes another lost session. You’re frustrated. Realizing you’ll likely never gain the calm, clarity and peace of meditation if you can’t stay awake. Maybe you should just give up? ​

You get anxious sometimes. 

Your mind bounces from idea to idea, and sometimes it seems like you can’t turn it off. 

​You desperately want to find a way to calm yourself. And while all your friends and the media rave about meditation, you’re not sure if it’s your thing. What meditation alternatives are there? ​