ager with Trip Advisor based in Cambridge,
Massachusetts, is a perfect illustration of this.
“Meditation has brought a lot of positive
benefits into my life, including more calm,
better balance, better communication, a more
balanced and wholesome diet and lifestyle.”
At the recommendation of a friend, she began
using the Calm app a few months ago. She uses
Calm along with the 10% Happier app, as she
says they offer different and complimentary
programs.
The 10% Happier content themes and the
conversational approach of creator and author
Dan Harris, however, is the underlying reason
Rebecca has stuck with her practice. “The apps
help to apply meditation practice to aspects of
my day-to-day life such as work, eating, com-
munication. When I started to feel positive ef-
fects in these areas, that felt productive. It shed
light on how powerful they are. I like that 10%
Happier and Calm both encourage meditation
on the go -- in the car, while walking, et cetera.
I like that you don’t have to be sitting on a
cushion, because that is not always most desir-
able or enjoyable for me.”
Unplug, “the world’s first drop-in, secular
meditation studio,” was a pioneer in mak-
ing edits to the practice in order to keep it
current and accessible for all. The app was
a passion project for its CEO/Founder Suze
Yalof-Schwartz. “My goal is that folks will use
our app to turn their homes into a meditation
studio.” With two meditation studios in LA
(Brentwood and the corner of Melrose Avenue
and La Cienega Boulevard in West Hollywood)
and the debut of app’s unplug 2.0 version, Ms.
Yalof-Schwartz suggests that customization is
what it’s all about.
“Here’s the thing, if meditation came in a
pill form everyone would be addicted because it
works for every single person who commits to
doing it regularly. But, we each consume it in
our own individual way. With over 400 videos
our users have the choice to either stay with
some of the more classic mediations (such a
gratitude), or for example, to smell their way to
happiness using essential oil meditations.”Subscribe to Results
David, a vascular surgeon in Carlisle, Pennsyl-
vania, has used both the Headspace and Breethe
apps. In a prior chapter of life, he relied on
setting a timer for practice. This approach had
mixed results. Yet with Breethe he found he
was able to “get to that daily frequency” that
had previously eluded him.
“When I switched from my prior (sporadic)
meditation practice to a daily practice with
Breethe, I was going through some extremely
stressful family situations to the point where I
was barely holding things together. Following
a daily practice, I was able to cope better withthe same difficult situations.”
New York City-based Paige is the Creative
Director for a brand of fine jewelry. She likes to
mix up her practice by meditating at least four
to five times a week using a the unplug app and
her own personal practice. She says she got her
“feet wet” on Headspace. Paige was able to
absorb some of the techniques learned through
that tool to then thread them into a personal
practice. She’s a fan of Ms. Yalof-Schwartz and
the way in which she was able to bring medita-
tion into the mainstream through both unplug
the meditation studio and unplug the app.
“Unplug in LA is my first stop whenever I
am on the West Coast. When I learned about
the app, it was a natural step to subscribe. I love
that you are able to browse by teacher, topic or
time, and I can access content on my phone or
iPad at any time. The myriad choices allow you
to customize the type of meditation that you are
looking for at that moment.” Paige also uses
the unplug app’s teen meditations with her ten-
year-old son at the finish of the day.
It seems we’ve collectively travelled some dis-
tance from the meditation cushion. With these
cultural edits, skeptics naturally express concern
that our devices have made the practice all
too convenient. Are we swerving too far from
meditation’s original roots? Ms. Goldberg of-
fers, “I feel strongly that if you keep your head
in the sand and you don’t use the tools that are
available, then you miss out on the potential
to connect and change the world. I see these
new routes as an incredible platform to make
a difference in an exciting way that I otherwise
would never have been able to accomplish by
traveling around leading individual classes.”
We’re a culture of people ever-seeking that
one magic fix. But settling the mind is no easy
task. As with encountering anything that is
difficult, we never run out of ways to make
progress. “We might have all kinds of ideas of
how we want to be. We think, “Now I’m on a
spiritual path, and I know better, and I think
I’ve got it figured out.”
“Be careful of that thought,” cautioned
Mr. Baraz through my earbuds as I sauntered
along on my afternoon walk listening to free
meditation content, compliments of the website
Dharma Seed. His reasoning felt on point and
well worth heeding. Maybe the true solution in
our quest to source compassion for self (and for
all) is ever-unfolding. It is a spacious blend of
the old and the new, in forests and in cities, both
seated and mobile, with socks on or socks off.Boston-based photographer and poet Susan Currie
teaches creative workshops throughout the country
which explore mindfulness. Her new book GRACE-
NOTES, a relaxed fusion of words and images,
was released in December by Shanti Arts:
susancurriecreative.comRESOURCES
FOR MEDITATION
REFERENCES AND RESEARCH
Lab/Shul: labshul.org
National Center for Complementary and
Integrative Health: nccih.nih.gov
Dharma Seed: dharmaseed.org
Spirit Rock: spiritrock.org
FEATURED MEDITATION APPS
10% Happier: 10percenthappier.com
Breethe: breethe.com
Calm: calm.com
unplug: unplugmeditation.com
Yogaglo: yogaglo.com
ADDITIONAL MEDITATION APPS
Brightmind: brightmind.com
Headspace: headspace.com
INSCAPE: inscape.life
Insight Timer: insighttimer.com
MNDFL: video.mndflmeditation.com
Yogaglo: yogaglo.com/meditation