Meditation saved my life - "You are not your thoughts"

Before meditation, I was never present. I was always in the future or the past—rehashing old conversations with exes, hoping things would change, or spiraling in hypotheticals. I let emotions run my mind. I let my mind run my life, there's nothing religious about it - Italian mothers would have something else to say about that...

I started meditating after a breakup. About 10 years ago now. I was watching Russell Simmons on Super Soul Sunday, “If you start meditating, you’ll be happier, more productive, more present. Thoughtful. Successful.” That, and The Untethered Sou (everyone needs to read this book) cracked me open. Made me realize: I am not my thoughts. - what so many high performers preach daily.

I moved in with a friend after that breakup. Talk about the student surpassing the teacher... He wasn’t meditating—but the seed was planted.

The first moment I knew it worked: I was talking to a girl I’d met at the club. Mid-convo, I stopped myself. I was about to start justifying myself, selling myself. All the usual, non-confident, validate myself type of patterns...And I caught it. Shifted in real time. Watched it from above. That’s presence. That was the first spark. - yet i was still trying to find peace in someone else.

The Big Lie About Meditation

People say, “I can’t stop thinking.”

Here’s the truth: you’re not supposed to.

Meditation isn’t about clearing your mind. It’s about becoming aware of it.

We have over 6,000 thoughts per day (Queen’s University, 2020). You’re not stopping that. Nor are many of them good, for most of us. Some, this type of thinking, abundance - come easy to some...

You breathe. You notice. You let go.

That’s it.

It’s Not Woo Woo. It’s Mental Reps.

People think it’s all robes and rituals. Can it be spiritual, yes...But meditation at its core isn’t religious, and it isn’t spiritual in the cliché sense.

You can be Catholic and meditate. Jewish. Muslim. Atheist.

It’s not about belief. It’s about awareness.

Just like you train your body at the gym, you train your mind by watching it, not becoming it. It's the secret weapon the matrix doesn't want you to tap into. - You might actually start believing you can break free from the 9-5.

The Science Hits Hard

A Harvard study found that just 20 minutes of meditation a day—twice a day—for eight weeks could:

• Improve memory and focus

• Reduce stress

• Literally increase the size of your hippocampus (brain’s learning center)

Another placebo-controlled study showed that even when participants didn’t believe in meditation, it still helped.

The results don’t care about your opinion. They just show up when you do.

What It Feels Like Now

• I don’t explode at every intrusive thought.

• I don’t chase closure I’ll never get.

• I notice the pattern… and let it pass.

It’s not perfect. But I’m not as easily moved. I can sit still. Not just physically—but mentally.

And when I need to act, I act. Not from panic. From clarity.

That’s the difference. And anyone can get it.

Meditation didn’t save me. It just introduced me to me.

That was enough.