I talked to Matt McCormick, a highly informed adjunct professor from Wright State, on the benefits of meditation in the nervous and, sometimes, volatile society in which we live. I first became aware of the basics of meditation after taking a Non-Western Religions class, but that was almost three years ago. I'm not sure what exactly sparked my interest as of late, but here we are.

I'm an anxious person, as you will soon learn if you're not already aware, so it's no wonder meditation is a concept I've toyed with. Talking with Matt, though mostly a one-sided conversation, is always an interesting experience. The vast knowledge this man has about anything and everything is insane. About a month ago, I interviewed him on ayahuasca, which contains the "spirit molecule" of DMT, so some of that conversation comes up in this talk, as well. I hope our conversation benefits you as much as it did me.

B: How often do you meditate?

M: I’ll say, depending on my schedule, maybe three to five times a week. Now, that’s when I meditate at home. I teach classes here, and the reason I don’t put those in that category is because I’m teaching. I’m often thinking about the other people. It’s kind of hard to get into the meditation. With that said, I can slip into it, but it’s not as structured.

B: Right. Now, how would you define it? I’m sure there’s a short version and a long version, but give me the Matt version.

M: Meditation is a shift of your attention. Most of our attention is external, you know, watch out for the car, etc. All these exams to study for. Whereas with the meditation, you reverse that and it becomes an internal focus.

B: In our last interview, you brought up the idea of ‘conscious awareness.’ Is that something you look to achieve while meditating?

M: Interesting question. I think what happens is, whatever kind of meditation you’re using, people can look at you and they don’t know whether you’re doing it or not. It’s internal. But, indeed, if you use the technique that’s being suggested, things begin to happen. Your mind slows down and you actually become aware of what’s going on inside your own head, which most people do not. Sometimes people lie down at night and they have racing thoughts. They’re aware and they’re trying to go to sleep but they can’t because of what their minds are doing. Their minds race throughout the day, but now they’re aware of it. Do this make sense to you?

B: Yeah.

M: So, there are some estimates, you know, but who counts these things, I don’t know, but we have up to sixty-thousand thoughts in a day.

B: Wow.

M: I’ve read as many as three to five-thousand, but some say sixty-thousand. Whatever number you choose, that’s a lot of thinking. And it has an energy to itself and if you’re thinking all of the time, it wears you out. A lot of people are tired. It’s not physical, but rather a mental fatigue. Way too many things on their mind. So, when you meditate, you can actually see these things. You can literally visualize your own thoughts. When you start to see them, you can objectify those thoughts and you can say, those thoughts are not me. I mean, you’re sitting there looking at me and you know that you’re not me, because I'm over here; you're not. Same thing with your thoughts. Most people wouldn’t even consider this unless they attempt meditation and see their brain patterns. They have an independent life of their own, so you can choose to ignore or embrace them. With that being said, the mind gets in such a habit and it’s the most difficult thing you’ll ever do because it’s very etheric. Smoking, not eating – those are in the physical world, but this is not; it’s in the mental world. You can let the thoughts go or entertain them; the choice is yours.

B: I’m a nervous guy, as you know.

M: Mhmm.

B: The fact that I’m always on my computer for school work and writing certainly hasn’t helped. I need time away, but I have a tough time finding that time. I think the main reason why I want to start meditating is because of that. Plus, my back is pretty fucked up.

M: Really? What’s wrong with your back?

B: I worked at Job & Family Services, constantly reviewing old child support case files while hunched over at a desk. I’m also not a confident guy, so the hunch comes natural. I’ve heard that meditating can aid people in the physical sense, as well. So, what do you think about using meditation for anxiety and stress?

M: It’s the best thing you can do. Here’s something that I find interesting: doctors say go take a walk or run through the woods. And you know what? Those all work. They do, but they only take away the stress for the moment. If you don’t change your mental patterns, they’re coming back. I used to teach aerobics, and people would say this is fun or I feel amazing, which is all well and good, but the mental patterns have not changed. Some came into class, looking terrible, then snap, they feel wonderful, because they’re back into their body. Again, only for the moment. Whereas with yoga, you not only get a physical work out, but it changes your brain waves, as well.

People go for a two-week vacation, right. Unplug. Get away from it all. And it works! It does work. But they’re coming back to Dayton, what are they doing for the other fifty-some weeks? You have to learn how to disassociate and unplug from that, and it’s hard. I still watch my mental patterns, and I think, it’s still there! I was talking to Carmine, another yoga instructor, about this the other day, and it’s like the choice between a devil and an angel. You weigh it, and you say eh, I’ll go with the devil again. I’ll laugh. I’ll act, almost, hysterical, when I choose something that’s not good for me, but it’s the pull that attracts me to it. It’s very, very difficult.

On a side bar, here, when I went to Peru, the ceremonies I attended have heightened my awareness to that behavior, all my mental activities. Even as I’m sitting here now, it’s like I’m watching them. And that’s what meditation can do for you. It’s gives you the ability to become the observer of all this. We think we have these mental patterns that give us discomfort, but that’s us. Well, it is and it isn’t. It’s happening to the body and we feel like we have no control, so that’s why people take drugs or eat too much or go to the doctor for some relief. You can do it yourself. You can. It’s a discipline, you know? It takes some time. Now Carmine, when he first started – that man can meditate for eight hours.

B: Jesus.

M: When he first started, he had a clock right there, and he’s sitting there and he’s like god, I’ve only been sitting here five minutes! So, this guy, who now meditates for eight hours straight, found it terribly hard to do when he started. It’s just like anything; to be good at something, you gotta keep doing it. So, just start doing it a certain amount of time, and you can feel it start to grow. It’s like a muscle. A mental muscle.

B: Some people think it’s just sleeping.

M: Well, they would be wrong, haha. They would definitely be wrong. It’s funny, I was teaching yoga one time and a kid comes up to me and says, can I come into your class? I like when they’re sleeping. I said we’re not sleeping; we're lying down. And I got it. When Carmine teaches his yoga classes, he does not let them lie down. It brings on the sleep response. Lying down, eyes closed, your body will easily fall asleep. I tell my class, we’re going to lie down, but we’re not sleeping; you slept last night. The eyelids are closed but the eyes are open behind them. No longer is your awareness externalized. And you know there are different ways of meditating and for different reasons. It builds up strengths and abilities in certain ways. So, there’s different levels of meditation. What most have in common is that they’re no longer concerned about the external. Internal awareness.

B: I took Carmine’s Non-Western Religions class and, at the end of the semester, we did this meditation ceremony thing in downtown Dayton. So, that kind of got me interested in doing it. I tried to do it after that and I found myself easily distracted.

M: Yes, you were. And you’re easily distracted as we’re sitting here, too.

B: Yeah, I’m reading, here.

M: So, what you’re explaining here is oh, I’m easily distracted! Well, good! Notice that. Most people don’t. They’re just walking through life and they become more and more distracted. There’s no focus. No awareness of their distractedness.

B: My phone goes off and I think, did my dad die? Did my dog get cancer? All these bad things go through my mind and I can't go three minutes without finding out what happened. A lot of anxiety, I guess. And, of course, the messages are never as important as I think they are in my head.

M: Haha, I’m not laughing at you. This is how humans are, though. You’re in a big long line.

B: Yeah, I figured. What advice would you give to me and other people who have a hard time meditating?

M: Start small. Five minutes. A really easy one is to just count your breaths. Go to some place that’s quiet, where you won’t be disturbed, free of clutter. Do you know how to sit?

B: Not really. Spine straight?

M: Spine straight. Tuck your chin in so the back of your neck is long, here. And you don’t have to sit on the floor. That’s just an enculturation. Where it came from, you know? Don’t slouch. Because when you do this, it takes a certain level of awareness. Left hand in your right, cupped. Sit. Watch your breath. Count them, one to ten. In-breath, exhale one. With the in-breath, there’s time to think about other things. So, say the word and. Now you’re focusing on the counting and the word and. With that being said, you’re probably not going to make it to ten. You’ll be distracted. So, when you begin, put it in your head I may lose focus. And once you do, and notice you lose focus, bring yourself back and try again. You may even fall asleep. Some people fall over. Generally, find a good time. You know, it’s different for different people. It’s suggested that you do it early morning. My mind is really active in the morning. Five minutes, try for three times a day. But if you can only do it once, start there. Commit to it. It’s unbelievable how much your mind slows down the more conscious you are of your breathing. It opens up these channels where your breath is now very connected.

If your chest moves while breathing instead of your stomach, your lungs should barely need to move because you aren’t doing anything aerobic. There’s something called embryonic breathing, meaning it feels like you’re breathing through all the cells in your body. It feels so effortless, like the air is coming in and out of the pours of your body. When that happens, there’s an unbelievable calming effect. Clarity. And it’s so peaceful. So you get up from your meditation. The world looks a little different, clearer almost. Colors are more vibrant. Then you pick up your phone Oh, the dog’s dead! Ahhh! See, the world’s crazy. And of course, it’s hard for us not to be a part of the whole thing. First thing you gotta realize is that the world is, in fact, nuts. Secondly, that there is a way out. And the way out is through meditation.

So, I just read my notes this morning from my trip to Peru. There’s a lot more going on than what meets the eye. It’s hard for me to talk to too many people about it, because what we know is this world. And we get pretty good at it. You know, we get a 401K, pay all of our bills, the food tastes good. Going to Peru just shook me up. They just came out, and you've probably heard, that there aren’t billions of galaxies. There are two-trillion galaxies that we now see. A ray of light would take one-hundred thousand years to make it across the Milky Way galaxy. And that’s just ours. Doesn’t that make you think that there’s something else going on? Or that there’s a lot to know that we aren't aware of? Then when I have these experiences and think about what I deem important, I think get over yourself. It chips away at the ego. In this society, it’s all about me. Everything is filtered through particular lenses. But these disciplines - ayahuasca, meditation, whatever - really move you away from that.