Debug Your Meditation: Transform Your Practice from a Chore to “I Want More!”

I used to find meditation a chore.

It was something I “should” do because it was “good for me.”

Now, meditation is the best part of my day. What changed?

First, the backstory:

  • I devoted 10 years of my life to understanding how the human mind works as a neuroscientist PhD.
  • Despite publishing papers that have been cited thousands of times by other scientists, I knew that what I sought for was spiritual in nature–science alone didn’t provide the answer.
  • Hence, I immersed myself in studying from world-renowned Buddhist teachers, and used my scientific training to understand how meditative practices can influence the human mind and lead to lasting happiness.
  • In the beginning, I forced myself to meditate, and went through periods of intense sitting followed by periods of neglect. I also didn’t feel like I was “getting anywhere.”
  • After many years of practice and study, I’ve synthesized the most helpful Buddhist teachings for transforming meditation into a joyous practice, so that it can become a sustainable life habit for you.

Learn more here:

https://christinchong.gumroad.com/l/debug/CHRISTINCHONGCOM

Acknowledgements

  • Yuhong for her love and helping me think of the lily pads
  • Forrest and Ryan for sitting there staring at the lake and listening to me go on and on about the book, and helping with coming up with namings
  • Wren for showing me the simplicity of being here and now
  • Gil Fronsdal, Diana Clark, Kodo Conlin, Ajahn Brahm, Tan Nisabho, Ajahn Kovilo, all the teachers who were cited in the book
  • All those who believed in the book before it existed: Art Lapinsch, Jakub Chalupa, Ekaterina Govorkova, Andrea J Sigler, Chris Wong, Michelle A Priest, Buster Benson, Anthony Polanco, Daniel Vassallo, Louie Bacaj, Ahmet Ege Karman, Fei-Ling Tseng, Gaik Ping Ooi, DJ Carey, Susan Lee, Nine, Julie Alexander, R Hattori, Ash Frazier, Mullakna
  • Maymie Chan and Chris Wong especially for early and ample feedback
  • Sunday Crew (Fei-Ling, Lyssa, Maymie Chan, Melissa) for providing kind feedback on the first drafts
  • Visakan Veerasamy for showing me how to meet my threshold guardian
  • Anthony Polanco for being my spiritual brother
  • Corey Wilks and Karaminder Ghuman for helping me with intentional life design
  • Sashin for endless fun dhamma discussions
  • David Perell, Will Mannon, Michael Dean, Rebecca Olsen, and the Write of Passage community
  • Daniel Vassallo and the Small Bets community
  • Working Out Loud Group (Ayush, Julian, Roscoe, Chris Wong) for accountability and keeping me going
  • Simone Silverstein for teaching me to write snappily
  • Salman Ansari for showing me the importance of fables
  • Journal Zendo friends: Ken Rice, Laila Faisal, Christine Gray, Leo Ariel, Janine Leona Schleicher, Sashin Ranasingle, Bud L, Vicki Tan, Ivy, Alex Salinsky, Andy Hsu, Ethan Reeder, Sandra, Matthew Villwock, Vishal, Jamie Blackrose, Soma Mandal, Michael Dean
  • Huge gratitude to Jon Bell for endless motivation and providing me a timely invite to Midjourney
  • Rickshaw crew for being there from the beginning
  • Joojo Ocran for showing me the importance of storytelling
  • Christine Kwong for catalyzing this whole path
  • Chris Seeger for providing a fantastic interfaith perspective
  • Louis Alley for endless conversations about nothing and everything, and Adobe products
  • So many others! Any omissions were unintended