Meditation demystified: how even a minute of mindfulness helps keep you in the moment and make you mellow
Good Morning America’s Dan Harris says meditation has given him control of his emotions and helps him think on his feet; he is on a mission to help people learn it and find happiness, calm, patience, gratitude, and compassion
Dan Harris is the co-anchor of US broadcaster ABC’s Nightline and the weekend editions of Good Morning America. His first book, 10% Happier, was a No. 1 New York Times bestseller. He later launched the 10% Happier podcast and an app called 10% Happier to help people learn meditation.
His new book, Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics: A 10% Happier How-to Book, co-authored with meditation teacher Jeff Warren, addresses common roadblocks to starting a meditation practice.
You famously had a panic attack on live TV. This incident led you to delve into meditation as a way to manage your anxiety. In person, you always give off a sense of calm – even though you are very busy. How has your life changed thanks to meditation?
“I would say the biggest difference for me is not being so owned by my emotions. I still experience plenty of difficult emotions – most notably for me is anger. But it’s like you have an inner meteorologist who can see the storm before it makes landfall. You’re less likely to be carried away by it.
“That makes a huge difference. [Neuroscientist and prominent atheist] Sam Harris talks about the ‘half-life’ of anger: the amount of damage you can do in an hour of anger vs. 2 minutes is an incredible reduction in so many ways. I’m definitely of the view that meditation is not a miracle cure (thus the “10%” idea).