Coffee & Wafels with Michael Taft, Author & Meditation teacher
Once a week Rip van Wafels invites an inspirational member of our local community to share their story with us. They talk, we listen, we ask lots of questions - and we all enjoy great coffee & a delicious wafel together. These sessions provide us with valuable insights into how successful people take mindful breaks every day to better function at their jobs, and at life as a whole.
Michael's Story
As a child, Michael suffered from anxiety and had a fundamental realization: that the problem was in his mind. In those days, there was very little information available on meditation, but he taught himself the basics. The relief was palpable, and he was hooked, continuing to meditate in university.
After university he taught English in Japan for a few years, doing martial arts and meditation. He also spent a lot of time in India, going on pilgrimage and practicing meditation. He also did a lot of reading on neuroscience and got involved in the publishing world - where he became both an author and an editor.
Michael Taft now contributes to Huffington Post on articles related to meditation, mindfulness & neuroscience, is the editor-in-chief at Being Human and has his own blog, Deconstructing Yourself.
Challenges & Successes
One of the greatest challenges of meditation - and perhaps learning anything new, is the realization that the learning never ends. The more you learn about something, the more you realize you don't know about it. This realization can be daunting, but also exciting.
In terms of successes, Michael's extensive travels allowed him to gain a more integrative perspective on the subject of meditation - and this probably helped him to become a well-known author on the topic in America.
Future Plans
Michael's future plans involve writing another book - about meditation, and teaching a lot more, especially worldwide.
What we learnt
The essence of meditation is to get out of default mode network - which is essentially when we are 'daydreaming' or caught up in mind wandering. Our minds automatically go into default network mode 50 percent of the time. This might temporarily feel good, but actually studies have proven that getting caught up in daydreaming leads to negative moods. Meditation allows one to have sensory clarity - allowing the mind to focus on the senses, and be more present. The more one practices doing this, the easier it becomes - and the better reality feels!