Part 3: The Art of Doing Nothing

Naval Ravikant’s X thread below touches on meditation in its simplest form…. you do absolutely nothing. No journaling, no  thinking, no planning — just sitting. I strongly encourage you to read the thread.  For someone who’s always in motion, I found this concept uncomfortable… and powerful.  Three years ago, I found this thread and I review it monthly. It’s sinking in….slowly.  I am totally a work in progress on this idea, but I like it.  I thought if I share, maybe I will make more time to do nothing. 

A few quick bullet points:

— Doing Nothing Is the Practice: Sometimes the best clarity comes when I stop and sit. In the mornings when I’m up before sunrise, five quiet minutes do more for me than any checklist ever could.

— Let Thoughts Pass: On a hike not long ago, my mind was racing at the start. By halfway up, the noise just… drifted. Thoughts came and went with each step. No chasing. No fighting.

— Consistency Beats Skill: Show up long enough for the mind to unwind.  This one is my weakest area.  Consistency in letting go

 Meditation isn’t about achieving anything — it’s about letting everything fall away. Sometimes doing nothing is exactly what we need.

 

 

The Fantastic Life Rule #7:
Stay Out of the Gap
Meditation is the daily reminder to stop living between where you are and where you think you should be. When you sit still and let the mind settle, the gap closes. No chasing. No judging. Just presence. 

 

Meditation – The Art of Doing Nothing:

Meditation is your birthright. It’s your natural state. It requires no one, needs no thing, and has no technique.

If something requires a guru, a mantra, or a teaching, it isn’t universal, and it won’t free you.

We say that we want peace of mind but what we really want is peace from mind.
 

“No technique of the mind will free you from the mind.”

All chases, whether flow, drugs, beauty, thrills, orgasm, or devotion, are attempts to escape from the mind. Meditation is the direct path.

In an age of mental gluttony, meditation is fasting for the mind.

Before paying a therapist to listen to you, listen to yourself.

Before clearing your inbox, clear your mind.

Just as the sky rains when the clouds are heavy, and the body sleeps when the limbs are tired, meditation arrives when the mind is calm.

Prepare for meditation by sitting quietly in the morning, with eyes closed and back upright, in any comfortable position that will minimize movement.

Sixty minutes are easier than thirty, as it takes time for the mind to settle down.

Sixty consecutive days are needed, just as it takes time for the body to go from unfit to fit.

Realize that at this moment, you are the only person in the world and there is no one to instruct you, praise you, or judge you.
 

Make no effort for or against anything.

Whatever happens, happens.

Surrender to yourself in the moment.

Resist nothing and reject nothing, including the urge to resist and reject.

Meditation is not going through thoughts but rather letting thoughts go through you.

The thought “I am meditating” is also a thought.
 

Meditation isn’t holy or spiritual or magical. It’s literally nothing.
 

No focus, no mantra, no dharma, no chakras, no Buddhas, no gurus, no gratitude, no scripture, no temple, no music, no gadgets, no apps are required.

Some may be helpful, but eventually all will have to be left behind. Start simply, because that’s where this all ends.
 

There are many meditation methods, but “no effort” is the universal method. Every creature at all times can choose to do nothing.
 

There’s no need to get up to record a thought. If the idea was good, it’ll come back. If it doesn’t come back, it wasn’t that good.
 

Meditation is a single player game. There is no point in comparing to other meditators or to even your own previous meditations.
 

If meditation was easy, you’d do nothing else.
 

The point of meditation is not to become “a meditator” – in reality, there’s no such thing. If it doesn’t bring lasting and effortless change, drop it, before it becomes another struggle and another chase.
 

There is nothing to say and nothing on offer. No one is taking you anywhere, selling you anything, or making you promises. Reading or talking about meditation will do nothing for you.
 

You cannot fail at meditation.
 

Ignore all advice on meditation, including this thread. “Meditation is good for nothing. That’s why you do it.” 
 

The closer you get to the truth, the more silent you become inside.
 

The ability to be content and at peace, by yourself, is freedom.