Matthew Lepold in New York City is doing 365 Days of Zen Meditation...
He explains, "My goal with this project is to meditate a minimum of one 25-minute period every day for a year. The focus and discipline of it is to pay attention to how I am doing; am I serious enough to do it daily? After each session is complete I log it in a spreadsheet and make any necessary notes."
Why did you decide to do this project? I began practicing Buddhism in 2009 and I see this as an opportunity to deepen my practice. I meditate regularly but find it too easy to skip days here and there.
How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I am trying to understand myself on a deep level and use Zazen meditation as a tool for self-transformation. For me, meditation creates a larger space within which I can more deliberately choose my response to challenging circumstances. It takes longer for me to get angry and I don’t react as much to adversity. I only started to track this project a few days ago, and already it’s been interesting to observe myself try to justify skipping a day.
photo: Noah Scalin
He explains, "My goal with this project is to meditate a minimum of one 25-minute period every day for a year. The focus and discipline of it is to pay attention to how I am doing; am I serious enough to do it daily? After each session is complete I log it in a spreadsheet and make any necessary notes."
Why did you decide to do this project? I began practicing Buddhism in 2009 and I see this as an opportunity to deepen my practice. I meditate regularly but find it too easy to skip days here and there.
How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I am trying to understand myself on a deep level and use Zazen meditation as a tool for self-transformation. For me, meditation creates a larger space within which I can more deliberately choose my response to challenging circumstances. It takes longer for me to get angry and I don’t react as much to adversity. I only started to track this project a few days ago, and already it’s been interesting to observe myself try to justify skipping a day.
photo: Noah Scalin
