Dear Fellow Seekers of Sanity,

Welcome to the inaugural edition of "SoulScience"! I'm Zach, your guide on this journey through the wild and wonderful world of meditation. If you're wondering how a chronically anxious overthinker ended up writing a newsletter about finding inner peace, well, join the club. I'm still pinching myself!

Who am I?

I'm just an ordinary person who, 1600 days ago, decided to sit still for five minutes without losing my mind. Spoiler alert: I lost my mind many times, but I kept sitting anyway. Now, after four years of daily meditation, I've become something of an accidental Zen(ish) amateur minus the flowing robes and serene smile – I still can't find matching socks most mornings.

By day, I'm a freelance recruiter, but by night and early morning, and lunch breaks, I'm a meditation enthusiast who recently decided to go back to school for psychology at the ripe young age of 35. Because why not add student loans to my midlife crisis, right?

Why this newsletter?

Two years ago, I shared my meditation journey on Reddit. Yes, Reddit. I told you I was Zen(ish). To my surprise, people actually wanted to hear more. Turns out, there are a lot of us out there looking for ways to quiet our minds without having to move to a mountaintop or give up Netflix.

The response was overwhelming, touching, and slightly terrifying. But it made me realize something important: we're all in this together. We're all trying to navigate this crazy world, deal with our thoughts, and find a little peace along the way.

So, I decided to start this newsletter to share what I've learned, what I'm still figuring out, and hopefully, to create a community where we can all support each other on this journey.

What to expect?

Over the next 20 weeks, we're going on a whirlwind tour of meditation practices from around the world and across time. We'll explore everything from ancient Buddhist techniques to modern mindfulness apps, from Christian contemplative prayer to Sufi whirling. (Don't worry, I won't ask you to spin in your living room... unless you want to.)

Each week, we'll dive deep into one meditation technique. I'll break it down, give you practical tips on how to try it, and share my own experiences including the awkward and embarrassing ones, because let's face it, those are the most relatable.

Here's a sneak peek at the techniques we'll be exploring:

1. Mindfulness Meditation (Buddhism)

2. Lectio Divina (Christianity)

3. Transcendental Meditation

4. Vipassana (Insight Meditation)

5. Loving-Kindness Meditation (Metta)

6. Zazen (Zen Buddhism)

7. Qigong Meditation (Taoism)

8. Kundalini Meditation (Yoga)

9. Chakra Meditation

10. Sufi Heart Meditation

11. Jewish Hitbodedut (Personal Prayer)

12. Taoist Emptiness Meditation

13. Mantra Meditation

14. Body Scan Meditation

15. Walking Meditation

16. Trataka (Candle Gazing)

17. Stoic Meditation

18. Dzogchen (Tibetan Buddhism)

19. Hermetic Meditation

20. Rosicrucianism Meditation

Don't worry if some (or all) of these sound like tongue twisters. We'll be breaking each one down into bite-sized, beginner-friendly pieces. And remember, the goal isn't to become an expert in all of these – it's to find what resonates with you.

What do I hope to achieve?

First and foremost, I want to demystify meditation. It's not about achieving enlightenment or levitating off your cushion. Though if you manage either, please let me know. It's about developing a kinder relationship with your own mind.

Through this newsletter, I hope to:

1. Provide practical, down-to-earth guidance on different meditation techniques.

2. Share personal experiences and insights because sometimes it helps to know you're not the only one whose mind wanders to your grocery list during meditation.

3. Create a community where we can share our struggles, victories, and questions about meditation and mindfulness.

4. Inject a little humor into the often too-serious world of spirituality. Because if we can't laugh at ourselves, what's the point?

5. Encourage you to find your own path. What works for me might not work for you, and that's okay. This journey is all about self-discovery.

A personal note

I want to be clear: I'm not a certified meditation teacher or a mental health professional (yet – ask me again in a few years when I finish these psychology courses). I'm just someone who's been meditating consistently for a while and has found it incredibly helpful.

Meditation has changed my life in ways I never expected. It's helped me face my anxieties, understand my thought patterns, and find moments of peace even in the chaos of daily life. But it's not a magic cure-all. There are still days when my mind races, when I struggle to sit still, when I wonder if I'm doing it "right."

And that's okay. That's part of the journey.

What I've learned is that the real magic of meditation isn't in achieving some perfect state of bliss. It's in showing up, day after day, and gradually developing a new relationship with your own mind.

As we embark on this 20-week journey together, I invite you to approach it with an open mind and a sense of curiosity. Try out the techniques that interest you, adapt them to fit your life, and don't be too hard on yourself if it doesn't always go smoothly. Trust me, if I can stick with it despite once falling asleep and drooling on my meditation cushion, you can too.

Remember, every moment of mindfulness is a tiny victory. Even if you only manage a few mindful breaths in a day, that's something to celebrate.

I'm excited to share this journey with you, to learn from your experiences, and to grow together as a community. So settle in, take a deep breath, and let's begin this adventure into the vast and varied world of meditation.

Until next week, may your mind be calm, your heart be open, and your Netflix queue be ever-full (for those moments when meditation just isn't happening).

Mindfully yours, Zach

P.S. In our next newsletter, we'll be diving into Mindfulness Meditation. Get ready to become intimately acquainted with your breath – it's about to become your new best friend!