5 Meditation TED Talks

These five meditation TED Talks will help you understand what meditation is all about on a deeper level. Whether you are a curious beginner or already a convert these five meditation TED Talks will teach you something.

These five meditation TED Talks will help you understand what meditation is all about on a deeper level. Whether you are a curious beginner or already a convert these five meditation TED Talks will teach you something.

If you’re a bit of a nerd like me you will be very familiar, and also probably obsessed with TED talks. If you’re not but you’re curious welcome to a grand new way to learn about new topics, hear people’s stories and discover innovative ideas.

What are TED talks?

TED (technology, entertainment, design) talks were initially conceived by
Richard Saul Wurman in 1984. The idea is to share ideas, talents, and stories on any topic within an 18-minute time-frame. TED talk conferences have been held annually since 1990 around the world.

Videos from the conference are broadcast online with transcriptions in multiple languages to cater to people all around the world. You can also set up an account on the TED website for free to save all your favorite videos or keep a list of videos you want to watch.

Why learn about meditation?

Meditation has a wide range of benefits from reducing stress to slowing your brains aging process. However, perhaps the best benefit of all is how it opens your mind to new ideas and a new perspective on life.

Learning more about life and meditation from other meditators will help you discover new ideas to assist with your journey and deepen your practice faster than figuring them all out on your own. After all, knowledge is power!

Finding the time to watch them all

If you’re thinking, “I really want to watch these and I know they are each under 20-minutes long but when am I going to find the time to watch them all?” I have a trick for you.

I burned myself out after university and took a hiatus from actively learning. Non-fiction and Netflix were my favorite pastimes. After about 6 months I started to get bored and my thirst for knowledge grew but I had no desire to go back to formal studies.

This is when I discovered the wonderful world of online-learning and audiobooks. As I do when I dive head-first into self-development mode I set myself a bunch of goals of little things I had to do each day. These activities included gratitude journaling, yoga, meditation and listening to one TED talk a day.

Setting goals and making daily to-do lists helped me to achieve keep track of my self-development goals, achieve them and feel better about myself in the process. If you’re looking for help achieving your goals check out fellow blogger Nadalie from ItsAllYouBoo.com. She specializes in teaching people the skills to achieve your goals. Watch her Goal Slayer Masterclass and download your free Habit Tracker Template to help you get through all these meditation TED Talks.

Meditation TED Talks to help you deepen your practice

1. The art of stillness by Pico Iyer

Pico Iyer, author of The Art of Stillness, discusses the benefits of bringing stillness into our chaotic lives and how we can find more moments of stillness in our days.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed in life and not sure how to overcome this then this is the meditation TED talk for you.

“In an age of acceleration, nothing can be more exhilarating than going slow. And in an age of distraction, nothing is so luxurious as paying attention. And in an age of constant movement, nothing is so urgent as sitting still.” – Pico Iyer

2. All it Takes is 10 Mindful Minutes by Andy Puddicombe

Mindfulness expert Andy Puddicombe describes how by simply taking 10 minutes a day to do nothing but just be can be a powerfully transformative experience. Mindfulness practices refresh the mind and teach us how to fully experience the now.

Related: 5 Meditation Podcasts for Busy People

“The mind, our most valuable and precious resource, through which we experience every single moment of our life. ” – Andy Puddicombe

3. A Simple Way To Break a Bad Habit by Judson Brewer

Psychiatrist Judson Brewer is an expert on addiction. His specialty is researching how to use mindfulness techniques to overcome additions and cravings of all kinds from drugs to overeating.

In this TED Talk Judson discusses habit formation and how simple mindfulness tactics can help us to beat our unwanted urges.

“So back to my breath. What if instead of fighting our brains, or trying to force ourselves to pay attention, we instead tapped into this natural, reward-based learning process … but added a twist? What if instead we just got really curious about what was happening in our momentary experience?” – Judson Brewer

Related: How to shop intentionally

4. Expanding Your Circle of Compassion by Robert Thurman

Who better to learn about the art of meditation from an ordained Tibetan Monk? Robert Thurman is a scholar, an author, promoter of peace and the first American to be ordained by the Dalai Lama himself.

This meditation TED Talk is all about compassion and why it is important that we have compassion for our enemies. Robert talks to us through a seven-step meditation that will help us to find compassion for those outside our inner circle.

“The Dalai Lama often states that compassion is his best friend. It helps him when he is overwhelmed with grief and despair. Compassion helps him turn away from the feeling of his suffering as the most absolute, most terrible suffering anyone has ever had and broadens his awareness of the sufferings of others, even of the perpetrators of his misery and the whole mass of beings. In fact, suffering is so huge and enormous, his own becomes less and less monumental. And he begins to move beyond his self-concern into the broader concern for others. And this immediately cheers him up, as his courage is stimulated to rise to the occasion.” – Robert Thurman

5. Reaching Your Fullest Potential Through Meditation by Jenn Fairbank

Jenn takes you through a short seated meditation to help you become more self-aware, relaxed and emotionally intelligent. Jenn then goes on to explain the scientifically proven benefits of meditating in a clear manner.

This is meditation TED Talk is good for beginners who want to learn how to meditate and why they should start. Jenn is a very calm and collected speaker; you will certainly feel calmer after watching this video

“By practicing meditation you can become fully empowered and reach your fullest potential where the sky is the limit.” – Jenn Fairbank

Related: 10 Inspirational TED Talks About Building Confidence