August 5, 2025 • 32 mins
What do catamarans, Christmas rum, stingrays, and soul-snorkeling have to do with meditation? Everything.
In this episode of The Latitude Adjustment, Rusty and Erica invite you to toss out every polished idea you’ve ever had about meditation—and dive headfirst into the sacred mess beneath the surface. From a hilariously humbling holiday boat ride in Belize to practical, down-to-earth tools for daily mindfulness, they explore how meditation isn’t just something you do—it’s something you remember.
You’ll learn:
Why peace often begins with puke and ends in presence
How to start a 5-minute meditation habit without a guru or a Himalayan cave
What "flow state" actually feels like (and how to find it while folding laundry)
Why choosing stillness in a noisy world is the most radical rebellion of all
Plus, the Aging Heroes Challenge of the week, heartfelt banter, and enough tropical metaphors to make your third eye giggle.
🎯 Stillness doesn’t require perfection—just one breath, one moment, one brave little pause.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Picture this. It's Christmas morning.
You're on a catamaran off the coast of Key Cocker, Belize.
The ocean is turquoise, the sun is smug, and you You're still
wearing last night's rum like a Cologne.
You thought this boat ride wouldbe all romance and reef fish.
(00:22):
Instead, your stomach has declared mutiny.
And you become that person, the one feeding fish with your face.
I mean, there's snorkeling and then there's soul snorkeling.
That's what I call it when your entire gastrointestinal system
tries to evacuate through your nostrils while you pray for
(00:44):
divine intervention and Dramamine.
This was the day we learned thatmeditation isn't just something
you do on a yoga mat or in a Himalayan cave.
Sometimes that quiet moment after you've emptied yourself,
literally, and you're lying flaton the deck, staring up at the
(01:10):
sky, completely surrendered. No thoughts, no ego, just sun,
salt and the whisper of you survived You Beautiful disaster.
Welcome to the latitude adjustment.
It's time to stop drifting and start navigating by your own
inner compass. The life you're looking for
isn't out there. It's in motion right now.
(01:31):
Get ready to step off the map with your hosts, Erica and Rusty
Harrison. Welcome back to the latitude
adjustment. I'm rusty.
And I'm Erica, and today we're diving beneath the surface.
This is season 2, everybody. And it's episode #1 meditate.
(01:54):
We're going to show you how peace sometimes starts with puke
and ends with presence. Because here's the thing,
heroes, meditation isn't about sitting cross legged and humming
your way into enlightenment. No.
It's about letting go. It's about noticing.
(02:14):
And sometimes it's about surrendering to the ridiculous
beauty of right now, even if right now, including it was
barfing off a boat in paradise. Something you're familiar with?
Unfortunately, yes. Most people think meditation is
a discipline, A chore, somethingyou should do like flossing or
(02:35):
being civil to your in laws. But it's not.
At its core, meditation is your natural state.
Think back to when you were a kid.
You'd lay in the grass and watchclouds float by.
One of my favorite things, I kidyou not.
You weren't trying to center your breath or channel your
inner monk. You were just there, completely
(02:55):
present and fully alive. So that's meditation, that
moment when you lose your sense of self and just be.
No agenda, no performance, just pure presence.
Our dog Keel is a master meditator.
Little Keel. He will stare at a patch of
sunlight for 45 minutes with 0 guilt.
(03:18):
Dude doesn't even blink. Meanwhile, we're running around
like caffeinated squirrels trying to find peace.
We forget we already have peace.It's just buried under e-mail
notifications, dinner plans and like 47 browser tabs.
Let's go back to that catamaran in Belize on Christmas Day.
(03:40):
Are you sure you want to take everyone back to that day?
You and I were fresh off a star filled Christmas Eve, Long on
rum, high on physical contact and short on moderation.
The boat was beautiful you guys.Big sale, smooth music, bright
(04:02):
sun. It felt like a floating postcard
until it started to sway. And then you, Rusty, started to
sway. Lord, somewhere between Holchem
Marine Reserve and Shark Ray Alley, the sea and I had words.
(04:23):
And by words I mean I projectileconfessed every sin I've ever
committed over the side of the boat.
We're laughing now. We were not laughing then.
Oh, Rusty. And you didn't even get to to
snorkel with the Stingrays that day.
No what you did. I did.
And you came out of the water glowing like a salt water St.
(04:45):
Thanks, baby. That's what I mean.
Underneath all the holiday chaos, the choppy water and your
internal revolution, there was this deep, beautiful stillness,
believe it or not, was right under the surface.
That's the metaphor. Life can be chaotic, swirling
with motion sickness and unmet expectations.
(05:08):
But drop below, oh, the noise, even just a few feet, and
there's stillness waiting for you.
Science backs this up. Meditation doesn't just make you
feel better. It literally changes your brain,
increases Gray matter, shrinks the amygdala which houses that
fight or flight response we talkabout, strengthens the parts
(05:29):
responsible for focus, empathy, and emotional regulation.
In simple terms, it makes you less reactive, more resilient,
and slightly more tolerable whenyour Wi-Fi goes out.
It also lowers your resting heart rate, boosts your immune
system, and it helps you sleep better.
(05:51):
Basically meditation is like a amultivitamin for your soul with
no prescription needed and zero side effects.
Unless you count spontaneous enlightenment, unprovoked
gratitude, or the sudden desire to stop screaming in traffic.
I'll take two. Here's our point, everybody.
(06:12):
Meditation isn't something you do.
It's a way of being. It's a return to your natural
setting, like hitting restore defaults on your inner compass.
And no, you don't have to chant in Sanskrit or wear linen pants
to access it, although I look great in linen pants.
(06:34):
My husband does look great in linen pants.
Let's be be honest, your first attempt at meditation might feel
like my first attempt at surfing.
It was wobbly, weird, possibly involving an ungraceful splash
(06:57):
or 10. That's OK.
Most of us try to meditate with the same mindset as we use when
we check our e-mail. We expect efficiency results.
A Gold Star. But meditation isn't a
performance. It's practice.
Some days you'll feel like a Zenmaster.
(07:17):
Other days you're just going to sit there thinking about nachos
and that thing your cousin said in 1994.
All of those things, all of those states of mind, they still
count. The point isn't to empty your
mind. No, the point is to notice when
your mind wanders and then gently bring it back over and
(07:40):
over. That's the magic, yes.
That's how you build the muscle.Practice.
So let's recap today's meditation mess and magic.
You ready? Sure, number one, meditation
isn't exotic or elitist. It's a return to what's natural,
right? You've already meditated When
you've watched clouds, played music, or got lost in a great
(08:03):
book. Your mind is like the ocean,
wild on the surface, still down below.
And meditation helps you access that stillness, even if your
Christmas includes seasickness and Stingrays.
And if you're worried about doing it right, please don't.
If you can breathe and notice you're halfway there.
(08:26):
Coming up next, in Segment 2, we'll talk about how to make
editation a regular part of yourday without needing a guru, a
cushion, or even an exotic location.
We're giving you practical tools, a permission slip to
start messy, and of course, the Aging Heroes Challenge of the
Week. So grab those flip flops, your
(08:48):
sense of humor, and maybe a ginger to segment 2.
It is where we're going to really dive in.
All right, heroes, welcome back to the latitude adjustment.
(09:09):
When we left off, I had just blown Christmas cheer all over
the Belizean Reef, and Erica wasgliding underwater like a
mystical sea priestess. Dang baby, still one of my
absolute favorite holidays. You surrendered I sword.
Yeah, seems like a predictable pattern, really.
(09:34):
Somewhere between nausea and Nirvana, we both found something
sacred that day. That, my friends.
That's meditation in a nutshell.Today, we're getting into the
how. How to meditate when your life
is loud, when you're not on the beach, When you're at home with
A to do list longer than your patience.
(09:54):
And you don't need incense or enlightenment, you need
consistency. And we're going to show you how
to build that aging hero style. If you're waiting for the
perfect moment to start meditating when your house is
clean, your inbox is empty, yourmood is enlightened, and your
dog is silently contemplating the cosmos, stop that moment.
(10:17):
It isn't coming. It's like waiting for the sea to
be still before you sail. Good luck with that.
Good luck with that. Yes, start where you are, choppy
waters and all. Meditation isn't about silence
on the outside. It's about creating a little
stillness on the inside, even ifthe dishwasher's running, the
neighbors are mowing their lawn again and again, and your brain
(10:40):
is doing the mental version of speed dating.
Meditation. Your practical toolbox.
Let's break it down into 5 tools.
Simple, powerful, no robes required.
Tool number one, the five minutesit.
We want to start small. Sit down, close your eyes, set a
(11:03):
timer for 5 minutes, focus on your breath going in and out.
That's it. When your mind wanders and it
will, just notice it and bring it back.
Think of it like training a puppy.
It runs off, you call it back. It runs off again, you call it
back again. The goal isn't to keep it
(11:23):
perfectly still, it's to keep showing up.
Tool #2 habit piggybacking. Want to make it stick?
Attach your meditation to an existing habit right after you
brush your teeth or before your morning coffee, even after your
nightly ritual of arguing with Netflix about whether to watch
(11:46):
another episode or not. Pair it with something you're
already doing and it becomes automatic, like socks with shoes
or rum with regret. Tool #3 guided help If sitting
in silence feels too weird at first, try a guided meditation
app. They're fantastic.
(12:08):
Insight, Timer, Calm, and Headspace are all great places
to start. Tool #4 the breath anchor.
Use your breath as your anchor. Don't try to control it, just
notice it. Cool air in, warm air out.
That alone brings you into presence.
(12:29):
And when your brain shouts we forgot to buy a cat litter, just
smile and say not now Karen. Then return to the breath.
Tool #5 streaks, not scorecards.Keep track of how many days in a
row you meditate, not how well you did.
There's no grade here. This is not the Meditation
(12:51):
Olympics. Some days will feel like a
spiritual Symphony, others will feel like mental static and butt
cramps. Doesn't matter.
You showed up. That means you win.
OK, let's debunk A myth. There's no such thing as a bad
meditation. If you sit for 5 minutes and
(13:13):
spend four of them thinking about nachos or that weird thing
your uncle said in 1997, guess what?
You still meditated. The mind isn't supposed to go
completely blank, it's supposed to move.
The practice is noticing when itwanders and gently bringing it
back, doing that over and over. That's where the magic is.
(13:36):
Not in the stillness itself, butin the return to stillness.
That's where you build mental muscle and incidentally, where
you stop screaming at people in traffic.
That's right. All right, friends, time for
your official Aging Heroes Challenge.
(13:59):
This one we're calling the Five Day Drift number one.
For the next 5 days. Meditate for 5 minutes a day #2
Choose a consistent time and location.
Just keep it simple #3 Use your breath as your anchor #4 when
(14:19):
distractions pop up and rememberthey will just notice and
return. And #5 At the end of each
session, we want you to write one sentence in your journal on
a scrap piece of paper on a cocktail napkin.
How do I feel now compared to before?
(14:41):
That's it. No incense, no guru, just 5
minutes a day. Let the mind settle, let the
body breathe. Let your spirit get reacquainted
with itself. OK, Rusty, we're going to take
it back to Belize for a minute. Remember that moment you were
finally done feeding the ocean? Gross.
(15:04):
The Dramamine had kicked in. Yes, you were lying on the deck,
your eyes closed, no resistance left at all.
I remember the sun was warm, thesea was soft.
My brain was finally quiet. And your stomach.
Finally empty. My mind wasn't quiet because I
(15:25):
tried to force it, but because Ihad nothing left to hang on to,
I had surrendered. That's what meditation feels
like. Not puke.
It's not dramatic, it's not performance.
It's just being. You drift down through the chaos
and touch the stillness below. OK, let's recap this drift into
(15:50):
daily practice. Let's do it.
Meditation doesn't require perfect silence or perfect
posture. 5 minutes is enough to start.
Anchor your practice to existinghabits.
Use apps if you want support, but whatever you do, just keep
it simple. Track your streaks, not your
performance. And remember, surrender is the
(16:12):
goal process. That's the win and your
challenge, the five day drift. Coming up next, we dive into the
deep waters. Meditation isn't just a habit,
it's a gateway to flow, to presence, and to, and a little
cosmic. We'll explore how meditation
leads to what we call self transcendence, those moments
(16:36):
when you forget yourself and merge with the moment.
The muse, the music, the manatees.
Welcome back, heroes. So far, we've talked about
meditation as a natural state, not a mystical secret.
We've helped you launch a practice that doesn't require
(16:59):
incense, enlightenment, or giving up carbs.
Now it's time to head into deeper water.
This is where things get delicious.
Today we're talking about something called the flow state.
I love the flow state. You've probably felt it before.
It's when you're doing somethingyou love and suddenly forget
(17:23):
what time it is, where you are, or even you know who you are.
It's that feeling you get when you're fully immersed, when your
thinking brain steps aside and lets your being brain take the
wheel. Like the moment you drop into
the groove while dancing, painting, surfing, singing or
slicing mango with unnecessary confidence.
(17:46):
Spoiler alert, meditation is thea gateway drug to this kind of
presence, and once you find yourway into flow, it'll keep
calling you back like a siren inboard shorts offering mojitos.
The term flow comes from psychologist Mahele Chicksent
(18:10):
Mahei. Damn, I'm so glad you said that
instead of me. Let's see if you can go 2 for
two. Mahele chicksent mahei.
Damn. He spent years studying what
makes people feel truly alive. Turns out it's not winning the
lottery. It's losing yourself in a task,
(18:30):
in a moment, in a rhythm. I love that so much.
Losing yourself in flow, your sense of self, temporarily
dissolves. You're not thinking about the
past, you're not worried about the future.
You're not checking your phone or mentally redecorating your
kitchen. You are the thing you're doing.
It's like the opposite of anxiety, Yeah.
(18:52):
Instead of spiraling out, you'respiraling in centered, engaged,
and energized. Yeah, flow.
It isn't just nice, it's necessary.
It helps regulate emotion, improves focus, it enhances
creativity, and it deepens fulfillment and meditation.
It's one of the best ways, like we said, to build those low
(19:15):
muscles. So those psychological studies
were done using Page pagers. Pagers don't exist anymore, I
don't think. Yeah, I remember them though.
But the scientists would randomly page people and then
ask them their level of happiness and joy.
And what they found was that when people were in that flow
(19:36):
state, they were at their happiest.
Oh wow, that's great information.
Let's go back to Christmas morning in Belize.
The good, the bad, and the ugly of it.
I'd survived my oceanic exorcism.
I need that on a T-shirt. I survived my oceanic exorcism.
I'm getting you that for Christmas.
And was laid out on the deck, drained but peaceful.
(19:59):
And you, my sea goddess, were still buzzing from your
underwater communion with the Stingrays.
It was magical. I'll never forget that swim.
Everything disappeared. No time, no self, just water
movement, color. I wasn't in the ocean.
(20:19):
I felt like I was the ocean. That is flow.
Yeah, that's transcendence. And the best part?
You don't have to snorkel with Stingrays or puke in paradise to
get there. Thank God.
You can find Flo while gardening, dancing, writing,
(20:40):
building a sandcastle, playing piano or even folding laundry if
you stop resisting the moment and just enter it.
It starts with presents, with paying attention, with letting
go of your To Do List and yourself judgement and your
obsession with doing things right.
Meditation and flow are spiritual cousins.
(21:01):
They both ask you to stop ripping so hard and start
showing up with softness. When you meditate, you're
training your brain to stay here, right here.
Not in last Tuesday, not in nextweek's work presentation, but
here, in this breath, this sound, this sensation, this
(21:23):
moment. The more you practice presence
on the cushion or in the hammock, the easier it becomes
to access in real life. Suddenly doing the dishes, that
becomes a rhythm. Walking the dog becomes
communion. A simple moment becomes that
portal to peace. Who doesn't want that?
(21:44):
Here's the weird part. A lot of us resist flow not on
purpose, but because we're so used to controlling planning and
mentally narrating every experience that surrender feels
unsafe or uncomfortable. Mm, hmm, yeah, The ego doesn't
like to disappear. It wants to stay in charge.
It wants credit, it wants control and Flow says Nah, we're
(22:07):
good, just take a nap. The irony is, yeah, the more we
grip, the more we lose access toflow.
Ah, meditation teaches us to loosen that grip, to trust the
process. I like that.
To dissolve gently instead of shattering under pressure.
Once in brain science, during flow, the prefrontal cortex, the
(22:31):
part responsible for self-awareness and time
tracking, quietly powers down. That's why time feels weird.
That's why you lose your sense of me.
You're not dissociating, you're immersing.
It's like the difference betweenzoning out and zoning in.
You're so focused the chatter fades away.
(22:51):
This is why artists, athletes and musicians chase this state.
It's addictive in the best way, and it's available to all of us
every single day. Even if your instrument is a
spatula or a sketchpad or a sunset and a folding chair.
Here's something I've come to believe in flow.
(23:13):
You stop being the captain and become the current.
You're not forcing, you're following.
I remember lying on that catamaran deck, finally quiet
and feeling like I wasn't doing life.
I was being lived. Yeah, like something sacred was
flowing through me even though Ihad the taste of pineapple vomit
(23:36):
in my mouth. Nasty love.
I felt free. I'm so glad sometimes your most
profound experiences come when you stop trying to be profound,
when you just let go So. How do you invite more flow into
your life? Step one.
(23:56):
Stop multitasking. Pick one thing.
Do it fully. Whether it's cooking dinner or
writing a sentence or talking toyour grandkid, Be there.
Two, let go of the outcome. Flow doesn't show up when you're
trying to impress someone, it shows up when you're absorbed in
the ACT itself. Step three, practice boredom.
(24:18):
Yep, Turn off the podcast. Put the phone down.
Give your brain a chance to dropinto its deeper rhythm.
Step 4. Meditate even for 5 minutes.
The more you practice stillness,the easier it is to find flow in
movement. And Step 5, make peace with
being messy. Flow isn't about perfection,
(24:39):
it's about immersion. Even if your snorkel mask is
fogged and your limbs are awkward, dive.
Anyway, let's recap what we've floated through so far.
Flow is the state where you forget yourself and become the
moment. It's deeply fulfilling, brain
boosting and naturally available.
(25:00):
Meditation is a training ground for presents, which makes flow
more accessible. You can find flow in anything if
you show up fully. The key is surrender, not
effort. Immersion, not perfection.
And if you find yourself flat ona catamaran after your own
personal purge? If you find yourself there.
(25:23):
Just know you might be 1 breath away from flow, from stillness,
from remembering what it feels like to simply be.
Coming up next, in Segment 4, we'll talk about how to
integrate meditation and flow into your everyday life, not
just as practice, but as a way of being.
(25:53):
All right, Wanderers, you've made it to the final stretch of
today's latitude adjustment. We've been drifting in and out
of breath, presence and a boatload of metaphor.
Now it's time to bring it all back home.
Because meditation isn't something you do, it's something
you become. And that's what this segment's
(26:15):
all about. Living the practice, making
presence your baseline, not justa bonus round when you're calm
and then everything smells like lavender.
Let's sail back to that catamaran just one more time.
It was late in the afternoon. Your stomach had settled.
(26:35):
The sea had to. We were both stretched out under
that crazy, beautiful Belizean sun.
I was somewhere between post vomit Nirvana, yes and a nap.
Right. Yeah, right there.
Eyes have closed. I was just listening to the sail
snap in the wind for the first time in a long time.
(26:59):
I wasn't thinking about anything.
I wasn't doing anything. I was just being.
I remember looking at you, Rusty, and thinking this is what
life feels like when the inner storm calms down.
You weren't trying to impress, you weren't apologizing for
being human. You were just completely
(27:19):
present. And that was the meditation.
We always think meditation has to be hard, but sometimes it
just looks like lying on a boat with nothing left to prove.
All right. Let's be honest, most of us
don't live on catamarans. We live in homes with leaky
faucets, hungry dogs, aging parents and a calendar that
(27:40):
looks like a ransom note. But here's the good news.
Meditation doesn't require escaping.
It's especially powerful when practiced right in the mess.
Yeah, that's where it earns its stripes.
You can meditate, tape while folding laundry, while waiting
in line, while holding your spouse's hand in a hospital
room. You just come back to breath,
(28:03):
Come back to now, come back to you.
Here's what we really want you to hear.
Choosing presence in a world that thrives on distraction is a
radical act. You're not just calming down,
you're reclaiming your mind, your attention, your life.
(28:23):
We live in a culture that says go faster, do more, hustle
harder, scroll forever. Meditation says Nah.
I'm good right here, with this breath, this sunset, with this
life. It's not passive.
It's powerful, a kind of defiance, like refusing to be
rushed, like staring back at chaos and saying not today,
(28:47):
sugar, I'm busy being. That goes on a T-shirt before we
wrap one more image. That Christmas catamaran trip
didn't end with fireworks or fanfare.
It ended with a quiet sail back to shore.
Everyone was silent. Not in a board way.
In a full way. That's true.
(29:09):
We'd seen beauty. We had.
We'd been humbled. Absolutely.
We drifted and danced and dumpedour expectations overboard,
literally and physically. And that's the real secret,
isn't it? Meditation doesn't take you away
from life. It returns you to it fully
authentically with wonder and grace.
(29:31):
All right, Heroes, let's do a quick recap of Segment 4.
Meditation isn't an escape, it'sa return.
You can practice anywhere while cleaning, commuting, eating, or
resting. Presence is a form of rebellion
against chaos and conditioning. Your life doesn't need to be
(29:53):
perfect to be sacred. It already is.
And if nothing else sticks from this episode, let it be this.
Your breath is always with you, always available, always enough.
Come back to it. Let's pull the sail tight and
review where we've been today. Everyone Segment one, the sacred
(30:13):
mess. We learned that meditation is a
natural state, often rediscovered in moments of
surrender, like lying flat on a Belizean catamaran with nothing
left to prove. Segment 2 The Daily Drift We
gave you tools to start a daily practice. 5 minutes, one breath,
1 Anchor, and we issued the Aging Heroes Challenge to
(30:36):
meditate for five days in a row.Segment 3 The flow state We
explored how meditation opens the door to self transcendence.
You know those moments when timevanishes and you merge with what
you're doing? And Segment 4 live the practice.
We wrapped it all up with tools,reminders, and humor to help you
(30:59):
live meditatively, even in traffic, even mid shore, even
when nothing is going right. If this episode hit your heart,
it spoke to you. Share it, text a friend, tag us,
and go follow us on Instagram and Facebook at Aging Heroes.
(31:22):
You can also find our full tribeat www.agingheroes.com.
Next week, we're going off script.
Season 2 Episode 2 is called Find Adventure.
It's not about booking an exotictrip, it's about choosing to
live boldly right where you are.We'll share stories of
(31:44):
unexpected adventure, challenge you to seek the unknown, and
hand you the tools to live with curiosity, courage, and maybe a
little mischief. Spoiler alert, adventure isn't
always in the itinerary. Sometimes it's in the detour,
the delay, the dance you didn't expect to be invited to.
(32:04):
Until next time, heroes stapled,stay curious.
Stay heroic.
Picture this. It's Christmas morning.
You're on a catamaran off the coast of Key Cocker, Belize.
The ocean is turquoise, the sun is smug, and you You're still
wearing last night's rum like a Cologne.
You thought this boat ride wouldbe all romance and reef fish.
(00:22):
Instead, your stomach has declared mutiny.
And you become that person, the one feeding fish with your face.
I mean, there's snorkeling and then there's soul snorkeling.
That's what I call it when your entire gastrointestinal system
tries to evacuate through your nostrils while you pray for
(00:44):
divine intervention and Dramamine.
This was the day we learned thatmeditation isn't just something
you do on a yoga mat or in a Himalayan cave.
Sometimes that quiet moment after you've emptied yourself,
literally, and you're lying flaton the deck, staring up at the
(01:10):
sky, completely surrendered. No thoughts, no ego, just sun,
salt and the whisper of you survived You Beautiful disaster.
Welcome to the latitude adjustment.
It's time to stop drifting and start navigating by your own
inner compass. The life you're looking for
isn't out there. It's in motion right now.
(01:31):
Get ready to step off the map with your hosts, Erica and Rusty
Harrison. Welcome back to the latitude
adjustment. I'm rusty.
And I'm Erica, and today we're diving beneath the surface.
This is season 2, everybody. And it's episode #1 meditate.
(01:54):
We're going to show you how peace sometimes starts with puke
and ends with presence. Because here's the thing,
heroes, meditation isn't about sitting cross legged and humming
your way into enlightenment. No.
It's about letting go. It's about noticing.
(02:14):
And sometimes it's about surrendering to the ridiculous
beauty of right now, even if right now, including it was
barfing off a boat in paradise. Something you're familiar with?
Unfortunately, yes. Most people think meditation is
a discipline, A chore, somethingyou should do like flossing or
(02:35):
being civil to your in laws. But it's not.
At its core, meditation is your natural state.
Think back to when you were a kid.
You'd lay in the grass and watchclouds float by.
One of my favorite things, I kidyou not.
You weren't trying to center your breath or channel your
inner monk. You were just there, completely
(02:55):
present and fully alive. So that's meditation, that
moment when you lose your sense of self and just be.
No agenda, no performance, just pure presence.
Our dog Keel is a master meditator.
Little Keel. He will stare at a patch of
sunlight for 45 minutes with 0 guilt.
(03:18):
Dude doesn't even blink. Meanwhile, we're running around
like caffeinated squirrels trying to find peace.
We forget we already have peace.It's just buried under e-mail
notifications, dinner plans and like 47 browser tabs.
Let's go back to that catamaran in Belize on Christmas Day.
(03:40):
Are you sure you want to take everyone back to that day?
You and I were fresh off a star filled Christmas Eve, Long on
rum, high on physical contact and short on moderation.
The boat was beautiful you guys.Big sale, smooth music, bright
(04:02):
sun. It felt like a floating postcard
until it started to sway. And then you, Rusty, started to
sway. Lord, somewhere between Holchem
Marine Reserve and Shark Ray Alley, the sea and I had words.
(04:23):
And by words I mean I projectileconfessed every sin I've ever
committed over the side of the boat.
We're laughing now. We were not laughing then.
Oh, Rusty. And you didn't even get to to
snorkel with the Stingrays that day.
No what you did. I did.
And you came out of the water glowing like a salt water St.
(04:45):
Thanks, baby. That's what I mean.
Underneath all the holiday chaos, the choppy water and your
internal revolution, there was this deep, beautiful stillness,
believe it or not, was right under the surface.
That's the metaphor. Life can be chaotic, swirling
with motion sickness and unmet expectations.
(05:08):
But drop below, oh, the noise, even just a few feet, and
there's stillness waiting for you.
Science backs this up. Meditation doesn't just make you
feel better. It literally changes your brain,
increases Gray matter, shrinks the amygdala which houses that
fight or flight response we talkabout, strengthens the parts
(05:29):
responsible for focus, empathy, and emotional regulation.
In simple terms, it makes you less reactive, more resilient,
and slightly more tolerable whenyour Wi-Fi goes out.
It also lowers your resting heart rate, boosts your immune
system, and it helps you sleep better.
(05:51):
Basically meditation is like a amultivitamin for your soul with
no prescription needed and zero side effects.
Unless you count spontaneous enlightenment, unprovoked
gratitude, or the sudden desire to stop screaming in traffic.
I'll take two. Here's our point, everybody.
(06:12):
Meditation isn't something you do.
It's a way of being. It's a return to your natural
setting, like hitting restore defaults on your inner compass.
And no, you don't have to chant in Sanskrit or wear linen pants
to access it, although I look great in linen pants.
(06:34):
My husband does look great in linen pants.
Let's be be honest, your first attempt at meditation might feel
like my first attempt at surfing.
It was wobbly, weird, possibly involving an ungraceful splash
(06:57):
or 10. That's OK.
Most of us try to meditate with the same mindset as we use when
we check our e-mail. We expect efficiency results.
A Gold Star. But meditation isn't a
performance. It's practice.
Some days you'll feel like a Zenmaster.
(07:17):
Other days you're just going to sit there thinking about nachos
and that thing your cousin said in 1994.
All of those things, all of those states of mind, they still
count. The point isn't to empty your
mind. No, the point is to notice when
your mind wanders and then gently bring it back over and
(07:40):
over. That's the magic, yes.
That's how you build the muscle.Practice.
So let's recap today's meditation mess and magic.
You ready? Sure, number one, meditation
isn't exotic or elitist. It's a return to what's natural,
right? You've already meditated When
you've watched clouds, played music, or got lost in a great
(08:03):
book. Your mind is like the ocean,
wild on the surface, still down below.
And meditation helps you access that stillness, even if your
Christmas includes seasickness and Stingrays.
And if you're worried about doing it right, please don't.
If you can breathe and notice you're halfway there.
(08:26):
Coming up next, in Segment 2, we'll talk about how to make
editation a regular part of yourday without needing a guru, a
cushion, or even an exotic location.
We're giving you practical tools, a permission slip to
start messy, and of course, the Aging Heroes Challenge of the
Week. So grab those flip flops, your
(08:48):
sense of humor, and maybe a ginger to segment 2.
It is where we're going to really dive in.
All right, heroes, welcome back to the latitude adjustment.
(09:09):
When we left off, I had just blown Christmas cheer all over
the Belizean Reef, and Erica wasgliding underwater like a
mystical sea priestess. Dang baby, still one of my
absolute favorite holidays. You surrendered I sword.
Yeah, seems like a predictable pattern, really.
(09:34):
Somewhere between nausea and Nirvana, we both found something
sacred that day. That, my friends.
That's meditation in a nutshell.Today, we're getting into the
how. How to meditate when your life
is loud, when you're not on the beach, When you're at home with
A to do list longer than your patience.
(09:54):
And you don't need incense or enlightenment, you need
consistency. And we're going to show you how
to build that aging hero style. If you're waiting for the
perfect moment to start meditating when your house is
clean, your inbox is empty, yourmood is enlightened, and your
dog is silently contemplating the cosmos, stop that moment.
(10:17):
It isn't coming. It's like waiting for the sea to
be still before you sail. Good luck with that.
Good luck with that. Yes, start where you are, choppy
waters and all. Meditation isn't about silence
on the outside. It's about creating a little
stillness on the inside, even ifthe dishwasher's running, the
neighbors are mowing their lawn again and again, and your brain
(10:40):
is doing the mental version of speed dating.
Meditation. Your practical toolbox.
Let's break it down into 5 tools.
Simple, powerful, no robes required.
Tool number one, the five minutesit.
We want to start small. Sit down, close your eyes, set a
(11:03):
timer for 5 minutes, focus on your breath going in and out.
That's it. When your mind wanders and it
will, just notice it and bring it back.
Think of it like training a puppy.
It runs off, you call it back. It runs off again, you call it
back again. The goal isn't to keep it
(11:23):
perfectly still, it's to keep showing up.
Tool #2 habit piggybacking. Want to make it stick?
Attach your meditation to an existing habit right after you
brush your teeth or before your morning coffee, even after your
nightly ritual of arguing with Netflix about whether to watch
(11:46):
another episode or not. Pair it with something you're
already doing and it becomes automatic, like socks with shoes
or rum with regret. Tool #3 guided help If sitting
in silence feels too weird at first, try a guided meditation
app. They're fantastic.
(12:08):
Insight, Timer, Calm, and Headspace are all great places
to start. Tool #4 the breath anchor.
Use your breath as your anchor. Don't try to control it, just
notice it. Cool air in, warm air out.
That alone brings you into presence.
(12:29):
And when your brain shouts we forgot to buy a cat litter, just
smile and say not now Karen. Then return to the breath.
Tool #5 streaks, not scorecards.Keep track of how many days in a
row you meditate, not how well you did.
There's no grade here. This is not the Meditation
(12:51):
Olympics. Some days will feel like a
spiritual Symphony, others will feel like mental static and butt
cramps. Doesn't matter.
You showed up. That means you win.
OK, let's debunk A myth. There's no such thing as a bad
meditation. If you sit for 5 minutes and
(13:13):
spend four of them thinking about nachos or that weird thing
your uncle said in 1997, guess what?
You still meditated. The mind isn't supposed to go
completely blank, it's supposed to move.
The practice is noticing when itwanders and gently bringing it
back, doing that over and over. That's where the magic is.
(13:36):
Not in the stillness itself, butin the return to stillness.
That's where you build mental muscle and incidentally, where
you stop screaming at people in traffic.
That's right. All right, friends, time for
your official Aging Heroes Challenge.
(13:59):
This one we're calling the Five Day Drift number one.
For the next 5 days. Meditate for 5 minutes a day #2
Choose a consistent time and location.
Just keep it simple #3 Use your breath as your anchor #4 when
(14:19):
distractions pop up and rememberthey will just notice and
return. And #5 At the end of each
session, we want you to write one sentence in your journal on
a scrap piece of paper on a cocktail napkin.
How do I feel now compared to before?
(14:41):
That's it. No incense, no guru, just 5
minutes a day. Let the mind settle, let the
body breathe. Let your spirit get reacquainted
with itself. OK, Rusty, we're going to take
it back to Belize for a minute. Remember that moment you were
finally done feeding the ocean? Gross.
(15:04):
The Dramamine had kicked in. Yes, you were lying on the deck,
your eyes closed, no resistance left at all.
I remember the sun was warm, thesea was soft.
My brain was finally quiet. And your stomach.
Finally empty. My mind wasn't quiet because I
(15:25):
tried to force it, but because Ihad nothing left to hang on to,
I had surrendered. That's what meditation feels
like. Not puke.
It's not dramatic, it's not performance.
It's just being. You drift down through the chaos
and touch the stillness below. OK, let's recap this drift into
(15:50):
daily practice. Let's do it.
Meditation doesn't require perfect silence or perfect
posture. 5 minutes is enough to start.
Anchor your practice to existinghabits.
Use apps if you want support, but whatever you do, just keep
it simple. Track your streaks, not your
performance. And remember, surrender is the
(16:12):
goal process. That's the win and your
challenge, the five day drift. Coming up next, we dive into the
deep waters. Meditation isn't just a habit,
it's a gateway to flow, to presence, and to, and a little
cosmic. We'll explore how meditation
leads to what we call self transcendence, those moments
(16:36):
when you forget yourself and merge with the moment.
The muse, the music, the manatees.
Welcome back, heroes. So far, we've talked about
meditation as a natural state, not a mystical secret.
We've helped you launch a practice that doesn't require
(16:59):
incense, enlightenment, or giving up carbs.
Now it's time to head into deeper water.
This is where things get delicious.
Today we're talking about something called the flow state.
I love the flow state. You've probably felt it before.
It's when you're doing somethingyou love and suddenly forget
(17:23):
what time it is, where you are, or even you know who you are.
It's that feeling you get when you're fully immersed, when your
thinking brain steps aside and lets your being brain take the
wheel. Like the moment you drop into
the groove while dancing, painting, surfing, singing or
slicing mango with unnecessary confidence.
(17:46):
Spoiler alert, meditation is thea gateway drug to this kind of
presence, and once you find yourway into flow, it'll keep
calling you back like a siren inboard shorts offering mojitos.
The term flow comes from psychologist Mahele Chicksent
(18:10):
Mahei. Damn, I'm so glad you said that
instead of me. Let's see if you can go 2 for
two. Mahele chicksent mahei.
Damn. He spent years studying what
makes people feel truly alive. Turns out it's not winning the
lottery. It's losing yourself in a task,
(18:30):
in a moment, in a rhythm. I love that so much.
Losing yourself in flow, your sense of self, temporarily
dissolves. You're not thinking about the
past, you're not worried about the future.
You're not checking your phone or mentally redecorating your
kitchen. You are the thing you're doing.
It's like the opposite of anxiety, Yeah.
(18:52):
Instead of spiraling out, you'respiraling in centered, engaged,
and energized. Yeah, flow.
It isn't just nice, it's necessary.
It helps regulate emotion, improves focus, it enhances
creativity, and it deepens fulfillment and meditation.
It's one of the best ways, like we said, to build those low
(19:15):
muscles. So those psychological studies
were done using Page pagers. Pagers don't exist anymore, I
don't think. Yeah, I remember them though.
But the scientists would randomly page people and then
ask them their level of happiness and joy.
And what they found was that when people were in that flow
(19:36):
state, they were at their happiest.
Oh wow, that's great information.
Let's go back to Christmas morning in Belize.
The good, the bad, and the ugly of it.
I'd survived my oceanic exorcism.
I need that on a T-shirt. I survived my oceanic exorcism.
I'm getting you that for Christmas.
And was laid out on the deck, drained but peaceful.
(19:59):
And you, my sea goddess, were still buzzing from your
underwater communion with the Stingrays.
It was magical. I'll never forget that swim.
Everything disappeared. No time, no self, just water
movement, color. I wasn't in the ocean.
(20:19):
I felt like I was the ocean. That is flow.
Yeah, that's transcendence. And the best part?
You don't have to snorkel with Stingrays or puke in paradise to
get there. Thank God.
You can find Flo while gardening, dancing, writing,
(20:40):
building a sandcastle, playing piano or even folding laundry if
you stop resisting the moment and just enter it.
It starts with presents, with paying attention, with letting
go of your To Do List and yourself judgement and your
obsession with doing things right.
Meditation and flow are spiritual cousins.
(21:01):
They both ask you to stop ripping so hard and start
showing up with softness. When you meditate, you're
training your brain to stay here, right here.
Not in last Tuesday, not in nextweek's work presentation, but
here, in this breath, this sound, this sensation, this
(21:23):
moment. The more you practice presence
on the cushion or in the hammock, the easier it becomes
to access in real life. Suddenly doing the dishes, that
becomes a rhythm. Walking the dog becomes
communion. A simple moment becomes that
portal to peace. Who doesn't want that?
(21:44):
Here's the weird part. A lot of us resist flow not on
purpose, but because we're so used to controlling planning and
mentally narrating every experience that surrender feels
unsafe or uncomfortable. Mm, hmm, yeah, The ego doesn't
like to disappear. It wants to stay in charge.
It wants credit, it wants control and Flow says Nah, we're
(22:07):
good, just take a nap. The irony is, yeah, the more we
grip, the more we lose access toflow.
Ah, meditation teaches us to loosen that grip, to trust the
process. I like that.
To dissolve gently instead of shattering under pressure.
Once in brain science, during flow, the prefrontal cortex, the
(22:31):
part responsible for self-awareness and time
tracking, quietly powers down. That's why time feels weird.
That's why you lose your sense of me.
You're not dissociating, you're immersing.
It's like the difference betweenzoning out and zoning in.
You're so focused the chatter fades away.
(22:51):
This is why artists, athletes and musicians chase this state.
It's addictive in the best way, and it's available to all of us
every single day. Even if your instrument is a
spatula or a sketchpad or a sunset and a folding chair.
Here's something I've come to believe in flow.
(23:13):
You stop being the captain and become the current.
You're not forcing, you're following.
I remember lying on that catamaran deck, finally quiet
and feeling like I wasn't doing life.
I was being lived. Yeah, like something sacred was
flowing through me even though Ihad the taste of pineapple vomit
(23:36):
in my mouth. Nasty love.
I felt free. I'm so glad sometimes your most
profound experiences come when you stop trying to be profound,
when you just let go So. How do you invite more flow into
your life? Step one.
(23:56):
Stop multitasking. Pick one thing.
Do it fully. Whether it's cooking dinner or
writing a sentence or talking toyour grandkid, Be there.
Two, let go of the outcome. Flow doesn't show up when you're
trying to impress someone, it shows up when you're absorbed in
the ACT itself. Step three, practice boredom.
(24:18):
Yep, Turn off the podcast. Put the phone down.
Give your brain a chance to dropinto its deeper rhythm.
Step 4. Meditate even for 5 minutes.
The more you practice stillness,the easier it is to find flow in
movement. And Step 5, make peace with
being messy. Flow isn't about perfection,
(24:39):
it's about immersion. Even if your snorkel mask is
fogged and your limbs are awkward, dive.
Anyway, let's recap what we've floated through so far.
Flow is the state where you forget yourself and become the
moment. It's deeply fulfilling, brain
boosting and naturally available.
(25:00):
Meditation is a training ground for presents, which makes flow
more accessible. You can find flow in anything if
you show up fully. The key is surrender, not
effort. Immersion, not perfection.
And if you find yourself flat ona catamaran after your own
personal purge? If you find yourself there.
(25:23):
Just know you might be 1 breath away from flow, from stillness,
from remembering what it feels like to simply be.
Coming up next, in Segment 4, we'll talk about how to
integrate meditation and flow into your everyday life, not
just as practice, but as a way of being.
(25:53):
All right, Wanderers, you've made it to the final stretch of
today's latitude adjustment. We've been drifting in and out
of breath, presence and a boatload of metaphor.
Now it's time to bring it all back home.
Because meditation isn't something you do, it's something
you become. And that's what this segment's
(26:15):
all about. Living the practice, making
presence your baseline, not justa bonus round when you're calm
and then everything smells like lavender.
Let's sail back to that catamaran just one more time.
It was late in the afternoon. Your stomach had settled.
(26:35):
The sea had to. We were both stretched out under
that crazy, beautiful Belizean sun.
I was somewhere between post vomit Nirvana, yes and a nap.
Right. Yeah, right there.
Eyes have closed. I was just listening to the sail
snap in the wind for the first time in a long time.
(26:59):
I wasn't thinking about anything.
I wasn't doing anything. I was just being.
I remember looking at you, Rusty, and thinking this is what
life feels like when the inner storm calms down.
You weren't trying to impress, you weren't apologizing for
being human. You were just completely
(27:19):
present. And that was the meditation.
We always think meditation has to be hard, but sometimes it
just looks like lying on a boat with nothing left to prove.
All right. Let's be honest, most of us
don't live on catamarans. We live in homes with leaky
faucets, hungry dogs, aging parents and a calendar that
(27:40):
looks like a ransom note. But here's the good news.
Meditation doesn't require escaping.
It's especially powerful when practiced right in the mess.
Yeah, that's where it earns its stripes.
You can meditate, tape while folding laundry, while waiting
in line, while holding your spouse's hand in a hospital
room. You just come back to breath,
(28:03):
Come back to now, come back to you.
Here's what we really want you to hear.
Choosing presence in a world that thrives on distraction is a
radical act. You're not just calming down,
you're reclaiming your mind, your attention, your life.
(28:23):
We live in a culture that says go faster, do more, hustle
harder, scroll forever. Meditation says Nah.
I'm good right here, with this breath, this sunset, with this
life. It's not passive.
It's powerful, a kind of defiance, like refusing to be
rushed, like staring back at chaos and saying not today,
(28:47):
sugar, I'm busy being. That goes on a T-shirt before we
wrap one more image. That Christmas catamaran trip
didn't end with fireworks or fanfare.
It ended with a quiet sail back to shore.
Everyone was silent. Not in a board way.
In a full way. That's true.
(29:09):
We'd seen beauty. We had.
We'd been humbled. Absolutely.
We drifted and danced and dumpedour expectations overboard,
literally and physically. And that's the real secret,
isn't it? Meditation doesn't take you away
from life. It returns you to it fully
authentically with wonder and grace.
(29:31):
All right, Heroes, let's do a quick recap of Segment 4.
Meditation isn't an escape, it'sa return.
You can practice anywhere while cleaning, commuting, eating, or
resting. Presence is a form of rebellion
against chaos and conditioning. Your life doesn't need to be
(29:53):
perfect to be sacred. It already is.
And if nothing else sticks from this episode, let it be this.
Your breath is always with you, always available, always enough.
Come back to it. Let's pull the sail tight and
review where we've been today. Everyone Segment one, the sacred
(30:13):
mess. We learned that meditation is a
natural state, often rediscovered in moments of
surrender, like lying flat on a Belizean catamaran with nothing
left to prove. Segment 2 The Daily Drift We
gave you tools to start a daily practice. 5 minutes, one breath,
1 Anchor, and we issued the Aging Heroes Challenge to
(30:36):
meditate for five days in a row.Segment 3 The flow state We
explored how meditation opens the door to self transcendence.
You know those moments when timevanishes and you merge with what
you're doing? And Segment 4 live the practice.
We wrapped it all up with tools,reminders, and humor to help you
(30:59):
live meditatively, even in traffic, even mid shore, even
when nothing is going right. If this episode hit your heart,
it spoke to you. Share it, text a friend, tag us,
and go follow us on Instagram and Facebook at Aging Heroes.
(31:22):
You can also find our full tribeat www.agingheroes.com.
Next week, we're going off script.
Season 2 Episode 2 is called Find Adventure.
It's not about booking an exotictrip, it's about choosing to
live boldly right where you are.We'll share stories of
(31:44):
unexpected adventure, challenge you to seek the unknown, and
hand you the tools to live with curiosity, courage, and maybe a
little mischief. Spoiler alert, adventure isn't
always in the itinerary. Sometimes it's in the detour,
the delay, the dance you didn't expect to be invited to.
(32:04):
Until next time, heroes stapled,stay curious.
Stay heroic.
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