Amos Lee, Reaching Out Through Music
Musician Amos Lee discusses his struggles with generalized anxiety disorder and how meditation, exercise, and therapy help him manage it. He views his music as a service, connecting with listeners through shared experiences of suffering and grief, as explored in his new album, "My New Moon."
Deep Dive Analysis
14 Topic Outline
Introduction to Amos Lee and Mental Health Struggles
Listener Question: Recovering from Panic Attacks
Dan Harris's Approach to Managing Chronic Anxiety
Listener Question: Deepening Meditation Practice and Retreats
Choosing and Approaching Meditation Retreats
Amos Lee's Early Meditation for Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Managing Chronic Anxiety: Acceptance and Practical Tools
Balancing Meditation, Creativity, and Mental Health
Perspective on Substance Use in the Music Industry
Music as a Service and Cultivating Empathy
Inspirations for the Album 'My New Moon': Personal Loss and Connection
Live Performance: 'Hang On, Hang On'
The Enlivening Power of Confronting Mortality
Album Details: 'My New Moon' and Its Themes
5 Key Concepts
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
A chronic condition characterized by persistent and excessive worry and anxiety about various things. Amos Lee explains he's had it since he was a kid and views it as something to manage rather than cure.
Beta Blockers
A class of non-narcotic medications that block the physiological symptoms of a panic attack, such as a racing heart rate, without causing drowsiness. Dan Harris describes them as a 'silver bullet' for performance anxiety and public speaking.
Witnessing Thoughts
A mental technique where one observes negative or anxious thoughts without actively fighting or demolishing them, recognizing them as transient thoughts that will pass. Amos Lee learned this as a practical tool for managing anxiety.
Music as a Service
Amos Lee's philosophy of approaching his musical career not just as performance, but as a way to connect with and comfort people, especially those suffering, by being present and valuing their experience, similar to a service in a restaurant or religious context.
Connoisseur of Neuroses
A concept from Ram Dass, suggesting that meditation doesn't eliminate one's psychological difficulties but rather provides increased insight and understanding into them, allowing one to become more aware of their mental patterns.
7 Questions Answered
In Dan Harris's experience, panic attacks and anxiety are more like chronic conditions that can be significantly mitigated and managed, rather than completely cured.
It's an individual decision, but an incremental approach is recommended to avoid unsustainability and potential feelings of failure. Consulting a meditation teacher can also be very useful.
While any duration is better than none, a 7 to 10-day retreat is often recommended because the initial days (up to day 4 or 5) are typically spent suffering through mental chatter before deeper experiences can occur.
Dan Harris highly recommends Spirit Rock (north of San Francisco) and the Insight Meditation Society (in Barre, Massachusetts), stating you 'cannot go wrong at those places'.
Yes, Amos Lee found that meditation, along with other tools, helped him manage his chronic anxiety by providing practical means to change thought processes and accept that the condition is manageable.
This is a concern for some creatives like Amos Lee, who worries about losing his 'devils' that fuel his writing. However, some meditation teachers suggest that increased insight into one's mind through meditation could lead to even better creative output.
The title reflects a cycle of renewal and confronting the ending of things, exploring how utter darkness might also be a form of renewal, and is based on a song written for a friend's grieving mother.
20 Actionable Insights
1. Manage Chronic Anxiety
Accept that conditions like anxiety may be chronic rather than curable, and focus on mitigating them through various strategies to make life much easier.
2. Thoroughbred Horse Protocol
Treat yourself like a thoroughbred horse by prioritizing sufficient sleep, maintaining a careful diet, engaging in aggressive exercise, practicing meditation, and considering medication if recommended by a doctor. This holistic approach helps manage difficult conditions like panic and anxiety.
3. Accept Anxiety as Manageable
Rather than trying to cure anxiety, accept it as a chronic and manageable condition, understanding that this acceptance can be a significant mindset shift and help you identify what is happening when symptoms arise.
4. Witness Thoughts, Affirm Resilience
When negative thoughts or worries arise, practice witnessing them without actively engaging, recognizing them as just thoughts, and affirm to yourself that “this will pass” and “I can handle it” to manage anxiety in the moment.
5. Reframe Work as Service
Approach your work, especially in performance or creative fields, with a mindset of service to others, focusing on the audience’s experience and needs to overcome self-doubt and enhance your performance.
6. Cultivate Empathy Through Perspective
Actively try to “live in someone else’s skin” by understanding their experiences and hardships with compassion and love, which helps break down barriers and fosters deeper connection.
7. Gain Perspective from Suffering
Reflect on personal experiences of suffering or those observed in others to gain perspective, which can inspire strength and help re-engage your sense of service when facing your own challenges or self-doubt.
8. Practice Walking Meditation
Engage in walking meditation by observing your surroundings while moving, as this practice helps you stay active and clear your mind simultaneously.
9. Confront Mortality for Aliveness
Regularly reflect on your mortality not as a morbid exercise, but as an enlivening practice that helps you appreciate life more fully and avoid taking things for granted.
10. Focus on Present Life Impact
Shift focus from unknown afterlives to the immediate positive impact you have on others in the present, recognizing the abundance available to share and the opportunity to make each other’s lives better here and now.
11. Consider Beta-Blockers for Performance
If experiencing performance-related anxiety or panic attacks, consult a doctor about beta-blockers, which are non-narcotic medications that can block physiological symptoms like a racing heart rate without causing drowsiness.
12. Incremental Meditation Increase
When looking to increase your daily meditation dosage, adopt an incremental approach to avoid becoming overly ambitious, which could lead to unsustainability, feelings of failure, and abandoning the practice altogether.
13. Attend a Meditation Retreat
Despite the inconvenience and potential dread, attending a meditation retreat is highly recommended at any stage of practice, as it can lead to the biggest leaps in understanding and the most profound experiences.
14. Aim for 7-10 Day Retreats
While shorter retreats are better than none, consider aiming for a 7 to 10-day meditation retreat, as profound experiences often begin around day four or five once mental chatter significantly reduces.
15. Recommended Retreat Centers
For those looking for a meditation retreat, consider Spirit Rock (north of San Francisco) or the Insight Meditation Society (Barre, Massachusetts), as both are highly recommended for their phenomenal teachers and reliable experiences.
16. Consult a Meditation Teacher
If you have questions about your meditation practice, such as how long to sit daily, talk to a meditation teacher after a class or in an individual relationship for useful guidance and discussion.
17. Identify Suffering, Know You’re Not Alone
Take steps to identify what is happening when you suffer, and crucially, understand that you are not alone in your struggles, as this realization can be a significant source of comfort and help.
18. Utilize Music for Healing
Employ music as a powerful tool to connect with others, offer comfort during times of suffering or grief, and facilitate healing, whether through singing to a loved one or performing for an audience.
19. Diabetic Female Heart Symptoms
Be aware that if a diabetic female is experiencing significant stomach issues, it could be a symptom of a heart problem, as atypical symptoms can occur in this demographic.
20. Support Music for the Sick
Consider supporting or engaging with organizations like Musicians on Call, which brings live music to hospital bedsides, or Melodic Caring Project, which streams concerts to quarantined children, to provide comfort and connection through music.
5 Key Quotes
I don't have a sense that there's a cure for this stuff. I think you can really get at the root causes and make a bunch of life hacks to make it – to make your life much easier. But you're – these, to me, they seem like chronic conditions that you can mitigate to a great extent.
Dan Harris
If I exercise my devils, my angels may leave too. And when they leave, they're so hard to find.
Amos Lee
Meditation does not annihilate your neuroses. It makes you a connoisseur of your neuroses.
Dan Harris
My thing is I don't, I don't, well, it's not my thing. It's all of our thing. I don't, I don't like when people feel alone in their suffering.
Amos Lee
Being in touch with your mortality is not morbid in the pejorative. It's enlivening. It's what makes you not take stuff for granted.
Dan Harris
2 Protocols
Dan Harris's Protocol for Managing Panic and Anxiety
Dan Harris- Keep an eye on getting enough sleep.
- Be pretty careful about diet.
- Be very aggressive about exercise.
- Practice meditation.
- Consider medication, specifically non-narcotic beta blockers, for physiological symptoms during performance or anticipated panic attacks.
Amos Lee's 'Attacking Anxiety' Program Principles
Amos Lee- Identify what is happening to you.
- Recognize you are not alone in your suffering.
- Use practical means to change your thought process, such as replacing negative thoughts.
- Practice witnessing thoughts, being an observer rather than an active demolisher.
- Affirm statements like 'I know this will pass,' 'I can handle it,' and 'I'm going to be okay.'