Jaimal Yogis, A Surfer's Quest for Zen
Jaimal Yogis, a longtime surfer and meditation teacher, discusses the profound intersection of Buddhism and surfing, drawing insights from his memoirs "Saltwater Buddha" and "All Our Waves Are Water." He shares his personal journey, the meditative qualities of water, and practical approaches to integrating mindfulness into a busy life.
Deep Dive Analysis
13 Topic Outline
Jaimal Yogis' Early Life and Introduction to Meditation
Running Away, Surfing, and Discovering Zen
Experience in a Zen Monastery and Return to the World
The Core Connection Between Meditation and Surfing
How Surfing Cultivates Presence and Soft Focus
The Neuroscience of Water and Its Rejuvenating Effects
Integrating Surfing and Play into a Busy Life
Exploring Different Meditation Practices and Cross-Training
Dan Harris's Personal Meditation Practice
The Concept of 'Widening the Bowl' and Noticing Thoughts
The Importance of Human Connection in Practice
Friendship with a Tibetan Monk and the 'Very Sad, No Problem' Mantra
Healing Trauma and Restructuring Memories Through Dialogue
7 Key Concepts
Non-Duality Schools
These meditation schools, like Zen and Advaita Vedanta, propose that at a fundamental level, all reality is interconnected, much like waves are to the ocean. This understanding helps in seeing oneself and emotions as part of a larger, unified existence rather than separate entities.
Oceanic Nature of Self
This metaphor suggests that humans are more like waves on the ocean than individual rocks, implying a deep, fundamental connection between all beings. When self-obsessive stories cease, one can feel more of this interconnected, 'oceanic' self.
Soft Focus
This describes a state of brain stimulation experienced when looking at water, where the mind is entertained and engaged without the usual prefrontal cortex activity associated with planning or obsessing. It allows for a relaxed yet stimulated state of mind.
Flow State (Play)
A state of complete immersion and engagement in an activity, often experienced by children during play. In this state, individuals are fully present, not caught up in planning or past/future thoughts, and can access a natural form of mindfulness.
Meditative Cross-Training
The practice of incorporating a diversity of meditation types into one's routine, rather than sticking to a single method. Different practices are seen as 'tools for the mind,' each offering unique qualities and benefits, similar to how an athlete uses various exercises to train.
Widening the Bowl
A perspective on meditation that emphasizes being okay with all thoughts and emotions that arise, rather than trying to achieve a 'blank mind.' It's about not identifying so closely with thoughts and creating more space to observe them without judgment.
Very Sad, No Problem
A koan or mantra learned from a Tibetan monk, signifying the ability to fully embrace and feel sadness or other difficult emotions without aversion or struggle. It represents holding both sadness and a sense of peace or acceptance simultaneously, rather than fighting against the emotion.
8 Questions Answered
Jaimal was exposed to meditation as a child through his parents' exploration of yoga and meditation in the 70s. He rediscovered it at 16 after running away to Maui, picking up a Thich Nhat Hanh book and making a connection between struggling with ocean waves and struggling with thoughts.
The connection lies in the metaphor that we are all like waves on an ocean, fundamentally connected. Surfing helps embody this non-dual concept by immersing one in the dynamic, present-moment experience of the ocean, which mirrors the transient nature of thoughts and emotions.
Surfing forces one into the present moment because cell phones are absent and the ocean is dynamic, requiring immediate attention. It fosters a 'spherical thinking' or 'soft focus' that reduces the planning and obsessing mind, creating a meditative space similar to sitting meditation.
Water is rejuvenating because our bodies are largely composed of water (brain 80%, blood 98% genetically identical to seawater), and we develop in amniotic fluid similar to seawater. Being in water can feel like a return to our origins, offering a shortcut to primal, pre-identity states of mind.
Living across the street from the beach in San Francisco, Jaimal employs 'surgical strike missions' where he surfs for short periods, typically four or five times a week, often after dropping kids off at school or when he needs a creative boost.
Meditative cross-training involves learning and applying different types of meditation practices (e.g., Vipassana, Zen, compassion meditation) to address various mental states or life phases. It's beneficial because different practices are like different tools, each suited to specific 'diseases of mind and story' and allowing for a more comprehensive approach to well-being.
One way is to notice and name the emotion, which creates a small but significant distance from it, preventing over-identification (e.g., 'I am angry' versus 'there is anger'). Additionally, engaging in human connection and dialogue about these feelings can help restructure and heal the associated memories.
Human connection, especially with fellow practitioners, is crucial because it provides a space for dialogue and reflection on the mind, offering catharsis and the realization that others share similar struggles. This shared experience and support can help unhook from suffering and restructure difficult memories in a positive way.
16 Actionable Insights
1. Embrace Emotions as Passing Waves
When encountering difficult thoughts or emotions like sadness or fear, instead of pushing them away, embrace and feel them as transient waves that are part of your fundamental nature, allowing them to pass rather than fighting against them.
2. Reintroduce Play into Practice
Integrate a sense of play into your mindfulness practice, exercise, and daily life to foster a state of ‘flow’ and presence, rather than approaching these activities with rigidity or as scheduled tasks to achieve a goal.
3. Connect with Fellow Practitioners
Actively seek and engage in human connection with other people who take mindfulness or meditation seriously, as this social interaction is a powerful form of practice that can help reduce suffering.
4. Allow Full Emotional Experience
Use meditation to connect with your emotions and allow yourself to fully feel them, even sadness, as this complete experience can be cathartic and even surprisingly pleasant, rather than something to avoid.
5. Broaden Practice with World’s Challenges
Instead of seeking contained environments for practice, actively use the challenges and experiences of daily life to broaden and deepen your meditation or mindfulness practice.
6. Suffering Catalyzes Meditation Practice
Acknowledge and confront suffering, as it can be a powerful catalyst for wanting to engage in practices like meditation.
7. Diversify Meditation Practices
Engage in ‘meditative cross-training’ by learning and applying different types of meditation practices (e.g., Vipassana, Zen, compassion meditation) to suit various scenarios, phases of life, and types of suffering, rather than sticking to just one.
8. Name Recurring Thought Patterns
To loosen up about getting stuck in thinking, identify and name recurring inner neurotic thought patterns (e.g., ‘anger’ after a person), which can create inner congeniality and distance from the thoughts.
9. Accept Thoughts as Mind’s Practice
View meditation as ‘widening the bowl’ to be okay with all thoughts and emotions, understanding that thoughts are the practice of the mind, and the goal is to not identify so closely with them rather than to eliminate them.
10. Embrace Sadness Without Problem
Adopt the mindset of ‘very sad, no problem’ to allow yourself to fully feel sadness and other difficult emotions without trying to escape them, recognizing that it’s possible to hold both sadness and a sense of well-being simultaneously.
11. Discuss Difficulties to Heal Memories
When recalling past disappointments or traumas, discussing them in a positive or reflective context (e.g., with a friend or therapist) can restructure and heal the associated brain memories, rather than compounding negative self-stories.
12. Rejuvenate with Water Immersion
Spend time in or near water, such as staring at waves or immersing yourself, as it provides rejuvenating ‘soft focus’ brain stimulation without engaging the planning or obsessive mind, offering renewal even in short periods.
13. Seek Contemplative, Present Activities
Engage in activities that naturally remove distractions like cell phones and immerse you in a dynamic environment, fostering solitude and presence, thereby creating a contemplative space.
14. Anchor with Breath Mindfulness
When unsure which practice to do or feeling overwhelmed by choices, return to the basic mindfulness of breathing as a reliable and ever-present anchor for your meditation practice.
15. Structured Long Meditation Session
For longer meditation sessions (e.g., 1-1.5 hours), begin with slow, deliberate body scans, then focus on the sensation of breath at the nose, transition to open awareness by noting arising consciousness, and conclude by inquiring into ‘what is knowing’ or ‘who is taking it all in.’
16. Utilize Short Open Awareness Meditations
Use short windows of time, like a 25-minute taxi ride, to practice open awareness by noting whatever arises (hearing, feeling, moving) and occasionally inquiring into ‘who is taking all this in.’
7 Key Quotes
If you struggle against it, it's a lot worse. And so that was kind of my intro to Zen was like surfing in Zen.
Jaimal Yogis
When you're getting held down by a wave in the ocean, if you struggle against it, it's a lot worse.
Jaimal Yogis
Very sad, no problem.
Sonam (Tibetan monk)
Waves are the practice of ocean, thoughts are the practice of mind.
Suzuki Roshi (quoted by Jaimal Yogis)
It's not about getting somewhere, like getting that 20 minutes in and just, you know, bearing down on it and getting a better mind. It's about just being.
Jaimal Yogis
It's like having good friends like that is a half, half the path. And he said, no, no, no, it's the whole thing.
Dan Harris (quoting the Buddha)
It's interesting that that's pleasant, you know, that the body and mind secrete, like, a pleasure hormone from, like, just shutting up, you know?
Jaimal Yogis
2 Protocols
Dan Harris's Ideal Long Meditation Sit
Dan Harris- Start with a slow series of body scans (top of head, forehead, eyes, jaw, cheeks, mouth, lips, throat, back of neck, shoulders, chest, stomach, lower back, tushy, hands, knees, feet) for 30-40 minutes, repeating 3 times.
- Focus attention on the sensation of breath right where the top of the lip meets the base of the nose, to cultivate concentration.
- Transition to open awareness, noting whatever arises in consciousness (anger, sadness, planning, physical sensations like tingle, itch, pressure, or sensory input like hearing).
- Conclude by 'looking for what is knowing' – asking 'who is hearing?', 'who is seeing?', 'who is feeling?' to explore the nature of self and its insubstantiality.
Dan Harris's Short Meditation Practice (e.g., in a taxi)
Dan Harris- Engage in open awareness of sensory input (hearing, feeling, moving) during the ride.
- Occasionally, throw in the move of 'who's taking all this in?' or 'who's here to take delivery of these packages?' to explore the observer.