Part 2: Beyond the Basics

How to Find a Practice That Actually Fits You

If you’re back for Part 2 of this exploration into the world of modern meditation, thank you.

You could be doing anything right now, and the fact that you’re here with me means a lot.

So far, we’ve looked at some of the more widely known and accessible forms of meditation. But the story doesn’t end there.

There are other paths. Newer movements, deeper traditions, and practices that move beyond relaxation or self-improvement. These approaches aim at something more radical: transformation, healing, even awakening.

In Part 2, we’ll explore some of the more visceral, esoteric, body-centered, and cutting-edge practices I’ve encountered and worked with along the way.

5. Joe Dispenza-Style Meditation

What it is:

Former chiropractor and star of The Secret, Dr. Joe Dispenza developed a system blending visualization, emotional priming, and selective interpretations of neuroscience. After a cycling accident left him with multiple spinal fractures, he claims to have healed himself through intensive mental rehearsal—visualizing each vertebra repairing itself, day by day.

His method teaches that by generating heightened emotional states (like gratitude, love, or awe) and combining them with clear mental imagery of a desired future, you can “change your energy” and, in turn, influence your external reality. Drawing loosely from quantum theory, neuroplasticity, and epigenetics, Dispenza suggests that our thoughts don’t just shape our brain—they shape the field around us.

While the science behind this remains debated, his work taps into a deeper pop cultural desire: to reclaim agency, heal from the inside out, and access a form of spiritual self-mastery through the mind.

Claims to help with:

Manifesting new realities, healing chronic conditions, breaking free of limiting emotional patterns.

Technique:

Visualizing future scenarios while generating emotions like gratitude, freedom, or love, priming the nervous system to align with new possibilities.

Benefits:

• Boosts positive emotional baseline and vagal tone.

• Enhances goal-directed behavior.

• Improves resilience to negative mood states.

Critique:

I try to stay as unbiased as possible throughout this piece, but Dispenza’s world has always felt a little predatory to me.

His retreats and coaching programs cost thousands of dollars and are often marketed toward vulnerable people; those battling cancer or terminal illness. That alone raises questions.

While emotional priming has real psychological merit, his repeated misuse of quantum physics and neuroscience has drawn heavy criticism. Scientists like Steven Novella and David Gorski have warned about the dangers of offering false hope, especially to people facing serious medical conditions.

Dispenza’s work is often cited as a prime example of spiritual bypassing. Skipping over the raw, uncomfortable terrain of emotional healing in favor of a "feel good or manifest nothing" mindset. He emphasizes radical self-agency, which easily slips into hyper-individualism. And honestly, that’s one of my biggest critiques of the modern spiritual space. It ignores the systemic, socio-economic and cultural conditions that traditional contemplative paths acknowledge as central to human experience.

And while I absolutely hold space for the unseen, the mysterious, and what science hasn’t yet explained, I don’t believe Dispenza’s claims are grounded in responsible science.

The risk here is real. When visualization fails to produce material results, what’s left is often disillusionment. So do your own research, and ultimately, listen to your own reasoning.

6. Dzogchen (Vajrayāna "Great Perfection")

What it is:

Dzogchen, meaning "The Great Perfection," originated our of a Tibetan Buddhist teaching that points directly to the open, clear awareness already present within.

Rather than striving for change or improvement, or to get somehere, Dzogchen teaches recognition of the mind’s natural state.

In the Dzogchen traditioan, there is a belief awakening is immediate, not something to achieve later.

Sam Harris and James Low are among those who have popularized secular interpretations of Dzogchen.

Claims to help with:

Immediate realization of pure awareness, freedom from conceptual mind, spontaneous compassion.

Technique:

Receiving pointing-out instructions from a qualified teacher, then resting naturally in awareness, allowing phenomena to arise and dissolve without interference.

Benefits:

• Reduces dualistic grasping and existential fear.

• Stabilizes non-conceptual presence.

• Strengthens cognitive flexibility and emotional resilience.

Critique:

Dzogchen practitioners sometimes remind me of those jocks in school who always seemed to know they were winning: effortlessly confident, and not shy about it.

Dzogchen’s deceptive simplicity hides a profound difficulty. Of all the practices I’ve studied, this one felt the most elusive. The irony is sharp: the more you try to grasp it, the further it slips away. Effort becomes the very barrier.

There’s a conceptual framework you need to understand; non-duality, the nature of awareness, etc. and then, paradoxically, you have to drop all of it. It makes sense. And also, it doesn’t. If you’re confused right now, you’re halfway there.

Without strong ethical and psychological grounding, it’s easy to mistake intellectual insight for direct realization. The danger isn’t just confusion, it’s spiritual arrogance. You start believing you're awake while still clinging to your ego.

This path isn't for the faint-hearted. It’s destabilizing, disorienting, and strangely masochistic. Turns out, I’m wired for all of the above. The path, if followed can be profound.

7. Zazen (Zen Meditation)

What it is:

Zazen, meaning "seated meditation," is the core practice of Zen Buddhism, particularly in Japanese traditions like Soto and Rinzai.

It points toward pure presence: sitting silently, without striving to attain anything at all. It was also my introduction to meditation. When the teacher told me after 30 minutes to keep staring at the wall I knew I was in over my head.

Sometimes called "just sitting" (shikantaza), the practice trains the mind to meet life as it is, without obstruction.

Claims to help with:

Direct realization of reality, deep presence, insight into the nature of mind and being.

Technique:

Sitting upright in stillness, with open, relaxed attention on breath, posture, or simply awareness itself.

Benefits:

• Increases resilience to emotional turbulence.

• Deepens patience, tolerance for ambiguity, and cognitive spaciousness.

• Strengthens capacity to remain grounded in uncertainty.

Critique:

Zazen meditators are strict. The practice looks simple (just sitting) but for anyone wired for goals or achievement, it can feel brutally difficult. There is nowhere to get to, and that is the whole point.

Without good instruction or context, Zazen can easily drift into dullness, dissociation, or mental wandering masquerading as presence.

In modern wellness culture, Zen is often flattened into aesthetic minimalism. Wabi-sabi ceramics, neutral tones, and a curated sense of calm are common, but this image misses the fierce philosophical fire of traditional Zen. Real Zazen teachers don’t mess around. Some literally walk the room with a stick, ready to deliver a sharp whack if your posture softens or your attention drifts.

And yet, behind that severity is a deep and enduring spiritual lineage. One that invites clarity, presence, and the radical concept of sitting with what is.

8. Somatic and Trauma-Sensitive Meditation

What it is:

Somatic and trauma-sensitive meditations might feel lik they have emerged revently, but in all of the ancient lineages the body is part of the conversation. Pioneers like David Treleaven and Peter Levine emphasize that the nervous system must be part of any healing process.

It’s become an incresingly necessary evolution of traditional contemplative practices, informed by modern neuroscience and trauma research. Especialluy consoderog the pace, and emphasis on the mind in modern culture.

Rather than focusing solely on mental observation, these approaches prioritize reconnecting with the body’s natural rhythms and rebuilding a sense of internal safety.

Meditation here is not about overriding discomfort but learning to slowly widen our capacity to stay present with it.

Somatic and trauma-sensitive meditations might feel like a recent emergence, but in all ancient contemplative traditions, the body was always part of the conversation. Pioneers like David Treleaven and Peter Levine have emphasize that the body and nervous system must be included in any authentic path of healing.

This work has become an essential evolution of traditional practices, informed by neuroscience and trauma psychology Especially in a culture that moves too fast and privileges the mind over everything else.

Rather than focusing solely on observing thoughts, these approaches return us to the body’s natural signals They help rebuild a sense of internal safety, connection, and trust. Here, meditation is not about overriding discomfort but about slowly widening our capacity to stay with it.

Claims to help with:

Healing trauma, restoring body-mind connection, building emotional resilience and embodied safety.

Technique:

Gentle body scans, somatic tracking, orienting to safety cues, pendulation (moving between resource and difficulty), and choice-based awareness.

Benefits:

• Builds nervous system resilience and emotional regulation.

• Restores trust in bodily signals and instincts.

• Reduces dissociation, hypervigilance, and emotional overwhelm.

Critique:

Critique:

When I was first introduced to somatic meditation in 2018, my practice cracked wide open. I came to it through my mentor Scott Tusa and later through Tsoknyi Rinpoche. It felt like I was reconnecting with a long-lost friend. For years, I had been chasing a version of waking up that left the body behind.

Still, these practices are best done with a teacher, especially for those with a history of emotional wounding or trauma. Without that support, there is a risk of us over-identifying with our pain. Without balancing it with mind training, wisdom or clear seeing, it can reinforce a fragile self-image instead of fostering strength. We stay trapped in our experience instead of transforming it.

There is also a tendency to over-prioritize comfort and safety to the point where we avoid the discomfort that real growth requires. But for many of us, this work is a vital first step. It teaches us that the body is not the enemy, but the path itself.

9. Nondual Inquiry (Advaita Vedānta Inspired)

What it is:

Rooted in the Indian tradition of Advaita Vedānta, nondual inquiry points directly to the recognition that the true self is already free, boundless, and unaffected by the mind’s movements.

Rather than cultivating states or conditions, it invites radical self-inquiry: "Who am I?"

Popularized by teachers like Ramana Maharshi, and adapted today by figures like Rupert Spira and Sam Harris this path points beyond personal identity toward pure awareness. Sam Harris also shares alot a

Claims to help with:

Dissolving egoic identification, realization of true nature, abiding peace beyond conditions.

Technique:

Self-inquiry ("Who am I?") and resting awareness back into its own source.

Observing thoughts, sensations, and perceptions as objects arising in the field of unchanging awareness.

Benefits:

• Dismantles false identification with mind and body.

• Reduces existential fear and compulsive grasping.

• Cultivates abiding equanimity and intuitive wisdom.

Critique:

Nondual practice requires a certain level of psychological stability and often a mature readiness that does not come overnight. In my experience, spending some time with more structured forms of meditation (awareness of breath, body, and moment-to-moment awareness) creates a nice bedrock to begin approaching nonduality with clarity.

Without that foundation, it is easy, especially in approaches like Dzogchen or Advaita, for the mind to grasp the idea of nonduality without embodying it. This can lead to what teachers call “premature awakening” (lol) a kind of self-deception where intellectual understanding is mistaken for direct insight.

You may think you have arrived, but in truth, you might just be building another identity. This time, as someone who is beyond identity. And trust me, you become insufferable at this point.

10. Loving-Kindness and Heart Practices

’ve given this its own section, separate from secular and Buddhist mindfulness, even though heart practices are sometimes lumped into both categories.

These meditations are systematic practices from Buddhist traditions designed to cultivate what are often called the four faces of love: friendship, compassion, sympathetic joy (joy for others), and equanimity. Or, as one teacher once told me—simply, love.

Claims to help with:

Healing emotional wounds, dissolving resentment, building emotional resilience and relational depth. Concentration.

Technique:

Silent repetition of well-wishing phrases, visualization of others’ well-being, gradual expansion from self to all beings.

Benefits:

• Increases positive emotions and social connectedness.

• Reduces depression, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms.

• Improves heart rate variability and stress resilience.

Critique:

Everyone loves heart practices. They generally make you feel good, and more importantly, they make you feel. They also give the mind something to do. You mentally repeat phrases, visualize certain images, and cultivate a sense of care. This does not make the practice fluffy. In fact, many practitioners develop a strong baseline of concentration through it, and research shows these practices can deepen emotional capacity.

However, when practiced over long periods without the balance of insight into impermanence and non-self, heart practices can start to drift into sentimentality. People begin to chase the feels rather than resting in awareness.

These days, loving-kindness is often marketed as emotional self-care, removed from its original depth and discipline. The risk is bypassing real grief, anger, or pain by layering good wishes over unprocessed wounds.

In my experience, heart practices are a soothing balm during hard times. But to truly integrate their power, they need to sit alongside mind-based practices that invite clarity, perspective, and letting go.

In Closing

In the end, we all have our go-to meditation styles and that’s okay. I’m sure there are countless ones i’ve missed. Ultimately, you land where you need to, until your path evolves. But if you ask me, real meditation isn’t about escaping or just feeling better. It’s about seeing more clearly, meeting life more honestly, and remembering who we are beneath all the fixing, fighting, and fleeing we tend to do.

Some practices build steadiness. Others grow compassion. Some strip away the illusions of self.

Choosing a practice isn’t just about how you want to feel, it’s about who you're ready to become. Choose wisely. And be gentle with yourself along the way.

As the Advaita Vedanta teacher Mooji says: “Step into the fire of self-discovery. This fire will not burn you, it will only burn what you are not.”

Tell me more about your meditation practice…