Welcome to Episode 58 of our podcast, Courageous Conversations, hosted by Leanne Pilkington.
In this episode, our guest is Jason Partington, Founder of Making Meditation Mainstream. Jason talks about the Making Meditation Mainstream program, MMM’s latest campaign called ’28 for TWENTY EIGHT’, why he started MMM and what led to his own meditation routines, his advice for those who finding meditating difficult and what he hopes to achieve through his mission to connect the world in meditation.
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00:30 – About the start of the Making Meditation Mainstream program and switching to online content due to COVID-19
01:35 – The catalyst for embracing meditation in Jason’s life and sharing it with others; the stigma around achieving happiness through getting a job, having a family, buying a house, etc.
03:00 – Addictions to alcohol, social media, too much exercise, distractions that didn’t deal with the heart of the issues Jason had
04:00 – “I chose to stop looking on the outside and I started to go on a journey on the inside.” Questioning life internally instead of externally.
05:00 – High suicide rates (33 of them in 2018) in the Northern Beaches and what is causing this in recent times
06:20 – Further reasoning for his meditation project: recently, Lifeline broke a record of 3,300 crisis calls per day.
07:00 – Normalising the Making Meditation Mainstream program by creating bigger engagement and making it easier to participate.
08:50 – Jason’s advice to those who want to try meditation or can’t “shut off the voice” in their head; it comes down to realising you can’t simply turn the switch off and you need to acknowledge and handle the voice
09:30 – “Meditating out of your heart” rather than from your head.
11:00 – Partnering with Lifeline to connect people and incite a feeling of community; finding a different way rather than falling into crisis; filling their cups at meditation.
13:00 – 28 for TWENTY EIGHT – Meditate for Mental Health in October; coming up with the campaign and why it’s in October
15:50 – Sitting in the Lifeline offices and what that was like for Jason as a witness and how this impacted him
17:00 – Visit makingmeditationmainstream.com.au or connect on Facebook and Instagram