Ben Turshen Meditation

I found Ben's technique much more helpful (and easier to commit to a consistent practice!) than the mindfulness-based meditation I'd tried in the past. Ben is a delightful teacher and balances practical information with the science behind his technique (e.g. how it helps calm the sympathetic "fight or flight" nervous system). Worth investing your time and money in. Would recommend without reservation!
Jan 7th, 2020

Ben is a very engaged, committed teacher . He incorporates a wonderful combination of personal stories. scientific research , physiology and active participation with a dose of 21st century wisdom. Enjoy the benefits - make it part of your daily routine.
Jan 6th, 2020

I have always been a pretty good actress, putting on a good face during adverse situations. While inside, I could feel the anger build. Keeping it all bottled up, it would last for days, spill over into everything, making life stressful. With meditation, there has been NO churning. I have been much more even and objective, not personalizing during difficult moments. Because of that, I’ve have had more clarity in situations and I am able to act appropriately to bring about positive outcomes. Ben is clear and careful in his explanation and patient to make sure that I practiced, even though I have a heavy work/travel schedule. So, everything old is new again, only better.
Sep 17th, 2019

Through my meditation practice, I now have a "pit stop" midway through the workday that helps me stay sharp, effective, and calm late into the evening. This is pretty remarkable given that before meditation, my only solution was a large coffee at 3pm. Both twenty-minute meditations, but particularly the second in the afternoon, help me feel like I just had a great night's sleep. Further, from a productivity standpoint, meditation also helps me prioritize where I should focus my attention and, perhaps more importantly, it helps me identify and dismiss issues that are insignificant noise. On a personal level, meditation has helped me achieve a new perspective, one of more calm observation. The meditations have a way of unearthing unresolved issues, past trauma the body hasn't quite forgotten. Fortunately, meditation also helps me observe, accept, and dissolve these issues away. Indirectly, I can now more clearly identify what I want and more assertively express myself to achieve those goals. I'm very grateful for learning meditation with Ben and for the benefits it continues to bring me.
Aug 3rd, 2019

I came to meditation very reluctantly in order to support a friend who wanted to learn. I was sadly dismissive and somewhat arrogant. During the class, I asked Ben why I, someone who was very aware of my issues after more than 20 years of hard work with an excellent therapist, should spend time meditating. It seemed pretty silly to think that any profound life changes could come out of this process. Ben told me to think of therapy like a new operating system, but my hardware needs regular upgrades to be able to run it, and meditation is that upgrade. That made a lot of sense to me. I also asked how I was supposed to find all this time to meditate. Ben told me that I needed to get up first thing in the morning and meditate. I explained that I wasn't a morning person and I could never drag myself out of bed. He promised me that I would start waking up earlier. I was almost 50 years old and had loved to sleep late my entire life, and so I was sure that this was never going to happen. A week later my husband, who had always gotten up before me, asked me why I was suddenly waking up before him. I told him that I didn't even want to wake up early but it was just happening! The meditation was working despite my bad attitude and skepticism. I felt the calming effects immediately. I would find myself joking with my kids about things that normally would have made me furious. It was like a was having an out of body experience-- I would listen to myself and feel like I was in a movie and some better person had taken over my body. I couldn't get to 11 on the frustration scale, I could just get to 6 or 7. I had so much more patience with everyone, but I felt it most profoundly when interacting with my kids. I regret that I didn't start meditating before I had them. I would have been such a better parent. My husband told me that he felt calmer because I was so much calmer. I told him that he needed to meditate too! He never really got into it but when he does meditate I definitely see a difference. My daughter meditated with me for about 6 months when she was having a tough time in 7th grade and it really helped her get through it. I've now been meditating for over five years and it has really changed my life. On the rare days when I miss a morning meditation for some reason, I start to feel on edge mid-morning and I'll catch myself and think "why am I feeling this way?" and then I'll remember that I didn't meditate. The difference is that noticeable. I honestly could not go back to the way I was before. EVERYTHING is so much better. Feeling calmer has helped me in all of my relationships. It has helped me be a more forgiving and loving person to everyone in my life, and my friendships have really grown and my family relationships have improved dramatically. It's helped me achieve things that I never thought were possible (for example I ran for political office and won, which still seems crazy to me). I definitely sleep much less than I used to and I have good energy. I used to nap every chance I got. Now, if I meditate in the afternoon I will never nap. I have gone off thyroid medication that I've been on for decades. I've tackled tough issues with much less angst. There are times when I am finally able to put into practice something I know intellectually (because I learned it in therapy) but have never been able to actually do. When that happens I will often think to myself that I just got my hard drive upgrade, and I am finally running the updated software. It is such a beautiful feeling that fills me with profound gratitude. I am grateful to my friend who dragged me to a meditation class, grateful to Ben for teaching me. My life has truly been transformed.
Oct 15th, 2019