Chapter 5.5: Mastering Mindfulness: A Conversation with Victor Chan, Friend of the Dalai Lama

Have you ever envisioned having a spiritual connection that goes beyond the norm?

Our guest for today, Victor Chan, has not only achieved this but has shared an exceptional friendship with none other than His Holiness, the Dalai Lama.

Bridging the gap between the mystic East and West, Victor makes meditation simple and accessible, from practicing and teaching mindfulness to co-founding the Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education.

In our captivating chat with Victor, you'll discover how a physicist and writer became a meditation expert and a confidant of one of the world's most revered spiritual leaders.

Victor shares his unique meditation techniques that are surprisingly simple yet profound, such as focusing on your breath or counting as you relax.

He opens up about his exciting life experiences, ranging from hiking the Tibetan Himalayas to teaching tennis and mindfulness to university students. His approach to incorporating mindfulness into everyday tasks will inspire you to embark on your very own journey towards a more peaceful, happy, and meaningful life.

Tune in to hear more from this master of mindfulness and benefit from his priceless advice.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

So a little side note when researching my book, the Holy Fitness Manifesto and really diving deep into mindfulness and meditation practice, I thought what better person to connect with than somebody that has lived a life of practicing meditation, mindfulness and really just had an incredible life. So I reached out to Victor Chan and I was honored to have an interview with him, which I'll find after immediately following this short side note here, and I just love you and encourage you to listen to that and to really take some of his tips to heart, because he really is about making it simpler for us to truly grasp. And what's really neat is Victor's had such a remarkable life and he's met some pretty amazing people. And we also had a prior to connecting with him and asking him a series of questions to help me with some of the pieces to my book and just so I could have a better understanding. We had a chance to see him speak at the Ted Vancouver event and it was truly incredible. I mean, here's a man that's literally friends with the Dalai Lama, right? Friends Like can you imagine having the Dalai Lama on speed dial? What would that be like? So I'm going to read you a little bit about Victor here and a few of his meditation tips, but then stay tuned because immediately following that you'll hear a fairly short interview between him and I and which he adds some additional pearls of wisdom. Quite frankly, that can help you with practicing mindful meditation in your own life.

Speaker 1: 1:34

Victor Chan is a physicist and writer who studied particle physics at the Enrico Fermi Institute at the University of Chicago. After an introduction through a mutual friend over 40 years ago, victor Chan has collaborated with his holiness the Dalai Lama on two books the Wisdom of Forgiveness, intimate Conversations and Travels with the Wisdom of Compassion, stories of Remarkable Encounters and Timeless Insights. Together, the friends co-founded the Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education in 2005. In a recent interview, he shared valuable insights about his life, along with his beliefs about mindfulness and meditation. A number of life experiences fueled Victor's passion for meditation. When, up in Hong Kong, he practiced Tai Chi, which he describes as meditation in motion, as well as Chinese calligraphy, another form of meditation.

Speaker 1: 2:26

Victor is a longtime adventurer who spent four years in the 1980s hiking the Tibetan Himalayas. He drew on his experience there in the 1100-page Tibet Handbook, a pilgrimage guide. The 5,486 meter that's 18,000 feet passes were incredibly challenging, especially the added strain of the 23 kilogram otherwise 50-pound backpack that Victor carried. He applied a special walking meditation during these difficult treks, in which he visualized consciously lowering his metabolic rate. Remarkably, this reduces sweating significantly. Later, victor used aspects of meditation as a university tennis instructor. He taught his beginner students mindfulness techniques that they could apply to their ground strokes practice. He found that this helped most of his students to pick up the game much faster. It's all about using a simple technique to induce focus, he says they were able to get into the rhythm early on and were less frustrated by the game.

Speaker 1: 3:25

Today, victor is a strong believer in using mindfulness in everyday life At the most elementary level. When you want to alleviate some of the stress of life, mindfulness is a good antidote, he suggests. Ultimately, he adds, people who go into a deeper form of meditation have a bigger prize in mind. If you pursue to its logical conclusion, degrees of enlightenment become attainable. It is a concept that is difficult to understand on an intellectual level, explains Victor. In practical terms, it is possible to live relatively free from stress and free from much of the emotional ups and downs that we experience every day. It's about a happiness that is sustainable and meaningful. It is a worthwhile goal that isn't ephemeral but very real. It demands discipline along with perseverance. Striving for meaningful happiness sounds awesome to me. How's that sounding to you guys? So here's a few of Victor's meditation tips.

Speaker 1: 4:27

As a beginner, don't be ambitious or try to make it overly complicated. Five minutes a day is a great place to start, but even two or three minutes is absolutely fine. Focus on something simple and basic. For example, listen to your breath going in and out of your body. You may choose to close your eyes. When you do this, notice the rise and fall of your stomach. Alternatively, you can count from one to ten. Then back again. Take divorce meditation from your everyday life. For example, why not try it when you're chopping vegetables or preparing your meals? Be thoughtful and mindful as you peel and chop a carrot. You can also practice mindfulness as you wash dishes, perhaps at the start of your meal. Try to think about having that mindful approach with each mouthful of food. Or focus on sitting comfortably on a chair. Take it outside.

Speaker 1: 5:18

Try a five-minute walking meditation in which each step is taken mindfully as your feet lift and lower. Become aware of the feeling under your heels and toes. It may help to do this barefoot. Aim to make it a habit. Try to sustain a routine for at least a month. This creates a neural groove. Start with a short duration and build up. Otherwise you may be overambitious and run the risk of being burnt out. Choose roughly the same time every day, which helps to form the habit. You may also want to try twice a day. Keep more about letting mindfulness permeate your everyday life, naturally. Don't force it. Whenever you can, try to go with the flow and be in the moment. And, lastly, acknowledge that meditation is a journey. Don't expect to master it in one single session. Amazing tips from an amazing man, and I'm absolutely honored to share this interview, so be sure to stay tuned. It's coming up right now.