“Complete meditation is not about feeling good— it’s about getting real,” writes Andrew Holecek in his book, Reverse Meditation: How to Use Your Pain and Most Difficult Emotions as the Doorway to Inner Freedom. From this lens, meditation intended only to feel good falls short of what’s possible when we tune into and turn toward ourselves. This week’s conversation focuses on reverse meditation, which is a deliberate turning towards difficult thoughts, emotions and physical pain. And with this new perspective, reverse meditation give us the opportunity to relate to our mind instead of from it.    Guest Bio Andrew Holecek is an author, speaker, and humanitarian who offers seminars internationally on meditation, lucid dreaming, and the art of dying. He has studied sleep yoga, bardo yoga, and other traditional practices with living masters in India and Nepal. Andrew’s books include Dreams of Light, Dream Yoga, and Reverse Meditation. His work has appeared in Psychology Today, Parabola, Lion’s Roar, Tricycle,Utne Reader, Buddhadharma, Light of Consciousness, and many other periodicals. He hosts the popular Edge of Mind podcast and is the founder of the Night Club community, a support platform for nocturnal meditations. Learn more at andrewholecek.com. For episode homepage, resources and links, visit: https://kristenmanieri.com/episode252    Learn more about coaching: [email protected]    Mentioned in this Episode   Guest’s Book: Reverse Meditation: How to Use Your Pain and Most Difficult Emotions as the Doorway to Inner Freedom (Sounds True, July 11, 2023) https://www.amazon.com/Reverse-Meditation-Difficult-Emotions-Doorway/dp/1649631057    Guest’s website: andrewholecek.com    Host Bio Kristen Manieri is a coach who works with teams to increase both productivity and wellbeing. She also helps individuals navigate transition with clarity and confidence. Her areas of focus are: stress reduction, energy management, mindset, resilience, habit formation, rest rituals, and self-care. As the host of the weekly 60 Mindful Minutes podcast, an Apple top 100 social science podcast, Kristen has interviewed over 200 authors about what it means to live a more conscious, connected, intentional and joyful life. Learn more at kristenmanieri.com/work-with-me.    Learn more about coaching: [email protected]  Connect with the 60 Mindful Minutes podcast   Web: https://kristenmanieri.com  Email: [email protected]