My Tech-enabled Meditation Journey
I started my meditation journey 15 years ago. Like many of you, I found meditation through crisis.
I’m David Gull, the CEO of Vital. I was one year into my professional architecture career in New York City, working at the prestigious firm, Skidmore Owings and Merrill. I was working 60–80 hour weeks, earning just enough to get by living in a tiny 1BR apartment in Hell’s Kitchen. I had always been a diligent and hard worker; at Cornell, graduated Valedictorian of my class through consistent work ethic. But eventually, after years of sustaining high output, I hit a wall.
I took a vacation to Los Angeles to visit my brother, and ended up sleeping 12 hour nights instead of enjoying the trip. I was exhausted, my body hurt, I was gaining weight, and I finally realized I wasn’t a machine. I burned out 1 year into my professional career.
Fortunately, this was a wakeup call that I heeded. I returned to work, but promised myself I would do things differently. I asked friends and mentors for help and got great advice. I started the paleo diet. I got a membership at equinox downstairs in my office building and went to workout on my lunch break. And I started a meditation practice. All of these actions changed my life. Through breakdowns come breakthroughs.
My meditation practice started simple. I read a few blogs here or there on the topic and just set aside time each day to sit with myself. I found a cemetery in downtown NYC right off the end of Wall Street where I would go sit on a bench because it was the only quiet place I could find where I wouldn’t be disturbed. I found peace in the silence.
As my interest in meditation grew, I looked for help…but I looked to technology. As an architect, I’d always been enamored with how technology would change the industry. I had started using CAD and 3D modeling in my first year of architecture school, the year that our curriculum explicitly disallowed the use of computers in our design course. I broke the rules. At SOM, I pushed the edge of what computer graphics could do in architectural rendering, bringing real-time rendering into the firm. I applied the same philosophy to meditation, and sought out tech-enabled meditation devices.
I found HeartMath in 2012 which offered real-time feedback during meditation based on my heart rate variability. I fascinated that I could control my HRV with conscious breathing techniques. I’ve used HeartMath regularly to calibrate my mediation practice for over 12 years. I found Muse, which offered real-time feedback based on brainwaves, which was fun but difficult to wear. I found Sensate, which brought vibration and sound into my practice, as a musician I loved this sensation and is highly portable. I invested in the Opus SoundBed which blends vibration and sound at a body-scale. I got the Oura ring on pre-launch over 5 years ago and have worn it daily since, which allows you to track HRV throughout a meditation session and see how it changes. I recently found Apollo Neuro which I like because it can be used to bring mindfulness and presence into social situations in addition to private meditation.
This process changed my life. I love exploring my own inner world, quieting my mind, focusing my mind, controlling my breath, feeling my heartbeat, and watching my thoughts. I learned to direct my thoughts, or let them go. Most weeks, I meditate daily for 10 minutes on weekdays. On weekends, I try to find longer sessions, 30–60 minutes where I can go on a journey in my mind. To me meditation is spending time with myself. Getting in touch with my mind, my body, my energy. I become more aware of my own world. What I need, what I’m wanting, what I’m missing.
The only missing piece was guidance. I never resonated with the pre-recorded meditations on any of these platforms or apps. The only time a guided meditation really spoke to me was when I was in person, in a guided class or a 1:1. But like most of you, I rarely make time to go to in-person classes, I prefer my own space for doing my inner work. And it bugs me to pay for a single meditation class.
This is why we’ve built Vital. Combining the power of AI with proven practices, bringing personalized guided meditations and mindset coaching to you. To help guide you on your journey of personal transformation. We all face difficult moments in life, they’re inevitable. What matters is how you handle them, and Vital is here to help. Will you use your challenges as an opportunity to grow and transform?
Try Vital and get the support you need.
