Of course you can bring Harari’s emphasis on focus to bear here: is pondering the effects of 60 days meditation distracting from the simple task at hand? In whi

Of course you can bring Harari’s emphasis on focus to bear here: is pondering the effects of 60 days meditation distracting from the simple task at hand? In which case, perhaps a better question is, what accessible and practical thing can I do now to get me on the road to where I'm going? I say this because I would find it impossible to generalise the effects of the regular retreats I've made over the years. I recently sat for 30 days and although it was useful, I didn't find it 4 times as useful as, say, some 7 day retreats I've done. Personally I think science will never discover anything profoundly new from its studies of meditation -- watching the breath is literally just watching the breath, there's nothing else magic that we're as yet unaware of. It's just an incredibly fruitful context to work on whatever "stuff" is personally significant for you at any given time. In that sense I wouldn't be surprised if the similarly simple activity of running is also empirically associated with increased emotional catharsis, spiritual breakthrough, improved non-physical productivity, etc, etc. It reminds me of a Zen story; A monk told Joshu, “I have just entered the monastery. Please teach me.” Joshu asked, “Have you eaten your rice porridge? The monk replied, “I have eaten.” Joshu said, “Then you had better wash your bowl.” At that moment the monk was enlightened. Yeah, so perhaps thinking something magic happens on a 60 day retreat is a similar example. It's almost certain you already know exactly what to do in your situation.