
Meditate in front of your computer with Calm - ebahnx
http://calm.com/
======
zenbowman
This picture sums up my thoughts perfectly:

[http://anticache.img0.joyreactor.com/pics/post/comics-
before...](http://anticache.img0.joyreactor.com/pics/post/comics-before-and-
after-pc-activity-1093030.jpeg)

Anyone who has looked into causes of stress cannot avoid the fact that a lack
of PHYSICAL activity, a lack of PHYSICAL presence, and a lack of PHYSICAL
stimulation is a major, if not the major factor.

Trying to get the average person today to meditate on a computer screen is
like trying to get your average desk jockey to do an iron cross - it will not
happen without years of PHYSICAL preparation.

This violates the golden rule:

"Computers to make people happy, not people to make computers happy" \- GJS

~~~
csmeder
It saddens me such a cynical response made it to the top. I will use this app.
Some days I walk to a local park to meditate. Some days I go to the meditation
class we have at work. However, some days I plan to use this app, even if for
just the 2 minute meditation. In my experience, in regards to stress
prevention even 2 minutes of meditation is better than none.

~~~
tucosan
How is this cynical?

It is rather cyinical to offer such a service.

Meditation like most things in life takes deliberate practise, effort and can
be dull, hard and boring at times.

This is not meditation but distraction. If you want to medidate, first, don't
do it alone. Do it with other people. Go to your next zen dojo, or Yoga school
or whatever is available in your area. And then sit together with the people
in the dojo.

~~~
was_hellbanned
Who are you to dictate to others what is or is not meditation? Who are you to
dictate anything, to anyone?

~~~
weego
This site is literally for voicing your own opinion. If it wasn't valid it
wouldn't be near the top. Have a decent counter point because arguing by
aggression isn't arguing.

~~~
parksy
Popularity has no bearing on validity, that's a common logical fallacy.

~~~
summerdown2
Correlation is not causation, but given people put their trousers on
successfully, cross the street and go to work it's likely that they tend on
aggregate to have a view of the world that matches reality. You can't use
popularity of a view to ensure it's valid, but I don't think it should have
zero sway, either. Or, to put it more precisely, I bet it's more likely that
something the vast majority of people believe is true, is actually true.

Note: this does not mean I'm saying God/the tooth fairy/the loch ness
monster/santa are real. It means there are more true things people believe
than false.

~~~
spoiler
Santa _is_ real, FYI.

------
buckbova
I like the images. Seems like something you'd see on those wall screens of the
future.

Is there a business model for this, possibly subscription based in the future?

They have job postings:

[http://www.calm.com/jobs](http://www.calm.com/jobs)

"We're a small start-up with a big mission: to reduce stress and increase calm
in an increasingly stressed-out world. We're just starting out, and we're
looking for talented and driven folks to join us.

On offer is a competitive salary, meaningful equity, great benefits, holiday
when you need it and the chance to make a real difference in people's lives.
We're based in San Francisco's SOMA district and all roles are based here in
our office."

~~~
bduerst
Is it weird that the visuals are the part that has me most excited about this
site?

This would be awesome on chromecast.

~~~
dirkk0
That was my first impression, too.

------
primitivesuave
Such an awesome website and startup mission.

Back in high school I took a free class put on by the Art of Living
(www.artofliving.org) - it was the best thing I ever did. They taught us the
Sudarshan Kriya, which is a 20 minute meditation and breathing exercise. For
people who practice it regularly, it is literally a substitute for a morning
cup of coffee.

The Sudarshan Kriya is just one of the many yogic exercises out there, and the
yogic exercises are part of a huge ecosystem of meditative processes designed
to enrich one's ability to live in the present. It would be amazing to see at
least a small subset of these exercises incorporated into this.

It doesn't need to have nondescript names like "Sudarshan Kriya" \- what yoga
practitioners call Pranayama, Buddhists call Anapanasati, and regular people
call "breathing exercises". The revelations about how to live in the moment
are fairly universal, so it would be more about incorporating these
fundamental ideas into an online meditative course.

If you're from Calm, just want to say that I absolutely love what you're doing
- by far, the best startup idea I've seen in a while.

------
TheyCalledHimBo
My knee-jerk reaction to this was at first laughter, followed by a deep sense
of loathing as I dug deeper into whatever this site is supposed to be. This is
fucking appalling. In some respects I might, -might- be able to get behind the
idea of "meditation" as "SaaS" but for the most part I find this borderline
insulting.

~~~
angersock
What do you have against Serenity-as-a-Service?

~~~
theknown99
For me, it'd be like "virtual-parent.com! No need to be a parent to your kids,
just point them at this website and we'll be their parent for you".

If you want less stress, or to calm down, the last thing you should be doing
is staring at a computer screen. Go outdoors. Exercise. Meet real people.

~~~
snogglethorpe
I agree that "real" experiences are awesome and sometimes people spend a bit
too much time in front of their computer or staring at their phone....

But the vitriol of the grandparent-comment seems uncalled for.
Computers/phones/etc are not some sort of evil presence that infect everything
they touch, and apps like this can have their place too. In the right context,
they might do a lot of good.

[E.g. I love various simple "sounds of rain" apps on my phone -- they can
reallllly help me concentrate when I'm trying to study in a cafe and the
background noise is somehow putting me off. It's like a blanket of calm...]

~~~
TheyCalledHimBo
Yeah, to be fair I had just gotten out of a series of meetings about having
less meetings...perhaps the vitriol was a bit uncalled for. I'm also with you
on those "sounds of rain" or other white noise apps for concentration.

But this isn't just for concentration, this is for (quoted from their terms
and conditions) "customized relaxation and self-improvement sessions." I'm not
of the mind that electronics are an evil presence that infect everything they
touch, rather I'm of the mind that there are certain activities which are
cheapened by a service like this.

Actual meditation requires some amount effort, not a 20 minute session with
headphones and an app.

------
comice
Imaging entering a state of meditative bliss, realizing we are all one
consciousness experiencing itself subjectively, there is no such thing as
death, life is only a dream, and we are the imagination of ourselves and then
being interrupted with an advert for a PS4.

~~~
rabbitonrails
lol

~~~
wsc981
"Today a young man on acid realised ..." \- Bill Hicks:
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7D0BeLz5blM](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7D0BeLz5blM)

------
enraged_camel
On the iPhone, calm.com takes you directly to the App Store page without even
prompting. You can try going to the deeloper's website from there, BUT that
takes you to their Facebook page. From there it links back to calm.com.

Worst. Experience. Ever. And I haven't even downloaded the app yet!

~~~
bduerst
Lucky. On Android it just says the app isn't ready yet.

My guess is they want to herd users to the mobile app right away, rather than
manage both the app and optimized website for mobile.

~~~
lelandbatey
What's annoying for me was that I was redirected to the "sign up for when the
app is released" page, but if I fake the user agent I get a very nice, very
usable calm.com that works out of the box with my phone.

Why, why must you force me towards your app? At max, serve the web page first,
then _suggest_ the app to me.

~~~
bduerst
Well if it's optimized for mobile already, then I agree - the herding behavior
to an app store is annoying.

------
ThinkBeat
How about.

Close your eyes. Find the peace within. Learn something you will be grateful
for for the rest of your life.

It takes practice and some discipline, like anything worth doing, but the
rewards to your health, your mind and those around you gives it back 100fold
at least.

And you will have something you can do anywhere, at anytime.

No computer, no internet, no website needed.

Just apply within.

------
sergiotapia
"Now focus on your body. This is you, alive and present."

Wow - this punched me very hard. I have a mild case of depersonalization and
those words really affected me. I'll use this daily.

------
crazygringo
Very cool, and well-executed.

Not to mean to nitpick, but am I the only one who thought it felt jarring to
hear an outdoor babbling brook, while looking at the surface of the water
from... below? Both the videos and audio are spectacular on their own, but I'm
not sure they always match up quite well enough. :)

~~~
santosha
Ha, that bugged me a little too. I love being underwater so much because of
the sensory deprivation :-)

------
andrewcooke
what kind of meditation needs (or is helped) by this?

i kind-of do mindful meditation (i'm no expert) and this would be just one
more piece of sensory data to acknowledge and then largely ignore.

if you're doing "concentrative meditation" (i'm using terms from wikipedia)
then i would have thought this would be distracting.

is this more like new age tv?

~~~
thucydides
Good question. The site's 10 minute guided meditation right now does not sound
like the forms of Zen meditation I'm familiar with, and it doesn't sound like
mindfulness meditation. What is it? And is it evidence-based?

I practice Zen-style breath-counting meditation (susokukan) now. No doubt many
different kinds of meditation are beneficial, but I suspect they have
different effect sizes. Probably some do nothing for you at all.

The most unexpected consequence of breath-counting is how dispassionately I
see my random intrusive thoughts during meditation, whether it's anger at
someone, a happy memory, or a worry about some future task. It sounds crazy to
non-meditators, but it's actually hard for me to not to laugh during
meditation sessions at how ephemeral and "unreal" these thoughts are... and
how quickly all emotions, sensations, thoughts move in and depart like blips
on the screen of mind.

After breath-counting for half an hour, I feel a much deeper, more substantial
calm than if I'd done something like listening to relaxing noises in the same
time. It's a calm of mind that bleeds into the rest of the day, because
meditation gives practice at seeing the shape-shifting nature of thoughts and
human identity.

Does the kind of meditation practiced on this site have similar effects?

~~~
dbtc
breath-counting meditation sounds really interesting, where did you learn
about it? Any recommended resources?

~~~
KingMob
I can give you basic instructions based on what I've been given at Fire Lotus
Zendo and Insight Meditation Society:

Sit, get comfy, and calm down. Relax your eyes, your jaw, your shoulders, and
anywhere you're carrying tension.

WHen you're settled, focus on your breathing, pick one spot (belly, nostrils,
nose, etc) and count each breath in your mind. Try to count softly; you want
to pay attention to your breathing, not your counting. Start at 1 and go to
10. When/if you reach 10, start over again from 1.

When you find yourself distracted by a thought (and you will), that's normal.
Just acknowledge the thought, and start counting again from 1.

Get curious about your breath. Is it hard or soft, fast or slow, dry or wet,
smooth or ragged? Notice the pauses at the ends of the inhale and exhale:
what's it like? What are the parts in-between like as it comes and goes?

If you find the counting helpful, stick with it. If you find the counting too
distracting, just try to pay attention to the breath without it.

Lastly, don't worry too much if your mind is bouncing around like a monkey on
a sugar rush; that's pretty normal. Most of the practice of meditation is
continually coming back to the present moment, not attaining blissful thought-
free emptiness (which is quite rare, even on retreat).

Good luck

~~~
MichaelGG
Thanks. I find that when I focus on counting my breaths, I immediately start
visualising the numbers. They get painted. Or flipped around in 3D. If I pay
attention to breath, then it, too, takes on all sorts of stuff. A whistle-type
breath might make me see a cliff with wind blowing by it, and then that'll
trigger memories. I can't seem to get passed even 3.

~~~
seren
This is expected, if you are freeing some of your attention and focusing on
your breathing, intrusive thoughts will likely arise. Don't get discouraged or
angry about your lack of attention, just refocus "gently" on the breathing.
And just keep going. With some practice, it becomes easier to stay on the
breathing. The goal is not suppress or ignore those intrusive though anyway.

------
joosters
Meditate on our webpage while reading thousands of words of 'Terms of Use' and
'Privacy' pages. Calming!

------
volaski
Apparently, they raised $415K investment
[http://techcrunch.com/2013/02/26/relaxation-resource-calm-
co...](http://techcrunch.com/2013/02/26/relaxation-resource-calm-com-launches-
iphone-app-that-helps-you-chill-grabs-415k-in-angel-funding/) I wonder how
they will pay it all off

~~~
sehr
does anyone else feel this is a bit.. ridiculous?

~~~
Permit
We should keep in mind that we don't have access to all the available
information the investors had. Previous successes by the founders, a kick-ass
business model or solid traction could all be valid reasons for such an
investment.

Our valuation of the company is based on partial information, and is likely
less accurate than that of the investors.

------
amouat
Must have some money behind them to snag that domain name!

~~~
mckee1
Yeah I was just thinking that. It must have cost a crazy amount.

~~~
scotthtaylor
From the founder of
[http://www.milliondollarhomepage.com/](http://www.milliondollarhomepage.com/)

~~~
AznHisoka
I'd venture to say just 40% of those pixels were sold to real ppl.

------
lindig
This is similar to
[http://www.getsomeheadspace.com](http://www.getsomeheadspace.com) which is
based on a subscription model and a mobile app. The app is free and provides
10 sessions of 10 minutes each. If you like calm.com, try
www.getsomeheadspace.com for a very good alternative.

~~~
chazu
I subscribe to headspace, have been for about two months now. I find it
extremely helpful. There are a wealth of different programs with different
areas of focus, and about a years worth of content with daily use. I highly
recommend it.

------
gojomo
Do I get the full benefit if I just run this in a background window?

------
theknown99
If you want less stress, turn off your computer and go out for a walk, do some
exercise, be with friends/family.

Can't put into words how horrible this idea is.

------
RankingMember
I like this, as I do anything that fights the flood of stress and insanity
that is a lot of (at least my) daily life. Business-wise, I could see this
being a gateway drug for selling meditation accessories, but it'd be hard to
sell the sessions themselves. Advertising would be a no go, as putting it
anywhere you'd make money on it would negatively impact the product itself.

------
comice
Am looking forward to my meditations being monetized!

~~~
luke-stanley
I would be very interested to see a meditation based currency that might use
webcam, brainwave readers, GSR, MRI visits, and duration logs to prove people
people are meditating and that it is having an effect.

------
peterwwillis
I was told recently that some study showed the brains of humans lighting up
much more when reading using a video screen than with paper, and that
essentially digital displays are a stimulant of sorts. Anyone see a study like
this before? If it's real, wouldn't it be better to meditate in front of a
non-digital interface?

~~~
unicornporn
I'd really like to hear more about this. If anybody knows where to find it,
please reply.

~~~
unicornporn
[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S074756320...](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563204000202?np=y)
?

------
aik
That's awesome. Just yesterday I did a web search and Hacker news search for
this exact thing, and now boom, you've delivered!

Great UI, awesome background activity, relaxing music, timers -- exactly what
I was looking for. Well executed!

On the practical front: How are you a company? What's your mission? Purpose?
Business model?

~~~
0xdeadbeefbabe
Hmmm interesting, so what are you searching for today?

------
rabbitonrails
"Those practicing meditation for profit, power, prestige, position ... are not
on the correct path." \- basic Ch'an Buddhism -
[http://cgarriott.bol.ucla.edu/nmsm/Meditation_at_Nan_Hua.doc](http://cgarriott.bol.ucla.edu/nmsm/Meditation_at_Nan_Hua.doc)

------
luke-stanley
Calm.com's maximum, 20 minutes is quite a short meditation. It takes me about
35 mins for a chance at losing my self in space and getting out of my skull
(when the brain really starts doing noticeably interesting stuff).

@zenbowman @tucosan I mostly meditate alone on my computer chair and it can
work totally fine, I have many friends that do the same every day. I would get
rid of the 2 mins, and add 30,40,60,120 mins. If needed, fold out on hover.

Sure our devices can be noisey, but just like when sleeping, people can stop
the noises.

Physical exercise is a great idea, and goes well with meditation. Also there
online communities for meditation and practice these days, which is a good way
to build reinforcement as we're social creatures.

------
adamzerner
My two cents: I've been trying (on and off) to meditate for a few years now,
with very little success. I just did the 2-minute guided calm, and felt good!
This app seems to do a good job with their guided exercises.

------
jimmaswell
I've read about meditation, and a consensus I'd seen was that you're not doing
it right if you need an external aid. You're supposed to learn to do it on
your own entirely.

~~~
tehwalrus
Worrying about whether you're doing it right or wrong is much more of a
failure than using an unfocussed screen and gentle music/sounds.

If you're good, you should be able to successfully meditate whatever is going
on around you. I can (just about) do it on the tube (subway) during my
commute.

~~~
jimmaswell
Right, you're supposed to be able to do it whatever's going on, so it's bad to
use anything as a crutch.

------
bakhy
i would not call this meditation. the form of meditation which is most studied
and produces health effects is mindfulness meditation, and it does not involve
neither music nor scenery. also cool is transcendental meditation. this is
relaxing. not every form of relaxation is meditation.

although, i do not wish to belittle the effort of the authors. the site looks
beautiful, and i'm sure it will help people alleviate day-to-day stress.

------
shmerl
I like this one:
[http://mynoise.net/noiseMachines.php](http://mynoise.net/noiseMachines.php)

------
alexobenauer
Switching between the scenes is terribly slow; a thumbnail based selection
would be a smoother experience.

------
ZenoArrow
I remember avoiding revising in an exam hall when I was 16, dreaming up an
idea about 'Silence TV', which was a fictional channel for people to watch a
blank screen to relax. At the time I thought I was being pretty silly, now it
feels somewhat prescient.

------
pbhjpbhj
Seems no-one else was annoyed by the auto-play music and closed the tab before
they viewed the page?

FF27, WinXP

------
ThinkBeat
If you need to look at your computer to meditate you are doing it wrong.

And if you are writings apps to encourage people to need to look at a computer
with an internet connections t connect to your site you are not helping.

Never though I would hear myself has a luddite

------
webwanderings
The fact that I was immediately thinking about the cost (and so do many others
here) corrupts the experience right away. But anyways, very nice find for
today. Hope it stays as is in the distant future.

~~~
gxespino
Yeah but entrepreneurs have a shitty experience with anything that isn't their
own startup. We think and judge too much.

It's ok, I doubt we're their target market.

------
Shorel
Do you plan to add binaural beats?

It seems to me they fit perfectly with your vision.

------
jeremydavid
It certainly looks a lot better than the Million Dollar Homepage :)

------
porker
What's a good source for video and sounds like they've used? I have been
meaning to record some, but in the interests of laziness... where can I
buy/find for free?

Thank you :)

------
noir_lord
This is exceptionally well executed.

The ogg and mp4 files are lovely as well :).

------
RankingMember
Actually, integrate this with some kind of consumer-grade portable EEG to
monitor progress and I'll be the first person to give you my money.

~~~
dialsquare1886
This is already available. [http://www.heartmathstore.com/category/emwave-
desktop/emwave...](http://www.heartmathstore.com/category/emwave-
desktop/emwave-desktop-anxiety-relief)

~~~
rd108
this uses heart rate, not brain activity

------
snake_plissken
I love the music.

Also for what it's worth, the voice made me feel like I was in Michael Bay's
The Island. Somehow was that strangely meditative.

------
ada1981
Pretty sure this is being run by the guy (Alex) who created the "million
dollar homepage" years ago by selling pixels for a $1.

------
ndnichols
I don't know what this is doing for music, but I hear nothing from the website
and it disables all audio on my Mac. (10.8.5)

------
brandonhsiao
The video jumps between loops. It's sufficiently distracting while I'm
meditating that it makes me not want to use it.

~~~
webwanderings
Agree, noticed the same. The clouds are very quickly repeating. Hoping they'd
innovate here further.

------
futurist
Then there is Vow of Now: [http://vowofnow.com](http://vowofnow.com)

Different approach to the same problem.

------
gxespino
Two minute session was perfect. What a great way to break off, clear your
mind, and re focus for the second half of the day.

------
thrillgore
>Give me mystery meat navigation that vanishes on page load

>overly stimulating images

I like my approach to meditation -- with the laptop in sleep mode

------
smokinjoe
While it probably wouldn't be a trivial feature, I would love this to be
integrated with Chromecast in some way.

------
kolemcrae
They have an iphone app, they might simply charge for that... Id love to get
this on Android..

Also a full screen option would be nice.

------
taybin
Very nice. Although I feel I already enter a meditative state when I'm in
front of the glowing screen anyways.

------
chroman
I love the music. Would love to hear about a Spotify playlist with this kind
of relaxing music.

------
androck1
Would be great if it worked in IE instead of just "Loading..." indefinitely.

------
joemccall86
I hate to be "that guy," but this doesn't work for me in IE11.

------
sauronlord
Stop with the annoying music, faux chanting, and instructions. Bleh.

I had high hopes.

------
leke
I meditated while my computer crashed trying to load their webpage.

------
bitops
I think the whole website is lovely. I hope Calm does really well.

------
plg
the voice sounds like Catherine Keener

[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001416/?ref_=tt_cl_t6](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001416/?ref_=tt_cl_t6)

------
OhHeyItsE
that is a remarkably novel use of such a valuable domain name.

------
morenoh149
I met the creator at the launch fest this week. Standup guy!

------
clef
There is no need to meditate if you are never distracted.

~~~
KingMob
Doesn't that assume meditation is just about achieving focus?

~~~
clef
Well, yes, and if you can focus and be totally present at all times whatever
you are doing. There's many definitions for meditation. Some day it's simply
being as still and as dead as a rock, some say it's about regrouping all the
bits of you scattered all over the place...

~~~
KingMob
I think the people who hope to be as still and dead as a rock will have a bit
of a rude shock waiting for them once they actually dive into meditating. It
takes a _lot_ of practice to reach those states.

Anyway, as you mentioned, meditation has multiple definitions. There are many
forms that are about much more than just focus. Concentrative practices (e.g.,
samatha jhanas) are all about one-pointed focus, but mindfulness practice
(vipassana) also includes awareness of whatever flits about in the mind. In
this sense, it's about being aware of all the distractions... Metta practice
is one-pointed focus, but directed to cultivation of joyous feelings.

------
intull
I found my light-background-music-for-coding website! :)

------
holychiz
great idea. however, the water stream in the video is moving too fast to be
relaxing. any way to slow it down?

------
RRRA
Choppy water is hard to meditate to ;)

------
joeevans1000
cool!

to get rid of the annoying logo in the top left paste:

$('#logo').hide();

into the console of the dev tools (option-command-i on mac)

~~~
joeevans1000
by the way, if this resonates with anyone for whom meditation is new and they
want to learn more, a great book is

Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, by Shunryu Suzuki

that's a great book for anyone, new to meditation or not.

~~~
KingMob
I second this. Good book.

------
ozh
kind of disappointed the animated background is just a plain old mp4 movie :(

------
imranq
this is pretty calming

------
arturadib
Oculus Rift. Please.

~~~
abitsios
I'm not sure if you could actually meditate with the weight of the thing on
your face, but it would be an interesting experience nonetheless.

------
emocakes
Probably the worst place to attempt to meditate. Try doing it in a room with
no wifi, nothing distracting, a room that has nothing to do with work.

~~~
joeevans1000
I think there is some merit in several minute breaks right where you are
working.

------
benched
I can't find a pause button, and I found that a little frustrating.

~~~
dbtc
Maybe it was added after your comment but I see one on the bottom right of the
screen after starting one of the guided meditations or the timer.

------
benched
Unusually well done, especially the guided sessions.

------
kimonos
I tried it and I find it very helpful! Thanks!

