Most people know Sean “Diddy” Combs by his music, but the hip-hop mogul recently released a different kind of track: a guided meditation.
The 25-minute recorded meditation, which is available to download for free on Audible, is designed to help listeners relax before bed. It includes a mix of deep breathing exercises, gratitude prompts and relaxation techniques, all voiced by Combs.
“I wasn’t always the best at prioritizing sleep I didn’t always understand its power,” Combs, 50, said in the meditation titled “Honor Yourself.” “But now I do, and I want to help you find it, too.”
Last year, Combs worked with Arianna Huffington, author and founder of Thrive Global, to improve his own sleep habits. He then collaborated with Thrive Global to produce this meditation.
At the start of his career, Combs had a reputation in the music industry for pulling all-nighters and even had the phrase “no sleep” painted on the wall of his studio, Bad Boy Records. (Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates once had a similar attitude to sleep.)
Combs, who had an estimated worth of $740 million as of 2019, said in the meditation that he tends to “move fast throughout my day,” but had to take time to learn how to slow down before bed.
“Getting a solid rejuvenating night’s sleep will allow you to put the work in tomorrow towards whatever it is that you are focusing on,” Combs said. “Sleep will fuel your creativity, it will feed your happiness, your hustle and your internal drive.”
Research has shown that mindfulness meditations that focus on moment-by-moment experiences, thoughts and emotions invoke a relaxation response that can help reduce insomnia, depression and daytime fatigue. Other studies suggest that even meditating for 20 minutes each day for two weeks can improve your sleep quality and duration.
Beyond sleep, there are many other benefits to having a meditation practice.
Combs’ business mentor, hedge-fund billionaire Ray Dalio, is also a big fan of meditation. Specifically, Dalio practices Transcendental Meditation (or TM), a type of meditation that requires sitting for 20 minutes twice a day and repeating a mantra.
TM “has enhanced my open-mindedness, higher-level perspective, equanimity and creativity,” Dalio wrote in his book “Principles.” “It helps slow things down so that I can act calmly, even in the face of chaos, just like a ninja in a street fight.”
While TM is a proprietary practice that requires a four-day course to learn, Diddy’s meditation requires no experience and can be accessed through the Audible audiobook store. Other online meditation resources, such as Headspace and Calm, have released free meditations to help support people amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
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