from Hacker News

Meditate in front of your computer with Calm

by ebahnx on 2/26/14, 7:26 PM with 172 comments

• by zenbowman on 2/26/14, 10:02 PM

  This picture sums up my thoughts perfectly:

  http://anticache.img0.joyreactor.com/pics/post/comics-before...

  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

• by buckbova on 2/26/14, 8:00 PM

  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

  "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."

• by primitivesuave on 2/26/14, 10:53 PM

  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.

• by TheyCalledHimBo on 2/26/14, 8:38 PM

  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.

• by comice on 2/27/14, 12:01 AM

  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.

• by enraged_camel on 2/26/14, 9:00 PM

  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!

• by ThinkBeat on 2/26/14, 9:55 PM

  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.

• by sergiotapia on 2/26/14, 9:13 PM

  "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.

• by crazygringo on 2/26/14, 9:19 PM

  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. :)

• by andrewcooke on 2/26/14, 8:44 PM

  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?

• by joosters on 2/26/14, 8:31 PM

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

• by volaski on 2/26/14, 8:44 PM

  Apparently, they raised $415K investment http://techcrunch.com/2013/02/26/relaxation-resource-calm-co... I wonder how they will pay it all off

• by amouat on 2/26/14, 8:13 PM

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

• by lindig on 2/26/14, 8:47 PM

  This is similar to 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.

• by gojomo on 2/26/14, 11:16 PM

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

• by theknown99 on 2/26/14, 10:06 PM

  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.

• by RankingMember on 2/26/14, 8:11 PM

  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.

• by comice on 2/26/14, 10:53 PM

  Am looking forward to my meditations being monetized!

• by peterwwillis on 2/26/14, 8:01 PM

  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?

• by aik on 2/26/14, 8:03 PM

  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?

• by rabbitonrails on 2/27/14, 5:29 AM

  "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

• by luke-stanley on 2/28/14, 9:15 PM

  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.

• by adamzerner on 2/27/14, 5:14 AM

  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.

• by jimmaswell on 2/26/14, 9:15 PM

  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.

• by bakhy on 2/27/14, 12:51 PM

  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.

• by shmerl on 2/26/14, 10:53 PM

  I like this one: http://mynoise.net/noiseMachines.php

• by alexobenauer on 2/26/14, 8:41 PM

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

• by ZenoArrow on 2/27/14, 12:53 PM

  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.

• by pbhjpbhj on 2/27/14, 11:28 AM

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

  FF27, WinXP

• by ThinkBeat on 2/26/14, 9:51 PM

  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

• by webwanderings on 2/26/14, 9:06 PM

  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.

• by Shorel on 2/26/14, 8:55 PM

  Do you plan to add binaural beats?

  It seems to me they fit perfectly with your vision.

• by jeremydavid on 2/26/14, 8:09 PM

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

• by porker on 2/27/14, 2:40 PM

  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 :)

• by noir_lord on 2/26/14, 8:26 PM

  This is exceptionally well executed.

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

• by RankingMember on 2/26/14, 8:12 PM

  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.

• by snake_plissken on 2/26/14, 8:55 PM

  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.

• by ada1981 on 2/27/14, 1:13 AM

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

• by ndnichols on 2/26/14, 10:02 PM

  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)

• by _xhok on 2/26/14, 8:20 PM

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

• by futurist on 2/26/14, 9:31 PM

  Then there is Vow of Now: http://vowofnow.com

  Different approach to the same problem.

• by gxespino on 2/26/14, 9:07 PM

  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.

• by thrillgore on 2/27/14, 5:49 PM

  >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

• by smokinjoe on 2/26/14, 8:32 PM

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

• by kolemcrae on 2/26/14, 8:25 PM

  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.

• by taybin on 2/26/14, 8:28 PM

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

• by chroman on 2/27/14, 4:58 AM

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

• by androck1 on 2/26/14, 10:49 PM

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

• by joemccall86 on 2/27/14, 1:42 AM

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

• by sauronlord on 2/27/14, 2:03 AM

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

  I had high hopes.

• by leke on 2/26/14, 9:46 PM

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

• by bitops on 2/27/14, 8:55 AM

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

• by plg on 2/26/14, 8:32 PM

  the voice sounds like Catherine Keener

  http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001416/?ref_=tt_cl_t6

• by OhHeyItsE on 2/26/14, 9:29 PM

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

• by morenoh149 on 2/26/14, 10:20 PM

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

• by clef on 2/26/14, 11:54 PM

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

• by intull on 2/27/14, 8:37 AM

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

• by holychiz on 2/26/14, 11:24 PM

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

• by RRRA on 2/27/14, 3:16 PM

  Choppy water is hard to meditate to ;)

• by joeevans1000 on 2/27/14, 12:57 AM

  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)

• by ozh on 2/26/14, 10:04 PM

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

• by imranq on 2/26/14, 8:55 PM

  this is pretty calming

• by arturadib on 2/27/14, 3:50 PM

  Oculus Rift. Please.

• by emocakes on 2/27/14, 12:12 AM

  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.

• by benched on 2/26/14, 10:59 PM

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

• by benched on 2/26/14, 8:38 PM

  Unusually well done, especially the guided sessions.

• by kimonos on 2/27/14, 1:11 AM

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