Famous Meditators

Jobs traveled to India in his twenties and became deeply devoted to Zen Buddhism. After returning, he studied under Soto Zen monk Kobun Chino Otogawa and practiced daily Zen meditation for over 30 years.

His famous saying "Intuition is more powerful than intellect" reflects the intuitive power he honed through meditation. Behind Apple's innovative product design was the Zen aesthetic of "less is more." Apple's headquarters included a meditation room for employees.

"If you just sit and observe, you will see how restless your mind is. If you try to calm it, it only makes it worse. But over time it does calm, and when it does, there's room to hear more subtle things. That's when your intuition starts to blossom."

Inamori was ordained as a lay Rinzai Zen Buddhist in 1997 and practiced daily zazen meditation for decades. The business titan who founded two Fortune 500 companies and rebuilt Japan Airlines at age 78 attributed his decision-making power to meditation.

Placing "altruistic mind" at the center of his management philosophy, Inamori said meditation helped him observe his own ego and develop the ability to make decisions from a broader perspective.

"Daily meditation is training to polish the mind. Just as a mirror must be polished every day, the mind too becomes clouded without daily practice."

Gandhi woke at 4 AM every morning and began his day with over an hour of meditation and prayer. No matter how busy the day, he never broke this habit. In fact, the busier the day, the longer he would meditate.

The mental strength to confront the British Empire through the unprecedented method of nonviolent resistance was built through years of daily meditation practice.

"I meditate for one hour on a busy day. On a very busy day, I meditate for two hours."

The author of the global bestseller "Sapiens" practices two hours of Vipassana meditation daily and attends a 45-60 day silent meditation retreat every year. In complete silence without TV or smartphones, he spends the time observing his breath and sensations.

Harari has stated plainly: "Without meditation, I could not have written Sapiens." His unique perspective of viewing human history from above was born from the training of objectively observing his own thought patterns through meditation.

"Meditation is not an escape from reality. It is getting in touch with reality directly. Most people spend their lives escaping into fictions."

The founder of the world's largest hedge fund has practiced Transcendental Meditation (TM) daily since 1969 -- for over 50 years.

"Meditation has been the single most important habit in my life," Dalio has publicly stated. Through the intense stress of financial markets, meditation gives him "the ability to be open-minded, see things from a higher level, and solve problems creatively."

"Meditation gives me equanimity, creativity, and the ability to see things from a higher level. Twenty minutes of meditation fundamentally changes the quality of my entire day."

Known as the "Zen Master," Phil Jackson achieved a record 11 NBA championships. With the Chicago Bulls, he taught Michael Jordan meditation; with the LA Lakers, he guided Kobe Bryant in mindfulness practice.

Jackson was one of the first professional sports coaches to formally introduce mindfulness meditation into team practice. He taught players the power of focusing on "this present moment," enabling peak performance under the highest pressure.

"Basketball is a meditation-like sport. When players are completely focused on the present moment, the team moves as a single living organism."

The cult filmmaker has practiced Transcendental Meditation twice daily -- 20 minutes each morning and evening -- since 1973, for over 50 years. He says he has never missed a session.

Lynch attributes his creativity to meditation and founded the David Lynch Foundation, which provides meditation programs to schools and trauma-affected veterans worldwide. His book "Catching the Big Fish" explores the relationship between meditation and creativity.

"Ideas are like fish. If you want to catch little fish, you can stay in the shallow water. But if you want to catch the big fish, you've got to go deeper. Meditation is the technique to go deeper."

The co-founder of Twitter practices morning meditation daily and has repeatedly attended 10-day Vipassana meditation retreats in Myanmar -- rigorous training involving over 10 hours of meditation per day in complete silence.

Despite being at the forefront of the tech industry, Dorsey deliberately disconnects completely from digital devices, saying this helps him maintain clarity for essential decision-making.

"Coming back from 10 days of silence, the world looks different. The noise of thinking fades, and only what truly matters becomes visible."

Ichiro, who recorded 4,367 combined hits across Japan and MLB, was famous for his meticulous pre-game routines. He woke at the same time every day, stretched in the same sequence, and performed the same ritual movements before every at-bat. This ceremonial preparation was essentially a practice of mindfulness -- anchoring his mind entirely in the present moment.

Ichiro valued "time spent in dialogue with his inner self" above all else, always setting aside quiet moments before games to settle his mind. His ability to eliminate distractions and focus completely on a single pitch was the product of years of mental discipline.

"The steady accumulation of small efforts is the only path to reaching extraordinary places."

Gates once believed meditation "wasn't for him," but began practicing after his wife Melinda's encouragement and reading Andy Puddicombe's "The Headspace Guide to Meditation." He now meditates for 10 minutes, two to three times a week.

On his blog, Gates describes meditation as "exercise for the mind" and analyzes its benefits from a scientific perspective. His honest account of going from skeptic to advocate has inspired many others to give meditation a try.

"I used to be skeptical about meditation, but now I'm a big supporter. Just 10 minutes organizes my mind and lets me think about things more clearly."

In 1968, all four Beatles visited Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's ashram in Rishikesh, India, to study Transcendental Meditation. This trip became one of the most famous meditation experiences in music history.

During their stay in India, approximately 48 songs were composed, many of which appeared on the White Album. George Harrison practiced meditation for the rest of his life, and Paul McCartney remains an active TM practitioner and advocate to this day.

"Meditation has the same effect as tuning a guitar. By retuning your mind, everything resonates more beautifully." -- Paul McCartney

Called "the most influential woman in America," Oprah practices Transcendental Meditation daily and has widely promoted the benefits of meditation through her shows and media empire. Together with Deepak Chopra, she hosted the "21-Day Meditation Challenge," which attracted millions of participants.

Having overcome a difficult childhood to build a media empire, Oprah says meditation gives her "the power to return to her center."

"Since I started meditating, every area of my life has improved. It's the one habit I wish I had started sooner."