Dave Asprey isn’t just about optimizing health—he’s about upgrading human potential. The OG biohacker, founder of Bulletproof, and creator of 40 Years of Zen has spent decades exploring how to rewire the brain for peak performance. His latest book, Heavily Meditated, takes a deep dive into meditation like you’ve never seen before—fusing ancient practices with modern tech to unlock altered states, boost cognitive function, and tap into unlimited energy.

This isn’t your typical mindfulness guide. Asprey’s approach pulls in breathwork, neurofeedback, sexual energy, and even controlled pain to help you break through mental barriers and reach new levels of focus, resilience, and creativity. Ready to go beyond basic meditation? Here are five key takeaways from Heavily Meditated to help you master your mind and body.

Dave Asprey’s Top 5 Tips to Become Heavily Meditated

When I was in my mid-20s my brain was trashed. I was failing out of business school, had constant brain fog and was triggered by everything. The most muscular part of my body was my middle finger. When a brain scan revealed total chaos happening in my brain I made it my mission to learn about the most effective ways to improve brain performance. I’ve traveled around the world to Nepal and Tibet to learn meditation from the masters. I’ve also spent over 3 months of my life with electrodes glued to my head doing neurofeedback. Along the way I’ve learned what works and what doesn’t and that’s what I teach in my new book, Heavily Meditated. Here I’m going to share five of my top tips you can start today to improve your brain and your energy.

The power of forgiveness

Stored traumas – big and small – are holding you back from reaching your full potential. Fear is energetically expensive and storing triggers in your subconscious takes up a lot of your energy. This leaves you with little to no energy left to do other things that matter like playing with your kids or writing a book. The solution? Forgiveness. Forgiveness isn’t about telling someone what they did to you was OK. It’s about letting go of the grip that person and the trigger have on you. The trick is you have to feel forgiveness in your body in order for it to work. At 40 Years of Zen, my neuroscience facility, we have found that the most effective way to feel forgiveness is with something called The Reset Process. This involves going through a series of steps to forgive whoever wronged you so you can release the trigger. You can find the full version of this technique in the new book.

Do some breathwork

You can enter altered states similar to ones you’d get with advanced meditation or psychedelics simply by changing the way you breathe. There are endless types of breathwork you can do. I walk you through several in Heavily Meditated. One of my favorites is the box breath. Use this one when you want more zen in your life. Here’s how you do it: Get comfy, sit up straight, and take a breath in through your nose for a count of four. Hold it at the top for a count of four. Exhale through your nose gently for a count of four. Hold at the bottom for a count of four. Repeat for a few rounds until you feel calm.

Intuition over ego

Your ego and your intuition are powerful forces in your mind, shaping how you perceive and interact with the world. They’re like two different operating systems running in your brain, each with its own agenda and way of processing information. Your ego is there to keep you alive and make you look good. Your intuition is your “inner-knowing” and it’s usually right. So, how do you start tuning into your intuition? Intuition is the first thing you feel in your body before your emotions (ego) get in the way. When someone says “go with your gut feeling”, they’re referring to your intuition. The more you listen to your intuition, the better you’ll get at doing so. When you practice listening to your intuition, you make smarter choices that save you energy.

Get curious

Fear wastes a lot of energy. Unfortunately, most of us walk around in constant fight-or-flight mode. It’s not your fault. Your body has a built-in system that’s designed to keep you alive just in case you’re chased by a predator. Luckily you don’t have to worry about being chased by a predator, but that doesn’t mean that your body isn’t still constantly scanning for threats – like a work deadline or a family member that you don’t quite get along with. Here’s something to try next time you feel fearful – get curious. Curiosity is the antidote to fear. Next time something makes you feel anxious, instead of immediately flying off the handle, get curious – “Hmm, that’s interesting. I wonder why I’m feeling like this? Is this really a threat?” You’ll feel the tension immediately dissipate.

Brief Intentional Conscious Exposure to Pain (BICEP)

When you push yourself through an intense sprint workout or spend five minutes in an ice bath, you set off a cascade of feel-good endorphins throughout your body (This is also why some people get tattoos or love eating hot chili peppers!). I call it BICEP which stands for Brief, Intentional Conscious Exposure to Pain. BICEP helps you recalibrate your brain’s reward system, which may be a little dysregulated by instant gratification from modern technology. By regularly exposing yourself to this type of controlled stress, you’re training your body to become more resilient and responsive to natural dopamine triggers. When you do something challenging in the morning it makes everything else in your day seem like a breeze and you become a more pleasant, calm person. So, take the morning cold plunge, do a brief HIIT workout, or sweat it out in a hot sauna.