Most guests on this show are people who found their way to sobriety and creativity through hard-won trial and error. This week’s guest is a small golden monkey in a patchwork waistcoat who has never had a drink in his life. His name is Jomo, and he teaches meditation to millions of people on TikTok alongside his human, Jason, at The Monkeymind Meditation Club.
Jomo’s origin story starts with Jason hitting a wall. He liked to drink and party until, as Jomo put it, “the bottom of the barrel was in sight.” Meditation pulled him out of it, and it worked so well that Jason wanted to teach it to others. The problem was that meditation looked strange and unapproachable to most beginners. So Jason built a version anyone could try, and gave it a monkey mascot to make the whole thing feel less intimidating and more human.
What Jomo shared in this conversation goes far beyond breathing techniques. He talked about why the mind is the most important tool we have, why meditation is less about being calm and more about clearing the noise so calm can show up, and why he believes people who choose sobriety are some of the bravest people alive. If you have ever avoided sitting with your own thoughts, this one is for you.
[00:50] Meet Jomo, the Meditation-Teaching Monkey
Jomo is the mascot and co-teacher behind Monkey Mind Meditation, run alongside his human, Jason.
The name plays on “monkey mind,” a term meditation teachers use for the constant jostling of thoughts and feelings we all deal with.
Jomo’s approach centers on making meditation feel ordinary instead of mystical or hard to access.
Key Insight:
“Hello, it’s lovely to be here.”
— Jomo
[03:05] From Rock Bottom to Monkey Mind: How the Journey Began
Jason struggled with drinking and partying before finding meditation as a way out.
Learning to meditate changed his life enough that he wanted to teach it to others.
Early students were put off because meditation online looked strange — people in odd positions, dramatic backdrops, nothing relatable.
Jason built a simpler, friendlier version of meditation and gave it a monkey mascot to make it approachable.
Key Insight:
“He liked to drink and he liked to party. And he realized that the bottom of the barrel was in sight.”
— Jomo
[05:55] Two Million Meditators: Growing an Audience on TikTok
The show started rough. Early viewers were confused and sometimes rude about what they were watching.
Growth was slow at first, then it exploded into hundreds of new viewers every week.
They’ve now done over 600 live sessions and reached more than 2 million people through TikTok.
New viewers tend to follow the same pattern: confusion, then curiosity, then commitment.
Key Insight:
“When they first come on, they think to themselves, what is this? And then they put the little acronym, WTF, which is a bit rude. But we stick with it. And then a few minutes later, they may say, oh, this is actually quite calming. And then a few minutes later, they’ll say, this is actually working. And then a few minutes later after that, they say, when are you next on? And then they’re a fan.”
— Jomo
[09:05] Why Your Mind Is the Most Important Tool You Own
Jomo argues the mind shapes the quality of everything else in life, including how we experience reality itself.
He points out that nobody gets a manual for how their brain works.
He describes meditation as a kind of daily software upgrade for the brain.
He calls the practice “a force field for good mental health” that needs to be recharged regularly, since life keeps throwing things at us.
Key Insight:
“I call it a force field for good mental health. Every time we meditate, we recharge that force field.”
— Jomo
[11:10] Sitting With the Monsters: Meditation and Sobriety
Jomo believes people on a sober journey are some of the bravest people around.
He connects addictive behavior to an unwillingness or inability to face what’s going on inside our own heads.
Meditation, in his view, is a way to sit with the parts of ourselves we normally avoid or numb.
He argues meditation doesn’t create calm directly. It removes noise, and calm follows from that.
Key Insight:
“Meditation helps us look inside. And sit with the monsters. And then when you sit with the monsters, you realize that the monsters just want to be heard. And when the monsters are heard, they go away.”
— Jomo
[13:32] Think Away: Making Meditation Approachable for Everyone
Jomo teaches people that trying to stop thinking is impossible, and fighting that fact just creates frustration.
Instead of suppressing thoughts, his method is to notice them and gently return to the breath or a mantra.
He reframes a common complaint — “I can’t meditate because my mind is too busy” — as the exact reason meditation is needed.
The format is deliberately ritualized (three deep breaths to start, a wriggle and stretch to close), which he says works especially well for their autistic community.
Key Insight:
“We teach people that you can’t stop thinking. That’s impossible. It’s like saying, don’t think of a pink elephant. And the first thing you do is you think of a pink elephant. So what we say is, think away. That’s okay. We’re not going to thought shame you here.”
— Jomo
[16:56] A Live Guided Meditation With Jomo
Jomo led a short mindfulness meditation live on the show, starting with three deep breaths.
The meditation focused on noticing thoughts without following them, comparing them to leaves floating past on a river.
He guided listeners toward the idea that we are the awareness watching our thoughts, not the thoughts themselves.
Several listeners in the chat reported feeling calmer immediately afterward.
Key Insight:
“And begin to sense that this breath is not something you’re doing, but something that’s happening to you.”
— Jomo
[26:03] Beyond TikTok: Variety, Reactions, and Where to Find Jomo Next
TikTok’s algorithm reportedly struggles with their content because viewers stop interacting while meditating.
Jomo shared a story about teaching meditation to someone with road rage, who learned to notice his anger instead of being swept up in it.
Their live sessions mix different formats: mindfulness meditations, Zen stories, visualization journeys (Peru, Morocco, even an imagined “Land of Cake”), and a loving kindness meditation to close things out.
They go live on TikTok Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and have recently started YouTube lives on Sundays at 9pm, with all past sessions archived on YouTube.
Key Insight:
“We start with a mindfulness-based meditation, then quite often we’ll have a little bit of a Zen story, and then after that we have a visualization meditation, so we go to ancient Peru, Morocco, or the Land of Cake we did the other day. And then we finally give people a taste of a loving kindness meditation at the end so that they go away feeling full of good vibes.”
— Jomo
Key Quotes
“When you sit with the monsters, you realize that the monsters just want to be heard. And when the monsters are heard, they go away.”
— Jomo
“It doesn’t make you calmer. It just takes away the noise. Calm follows.”
— Jomo
“And people say, I can’t meditate because my mind is too busy. To which we say, that’s like saying, I can’t go to the gym because I’m too unfit.”
— Jomo
“There’s nothing to achieve here. Nothing to get right. Just a soft arriving into this moment.”
— Jomo
“You’re not the passing thought. You’re the awareness that sees it. You’re not the changing story. You’re the space in which it appears.”
— Jomo
Resources Mentioned
Monkey Mind Meditation — Jomo and Jason’s meditation practice, live on TikTok and YouTube
Transcendental Meditation — the practice mentioned as Josh’s own current meditation approach
Vedic meditation — the tradition Jason teaches, described as closely related to Transcendental Meditation
Where to Find Jomo
TikTok: Live sessions Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
YouTube: Live sessions Sunday at 9pm, with all past recordings archived
Thank You
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who joined us live for this conversation, and to Jomo for his humor, warmth, and unexpected wisdom on what it actually takes to sit still. Your presence and engagement make these conversations possible.
A Natural Bridge
Jomo’s whole philosophy comes down to one idea: meditation doesn’t hand you calm directly, it clears the noise, and calm shows up on its own once the noise is gone. That’s the same principle behind alcohol and creativity. Alcohol is often the tool people reach for to avoid sitting with what’s actually happening in their heads. Removing it doesn’t hand you clarity right away either. It clears space, and clarity tends to follow from there.
If this episode stirred something for you and you're ready to do that work with support instead of alone, I coach a small number of people 1:1 through exactly this process. Send me a message at and let's talk about what that could look like for you.
