0:00

I'm your host, Dr. Heather Frederick, and today I

0:01

welcome back a very special guest.

0:06

As Dr. Juniper Ellis, she is professor of English

0:06

at Loyola University, Maryland, where her

0:12

teachings focus on liberation and hope.

0:15

As Swami Netyananda, she is a spiritual

0:15

teacher and spiritual leader at Awake

0:21

Yoga Meditation, a meditation community,

0:24

physically located in Baltimore, that

0:24

reaches listeners all over the world.

0:29

I'm so excited, swami,

0:29

welcome back to the show.

0:32

It's amazing to talk with you, Heather. So when we met last, we had a delightful

0:34

conversation about trusting yourself.

0:40

And listeners, if you haven't heard that

0:40

episode, or you think it may be something

0:44

that you need to hear right now, I will

0:44

have that link in the show notes below.

0:49

But at the end of that episode, I said

0:49

I wanted to have you come back because

0:53

we didn't even talk about your book.

0:56

Awake, the yoga of pure awareness.

0:59

And so I want to start by saying thank you

0:59

for giving me the experience of your book.

1:04

It was amazing. And I guess let's just start with where

1:06

did the idea for this book come from?

1:12

So good question. And thank you just for the kindness

1:13

of the intro and for reading the book.

1:16

It's so fun to talk with you. And I also really respect your book, the

1:17

Happy Doc Student Handbook, so appreciate

1:22

the light and the joy that you share. So always the teachings that I

1:24

share are inspired by humans.

1:29

And so we meditate in person in Baltimore,

1:29

as you mentioned, and there's almost like

1:35

a silent call and response that happens.

1:38

Like you're standing there in a room

1:38

and on an inner level, it's almost, you

1:42

can feel the questions that are being

1:42

asked without being spoken in words.

1:47

And so the meditations

1:47

always come from that.

1:50

They come from the questions that

1:50

humans have in time and space.

1:54

Those questions of, I'm here in a human

1:54

body, I have these human emotions, I have

1:58

these human thoughts and experiences,

1:58

and I've got my family, I've got

2:03

my work, I've got, I know a lot of

2:03

your students also have PhD programs

2:08

that they're advancing forward in. And so, any listener from any

2:10

background, we have our portfolio.

2:15

We have the strengths, the things that

2:15

we love, the things that come easily

2:19

to us, but we also have a learning edge

2:19

, areas of our life where we are growing.

2:25

And so the teachings in AWAKE, the

2:25

Yoga of Pure Awareness, help us to

2:30

identify what our strengths are and

2:30

be very calm and confident and clear

2:34

in relation to those, and then help us

2:34

build on those strengths in a way that

2:39

helps us transform from within so that

2:39

we are more easily able to expand in

2:46

the areas where we are expanding, or

2:46

grow in the areas where we are growing.

2:49

And so "awakeness" is

2:49

just being alive to that.

2:52

It's a very dynamic process. It's very joyful.

2:55

It's very full of inspiration. It's very full of wisdom.

2:59

And it's also just a lot of fun to live

2:59

in this, there's almost like a freshness

3:03

and effervescence that is available to us.

3:06

And I absolutely experienced

3:06

that when I was reading the book.

3:10

I love the format, I love reading

3:10

stories and parables, and you

3:14

had a ton of questions in there.

3:16

You know, you said this was kind of

3:16

birthed from questions that we have.

3:20

You had tons of questions that

3:20

really caused me to pause.

3:23

So much of my book is highlighted, and

3:23

they serve as journal prompts, because

3:27

it really gets you to ask yourself, what

3:27

does it mean to be here in this human

3:34

body and want to be awake when so much

3:34

of the world doesn't seem to be awake?

3:39

And we were talking about this

3:39

before we started recording, that

3:43

your book, it's not all about

3:43

rainbows and puppy dogs, right?

3:47

There's this joy within that we can tap

3:47

into, but how do you do that when so

3:51

much around you- and I'm talking, you

3:51

know, listener, you've got your doctoral

3:56

program, you've got work, you've got

3:56

your family, you've got stuff going on.

4:00

And all that is inside a larger

4:00

framework, pandemic, , historical,

4:05

social, political wars that are happening.

4:09

And so I would love to hear your

4:09

insights on how do we come to

4:12

terms with all those things. Thank you so much for asking, and I think

4:15

I would share in a couple of different

4:19

ways, and maybe from a couple of different

4:19

frameworks, the basic premise is that

4:24

joy and peace and a sense of freedom and

4:24

spontaneity are present within every human

4:29

always, and that it's inner, so that I do

4:29

not need to delay, I don't need to wait

4:35

one moment, I can snap my fingers, and

4:35

in that moment, I can decide that there

4:41

is nothing that can keep me from loving

4:41

this peace that is within me continually.

4:49

There is nothing that can keep me from

4:49

enjoying this sense of freedom and

4:55

expansion and dynamic joy and good humor

4:55

that are always available from within me.

5:02

When I have contact with that -so now

5:02

I'll start to deal with a couple of

5:06

contexts- that will allow me, and I'm

5:06

giving very specific examples from my

5:11

daily life that will allow me to teach

5:11

literature about racial justice to young

5:18

people who are coming to terms with the

5:18

I'll horrendous inhumanity that humans

5:25

are capable of creating for other humans.

5:27

And so the young people I

5:27

teach are deeply committed.

5:31

They're so brilliant. They're so brave. They're so courageous and they want to be

5:32

here to help the world be a better place.

5:37

And they're also deeply aware of the

5:37

structures of pain and the structures

5:42

of inequality, the structures

5:42

that do not make humans feel joy.

5:47

And so to help them connect with

5:47

people who have walked this way before

5:51

us, and I mean that's everyone from

5:51

Frederick Douglass, to Harriet Tubman,

5:56

to Zora Neale Hurston, to all of

5:56

the literary and cultural ancestors

6:03

that students might like to claim,

6:03

but it's also our own ancestors.

6:07

Like our own grandparents and

6:07

our own great grandparents, the

6:10

people in our lives, the teachers

6:10

in our lives who have supported us

6:14

and inspired us and sustained us.

6:17

And when we take this deep, long view

6:17

of human history, we're able to see that

6:22

in every human era, there are humans who

6:22

have lived with courage and clarity and

6:28

brilliance and have lived hope, Have

6:28

lived peace, have lived justice, and

6:35

they have changed the face of the planet

6:35

because of the way that they have lived.

6:41

And so students walk out of these classes

6:41

with a felt direct awareness that the

6:46

choices each of us make matter deeply.

6:50

The choices each of us make, the thoughts

6:50

we think, the words we speak, the way

6:54

in which we interact with the other

6:54

humans in our lives go out beyond us.

6:58

They have ripple effects. They touch hundreds of people.

7:02

They touch thousands of people. We are making a difference, all of

7:04

us, in our daily lives continually.

7:08

So, I'll pause there. I mean, that's just one

7:09

example but we all do this

7:11

continually in our daily lives.

7:14

What I noticed was that you didn't

7:14

start with the issue and then how

7:19

you reconcile to a state of peace.

7:21

You started with connecting

7:21

with yourself first.

7:27

I would agree with you very much. So the, the basic premise from the Yogic

7:28

Traditions, and I would also say at

7:33

Awake Yoga Meditation, we welcome people

7:33

of all nationalities, all backgrounds,

7:37

all walks of life, all traditions. So whatever tradition any listener

7:40

identifies with, connect with the

7:44

way that you connect with light or

7:44

truth or the divine by whatever name

7:48

you call light or truth or divine.

7:51

Respect for that and connect with that.

7:54

That is with you and

7:54

within you continually.

7:57

You are never separate

7:57

from that for one moment.

8:00

And so this is about much more

8:00

than -I have a meditation practice-

8:04

but it's about much more than

8:04

my seated meditation practice.

8:07

What happens is as I sit in my

8:07

seated meditation practice and then

8:12

I get up and I move through my day,

8:12

eventually there becomes no barrier.

8:17

All of it becomes meditation. All of it becomes peace.

8:21

All of it becomes kindness. And the same is true, so for a person

8:23

who has a practice of connecting with the

8:28

breath, the way that you talk about in

8:28

your, the Happy Doc Student Handbook, that

8:33

we can be connected to the breath always.

8:36

Because after we notice in a specific

8:36

breath awareness practice, then we

8:41

notice the breath is with us continually.

8:43

And so we can have this continual

8:43

renewal and refreshment, just breathing

8:47

a breath of freshness into our own heart.

8:51

And it can give us a reset. So say that we've had an intense

8:53

meeting with a board of directors

8:56

or a board of trustees, or we've had

8:56

some really challenging situation

9:01

at business or in our family lives.

9:03

That breath of freshness, that

9:03

breath that allows us to reset

9:08

it's right there. It's free.

9:11

It's always present. And so we're just

9:13

connecting with that first. And then we're able to connect with this

9:15

sense of resourcefulness and ideas flow

9:21

to us because we're actually connecting

9:21

with a different part of our brain.

9:25

We're not connecting with the

9:25

fear based part of our brain.

9:27

We're connecting with the part of our

9:27

brain that has access to inspiration

9:32

and insight and ideas and is aware that

9:32

when we are not coming from a fear based

9:37

part of our brain, we're in contact

9:37

with the light and the peace within

9:41

ourselves, which helps us connect with

9:41

the light and peace within others.

9:45

And so this means we're always

9:45

operating at a level deeper than

9:49

labels, deeper than judgment.

9:51

And so the community, the cooperation,

9:51

the solutions, the agreements that that

9:56

emerge from that, they're unprecedented

9:56

and they're also not predictable.

10:00

So when we live in this way, our

10:00

lives will be very dynamic and it's

10:05

really fun because then we're sort of

10:05

curious and we're always exploring,

10:10

we're back to that-, we keep the

10:10

adult wisdom, but we're back to

10:13

that childlike innocence and wonder

10:13

and continually asking questions.

10:19

So when you were, talking, I

10:19

recollected back to when I first

10:24

really started understanding my

10:24

nervous system, my vagus nerve,

10:28

this being stuck in a state of fear.

10:31

And I see that a lot, not just

10:31

in doctoral students, but I'd

10:34

say especially post pandemic.

10:36

And now it's almost like it's

10:36

being irritated with everything

10:40

that's happening in the news. So you can't turn on the news or

10:42

scroll through social media now

10:46

without, your nervous system being

10:46

activated into a state of fear.

10:50

And then when you're in that state of

10:50

fear, I love that you brought up -it's

10:53

a totally different part of your brain. And the fear based part of our

10:55

brain- and so for listeners, I would

10:58

invite each of us to be aware of, I

10:58

think a contemporary way to phrase

11:03

What are my triggers?

11:05

Like, what are the areas of sensitivity?

11:07

And it can just be something simple in

11:07

your family that's not based on the news.

11:11

Like your sister could have a

11:11

way of quirking her eyebrow at

11:13

you that just sort of makes you

11:13

want to shriek, whatever it is.

11:17

I don't have a sister, so

11:17

that's not a, not a biographical

11:19

example, but just, it's that way.

11:23

And so it's for each of us to have a

11:23

sense of humor and wisdom and kindness

11:28

and awareness, like what are my triggers?

11:32

And then to also be able

11:32

to be very judicious.

11:35

Like I would say I read the news, but

11:35

I also am I'm going to be careful and

11:41

mindful about the way in which I read it. I wouldn't read it right before

11:43

going to sleep, for example.

11:46

Wouldn't recommend it. And after I read the

11:47

news, I will allow time.

11:50

If I need to go take a five minute

11:50

walk and just say "Hi" to the nice

11:53

trees in my neighborhood, I would go

11:53

do that to sort of, I think it is,

11:57

it's a grounding, calming, centering.

12:01

It refreshes and resets. It connects you with the healthy,

12:03

beautiful, good things of this world.

12:06

And so it's really important for

12:06

all of us, whatever our line of work

12:10

is, to be connected to the healthy,

12:10

beautiful, good things of this world.

12:14

That's what gives us the strength to keep

12:14

working on behalf of what we believe in.

12:18

That's what gives us the strength to

12:18

keep working on behalf of our kids or our

12:21

grandkids or, you know, our businesses,

12:21

our clients, whoever we're being of

12:28

this is what I know at

12:28

the core of my being.

12:32

This is what I know to be true. And I will live out of that truth.

12:37

And there is nothing that happens in

12:37

time and space that can detour me from

12:41

being nourished by that sense of strength

12:41

and that sense of aliveness and light

12:47

that is always here within myself.

12:49

And so then it also becomes

12:49

incumbent upon me to nourish as

12:55

well that sense of inspiration.

12:57

So for example, if I spend whatever,

12:57

let's just say 15 minutes,.

13:02

Let's say I spend 15 minutes reading the

13:02

news or social media, as you mentioned.

13:06

What if I also then spend 15 minutes

13:06

reading an inspiring, peaceful, joyful

13:13

book that helps me connect to that

13:13

strength of spirit that I always

13:18

have present within me, or that helps

13:18

me know the way incredibly calm and

13:24

courageous, very brave and beautiful

13:24

humans who have walked this way before

13:28

me have handled situations that seemed

13:28

impossible to them at the time, and

13:33

they came out of it on the other side. Having lived with integrity, having

13:35

worked on behalf of peace, having

13:39

worked to create understanding and

13:39

build bridges and make it possible, the

13:43

horizon in so many ways is brighter.

13:47

And so for us who are here right now at

13:47

this particular juncture, to be aware that

13:52

we are here at a time of transformation,

13:52

we're here at a time of Transition.

13:57

We're here at a time of change,

13:57

and so to live from that calm,

14:00

focused, centered awareness within

14:00

ourselves always makes it possible.

14:05

A lot of the change can be

14:05

positive if we work toward that.

14:10

If we allow the changes that we encounter

14:10

to help us always keep choosing what's

14:14

noble, what's kind, what's good, what's

14:14

honorable, what is beneficial to the good

14:19

and the wellbeing of the whole and of all.

14:23

Your book has a prevailing theme of

14:23

kindness, and what a friend and I

14:30

have been having this intellectual

14:30

discussion about lately is where is

14:36

this balance between being immersed

14:36

in things that are uncomfortable.

14:44

Things that are happening in the

14:44

world are things that are happening

14:46

in your life, and balancing this

14:46

with what we believe is our divine

14:51

right of inner joy, peace, stability.

14:55

And it kind of came back to being

14:55

kind to yourself and prioritizing self

15:02

care so that you could make decisions

15:02

about how to navigate the world.

15:07

And I get that through your book the

15:07

questions that you ask, and that

15:12

you ask the reader to delve into,

15:12

really do bring to the forefront of

15:18

how are you being kind to yourself?

15:21

That's a really lovely question. And so for a listener, before you get

15:23

out of bed in the morning, before you

15:29

look at the phone in the morning, to

15:29

connect with what you love most deeply,

15:35

that gives you a sense of inner hope.

15:37

Inner courage, inner

15:37

strength, inner confidence.

15:41

That truth which you know with the whole

15:41

of your being, that goodness, that beauty

15:48

that is present in your life and it's

15:48

present within the lives of each of us.

15:51

There's so much goodness and there's

15:51

so much beauty present in the lives of

15:55

each of us that energy of love, if you

15:55

want to use that word, that energy of

16:00

pure love that is within each of us. It's very sweet, it's very simple,

16:02

it's honorable, it's innocent, it's

16:06

noble to connect with that energy

16:06

before we look at anything in the

16:10

external world, and to allow that

16:10

energy to come to life within us.

16:16

So that we are amplifying that

16:16

feeling in our heart before we

16:20

get out of bed in the morning. We're amplifying that feeling in our

16:21

brain, in our mind, in our thinking.

16:26

We're inviting that feeling to energize

16:26

the cells in our body and to help us

16:30

have a feeling of joy and vitality.

16:33

And then if we think through our day,

16:33

still lying in bed, connected to this

16:37

current of inspiration and wisdom.

16:40

Think about the events of our day, the

16:40

humans that we're going to encounter,

16:44

it could be our family members, it could

16:44

be our partner, it could be clients

16:48

or students or colleagues, it could be

16:48

high powered business associates whom

16:53

we're going to be encountering, but to

16:53

pre- pave the way so that this energy

16:59

of clarity, this energy of peace, this

16:59

energy of joy from within yourself is

17:04

moving through your day in advance of

17:04

your being there in time and space,

17:10

and it will give you a completely

17:10

different orientation to your day.

17:16

All of a sudden what you're doing

17:16

is you're encountering your day and

17:19

all the events, all the persons,

17:19

all the happenings from this sense

17:24

of spaciousness, clarity, and

17:24

peace that is within yourself.

17:28

Nothing in the world can give you that

17:28

sense of spaciousness, clarity and peace.

17:33

Nothing. It comes from within.

17:36

And then when we have that sense of

17:36

spaciousness, clarity, and peace within

17:40

ourselves, independent of what is

17:40

happening in the world, inwardly we may

17:45

feel spaciousness, clarity, and peace.

17:49

And that will actually allow us to be more

17:49

present to what we experience in time and

17:54

space and to what other people that we

17:54

encounter experience in time and space.

17:58

So I want to be very clear. This is not about ignoring

18:00

the reality of the world.

18:04

This is about connecting. First, with a sense of quiet, first, with

18:07

a sense of kindness and joy, and then

18:13

we will be able to be calm and centered

18:13

and focused and steady and sweet and

18:19

grounded with whatever we encounter.

18:22

And Swami, your suggestion to

18:22

start the day out that way, it

18:25

doesn't have to take a long time. Would you agree?

18:29

Totally. I mean, so for a person who's

18:29

just starting this out, three

18:33

minutes, and the steps that I went

18:33

through, I was doing them in words.

18:38

If you practice this, you'll

18:38

internalize it, and it becomes

18:41

like a current of feeling. So then in like three breaths, you can

18:42

connect with this current of feeling.

18:47

And then also, once you've

18:47

practiced this, you almost create

18:51

a muscle memory in your body. And then in the middle of the day,

18:53

if you need, you can take a break,

18:56

wash your hands, take a drink of

18:56

water, take three breaths, and you're

19:00

back in that current of energy. And it will carry you

19:02

throughout the rest of the day.

19:04

So people who meditate with us, who are

19:04

CEOs or doctors or lawyers or surgeons

19:09

or dentists, like high powered people,

19:09

they say that a mini meditation, just

19:15

for a couple of moments, can help reset

19:15

whatever it is that they're engaged in.

19:20

And it increases the quality of

19:20

the awareness, the focus, the

19:26

decisions that they're making. It increases the quality of their

19:28

interactions and their relationships.

19:31

And you're absolutely right,

19:31

it can be a single moment.

19:36

It's so simple. So simple. It's a complicated world we're living

19:37

in, and sometimes I think there's

19:41

resistance to these beautiful, simple

19:41

tools that can absolutely change your

19:47

experience of being in a human body.

19:50

I start out with centering in the morning.

19:53

I shared this in detail in our last

19:53

episode, so if listeners are curious,

19:56

I'll let them click on that link. But I loved in your book, and

19:58

you did it on the beginning of

20:02

the episode here, you snapped. I love this practical

20:03

suggestion of a snap.

20:07

Could you share that with the listeners? Absolutely.

20:10

So one of the teachings, this is from

20:10

the Zen tradition in Japan, and the

20:15

teaching is if you snap your fingers

20:15

in that single snap, that's One moment.

20:21

And there are 65 opportunities

20:21

to wake up in every moment.

20:25

So snap and there's 65 opportunities to

20:25

enter into that current of freshness.

20:31

Snap again if you need another reset.

20:34

There's 65 more opportunities

20:34

to enter into that current

20:38

of freshness and aliveness. And I think one of the things that I

20:39

love about this, you were alluding

20:42

to this, but just to spell it out. If we've been I mean, I can give an

20:44

example so hunched over the computer or,

20:50

you know, surgeons meditate with us, so I'm thinking about how intense that

20:52

can be, how focused that work has to be.

20:56

It's so fine tuned and it's

20:56

detailed and it really matters.

21:00

I mean, that's some very intense work. And so then you straighten up like

21:02

you've been bending over your keyboard

21:05

or you've been bending over, you know,

21:05

the operating table, and then you

21:08

straighten up and you want to reset,

21:11

snapping your fingers is a wonderful

21:11

way to do that because it's a signal

21:15

to your body and to your energy

21:15

field -that's finished right now.

21:20

I'm not hunched over the keyboard anymore. I'm not engaged in that intense

21:21

surgical theater that I was

21:26

just in, in that operation. And so I'm giving myself

21:28

a kinesthetic reset.

21:31

Like I can feel this in my body.

21:33

And you were talking about the,

21:33

the nervous system earlier.

21:36

We were talking about the brain as well. Just that simple snap can give a reset to

21:38

the brain and the nervous system as well.

21:43

So, really accessible for every listener.

21:46

And I would just play with

21:46

it because for listeners, I'm

21:49

a person, I love good humor, like the sort of healthy humor that

21:51

doesn't laugh at people, but it's just

21:56

laughing with life, with joy, like the

21:56

good humored, good spirited kind of humor.

22:00

And I find that just that ability

22:00

to snap and to connect with

22:04

that sense of humor is a gift.

22:07

As long as we have our sense of

22:07

humor, we sort of have perspective.

22:11

We're able to take a step back. We're able to know, so that that

22:13

expansive, clear awareness, part

22:18

of our brain, we're able to access

22:18

that, and we're able to work wisely.

22:23

There's no human who is free

22:23

from the fear- based brain.

22:28

As long as we're here in a human

22:28

body, the fear- based brain is

22:31

there, and it could get activated.

22:33

We receive a lot of

22:33

invitations to activate it.

22:36

The other parts of our brain can

22:36

wisely choose to look at the fear-

22:42

based part of our brain and say,

22:42

Do I want to engage with that fear?

22:46

Do I want to panic right now?

22:49

Do I gain anything by

22:49

feeling fear right now?

22:53

Would I actually be more of service

22:53

if I noted the situation, I retain

23:00

the awareness of the situation,

23:00

and I respectfully and lovingly

23:05

decline to feel fear in my body?

23:09

Because unless I actually need to

23:09

run to get out of the way of an

23:14

elephant or something, and I need

23:14

that burst of adrenaline, chances are

23:19

fear is not going to help my body.

23:23

Chances are fear is not going to help

23:23

my brain, it's not going to help my

23:26

immune system, it's not going to help

23:26

my nervous system, it's not going

23:30

to help my relationships, it's not

23:30

going to help the quality of my work.

23:35

And so the converse is also true.

23:38

If I have the ability to be aware,

23:38

but also say, I decline to feel fear.

23:45

Because I am aware that my nervous

23:45

system is happier and healthier.

23:50

My sleep and my immune system and my

23:50

relationships are happier and healthier.

23:56

My work is higher quality

23:56

and happier and healthier.

24:00

If I decline to feel fear, I keep the

24:00

awareness and I allow myself to connect

24:06

with inspiration rather than fear.

24:09

I allow myself to connect with

24:09

wisdom and clarity and discernment

24:13

so that I'm able to respond. Clearly, we all are here to respond.

24:18

We must, but let us do so

24:18

from wisdom and from kindness.

24:25

And that compassion really

24:25

is what creates solutions.

24:29

The Sanskrit word for compassion

24:29

has a root meaning that indicates

24:35

compassion helps us move

24:35

forward, whereas pity does not.

24:41

The yogic teachings are very clear that

24:41

pity makes us weaker and it makes those

24:46

whom we are pitying weaker as well.

24:50

Compassion strengthens us and it helps us

24:50

find solutions, it helps us move forward.

24:56

And whether you're in a doctoral

24:56

program or not listening to this

25:00

episode, so full of beautiful nuggets,

25:00

I can't wait to listen to it again.

25:07

Swami, I'm already looking forward

25:07

to listening to this again.

25:10

We all want to be a part of the solution. If you're listening to this, I know

25:11

you want to be a part of the solution.

25:15

And your teachings will

25:15

help someone get there.

25:19

I just want to say thank you for your

25:19

book, for your wisdom, I'll have the

25:24

link down below, but before we wrap up,

25:24

do you have a favorite quote, a favorite

25:30

story, or a parable from the book?

25:33

Or some , final words of wisdom you'd

25:33

like to share with the audience?

25:37

Oh sure, I mean, so give me a question,

25:37

like anything that you think would

25:40

be helpful for your listeners and

25:40

I'll, , I'll gladly share something.

25:44

Let's see, what am I going to ask?

25:46

is there one, what's a

25:46

good question that you can give people

25:52

that they can ask themselves when

25:52

they're struggling with wanting to get

25:57

out of fear and tap into their clarity?

26:01

Good question. I mean, a couple of insights,

26:02

and I'll make it brief, but one

26:06

how would

26:06

I feel if fear were not present?

26:12

And then allow fear to just melt

26:12

away and notice what remains.

26:16

Another thing that we could do if

26:16

we are ready to transform fear is

26:20

fear, I notice

26:20

you, I notice your present, be gone.

26:27

I am choosing to activate strength

26:27

and peace and courage within myself.

26:34

And then also for listeners, give yourself

26:34

the invitation, the opportunity to connect

26:39

inwardly with moments in the past where

26:39

you have had deep, profound strength

26:45

and peace and courage and clarity.

26:47

Notice how that feels in your body. So there's an openness to the chest

26:50

and the shoulders and the heart.

26:54

There's a confidence. There's a way in which we're

26:55

sort of very fully present and

27:00

also feeling very steady as well.

27:02

But for each listener to feel that in

27:02

your body and then to invite that feeling

27:08

to move with you throughout the day. So before you have that meeting or

27:10

before you have that conversation, or

27:13

if you need a reset in the middle of

27:13

a very busy kitchen, like the phone is

27:17

ringing, and a kid is pulling on your

27:17

leg, and the neighbor's knocking on the

27:20

door, and your spouse is trying to talk

27:20

to you all at the same time, to give

27:24

yourself that sense of my own open heart,

27:27

is continually here, and it gives

27:27

me access to this peace, this

27:32

steadiness, this strength, this wisdom.

27:34

And then, when I'm in contact with

27:34

that inner clarity, that inner wisdom,

27:39

I'm able to know which is the first

27:39

priority, which is the second, which is

27:43

the third, and then just step by step by

27:43

step, moment by moment, we're able to be

27:49

graceful, able to be present, able to be

27:49

kind, able to be aware, able to respond.

27:54

And personally, I think that is

27:54

the biggest, outcome I've seen

28:00

personally from my meditation practice

28:00

is the ability to prioritize and

28:06

so therefore make better decisions.

28:09

It kind of takes you out of this

28:09

hamster on a wheel, into, okay, I

28:15

see exactly what needs to be done now.

28:17

This actually isn't an emergency, even

28:17

though my reflex was to make it one.

28:23

And when you can go about a hectic,

28:23

crazy day with this feeling of:

28:30

I know I'm doing what needs to be

28:30

done right now, it totally changes

28:37

I love what you said. There is, like, there's an inner

28:38

sense of, like, I've got this.

28:41

, I'm not saying that, in an

28:41

arrogant way, but in a joyful way.

28:44

And also, like, a curious way. Like, I wonder what interesting

28:46

conversation I'm going to have next?

28:48

And, so then, like, you'll

28:48

have conversations with your

28:51

colleagues, and it'll be delightful.

28:54

Like, even if you're just having a moment

28:54

of a conversation with a colleague,

28:58

because you're both rushing past each

28:58

other, you just, have an inner feeling

29:02

of connectedness, and it becomes so

29:02

much fun to move through your day.

29:07

And to just be here now, right? There's a lot of yucky things going

29:09

on, but there are some benefits to

29:14

being in a human body as well, and

29:14

those really come through in your book.

29:19

And if you're listening to this

29:19

episode and you're thinking, wow,

29:22

I'd love to meditate with Swami,

29:22

how could they make that happen?

29:27

So any listener of any

29:27

background, all nationalities, all

29:31

backgrounds, everyone's welcome. New meditators, longtime meditators.

29:34

And we are at awakeyogameditation. org and we have all of our

29:36

meditations on Zoom and YouTube

29:41

and they're, they're free. So hop on. It's so much fun to meditate in community.

29:46

Thank you again for spending your

29:46

time with us today and really such

29:50

a profound episode for this time.

29:52

I can't wait to get this one out. I'm going to push this one to the

29:53

front of the line because there are

29:56

so many people in the world right

29:56

now that need to hear this message

30:00

of hope, so thank you so much.

30:02

Thank you for sharing your light. It is an absolute joy to talk with you.