WEBVTT - Meditation for Recovery

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<v Speaker 1>Stay Calm as a production of I Heart Radio. Hi.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Bob Roth, and I've been teaching people to meditate

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<v Speaker 1>for fifty years, helping them to stay calm under pressure,

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<v Speaker 1>reboot and re energize their lives, and basically be a happier,

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<v Speaker 1>healthier version of themselves. And now I want to help

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<v Speaker 1>you do the same. Welcome to Stay Calm, your daily

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<v Speaker 1>dose of calmness. Every weekday morning, I'll share a meditation story,

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<v Speaker 1>offer a simple practical tip about how you or a

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<v Speaker 1>loved one can stay a bit calmer in your life,

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<v Speaker 1>and then we'll end each episode together with a moment

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<v Speaker 1>of gratitude. My hope is that I can share what

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<v Speaker 1>I know to anyone who needs it. Ready, sit comfortably,

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<v Speaker 1>take a few deep breaths, and let's begin today's journey. Today,

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<v Speaker 1>I want to talk about Russell Brand, the outrageous comedian,

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<v Speaker 1>award winning actor, best selling author, activist, and now a

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<v Speaker 1>global advocate for helping people recover from addiction. And Russell

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<v Speaker 1>knows of what he speaks. He became a heroin junkie

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<v Speaker 1>at the age of sixteen and remained a junkie for

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<v Speaker 1>fourteen years. I met Russell in two thousand and seven,

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<v Speaker 1>when he had been sober for five years, and Russell

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<v Speaker 1>wanted to meet with me because he was working on

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<v Speaker 1>a documentary film called Happiness and he was interested in

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<v Speaker 1>learning to meditate to see if that could be a

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<v Speaker 1>path to happiness. Well, when I told some of my

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<v Speaker 1>friends I was going to be meeting Russell, and they said,

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<v Speaker 1>be careful. He's a very funny man, but he probably

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<v Speaker 1>is not going to take this seriously. So we met

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<v Speaker 1>in a hotel lobby in Manhattan. He walked up to

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<v Speaker 1>me and he he stood about three inches from my face

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<v Speaker 1>and he said, so, I understand you're going to teach

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<v Speaker 1>me to meditate. And I said, well, maybe, are you interested?

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<v Speaker 1>And he said yeah, I'd like to learn. But he

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<v Speaker 1>was sort of casual, so I said, you know, there's

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<v Speaker 1>a time commitment. He just looked at me directly into

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<v Speaker 1>the eyes and he said, Bob, I've been searching for

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<v Speaker 1>the timeless my whole life. I'll take as much time

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<v Speaker 1>as you'll give me. Well, a few days later I

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<v Speaker 1>did teach him transcendental meditation, and he's been meditating now

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<v Speaker 1>for twenty minutes twice a day for thirteen years, and

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<v Speaker 1>it has become a cornerstone of this twelve step approach

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<v Speaker 1>for maintaining his recovery, and Russell have been very generous

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<v Speaker 1>with his time. He's helped to David Lynch Foundation bring

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<v Speaker 1>the meditation to thousands of people who are battling substance

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<v Speaker 1>use disorder. But along the way, I've learned a lot

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<v Speaker 1>about addiction, the brain and how meditation helps with addiction.

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<v Speaker 1>Addiction is part of the dopamine system of the brain.

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<v Speaker 1>Dopamine is the so called pleasure neurotransmitter. If you do

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<v Speaker 1>something good, like exercise or eating properly, or study hard,

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<v Speaker 1>and you get an A on the exam, then your

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<v Speaker 1>brain releases dopamine to your reward center and you feel

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<v Speaker 1>good from that, and it motivates you to want to

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<v Speaker 1>do that again. The problem with addictive drugs is it

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<v Speaker 1>just floods the reward center in your brain with dopamine,

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<v Speaker 1>and now you are craving that experience. The problem is

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<v Speaker 1>the more drugs you take, the pleasure that comes from

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<v Speaker 1>those drugs diminishes. So while you're craving gets stronger, you

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<v Speaker 1>need more and more and more of to even come

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<v Speaker 1>close to that high you had before. And this is

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<v Speaker 1>why it's so difficult to break addiction. So where does

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<v Speaker 1>meditation come in? Transcendental meditation is part of the serotonin

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<v Speaker 1>system in the brain. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that's associated

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<v Speaker 1>with longer term happiness, sense of well being when the

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<v Speaker 1>mind settles down and we access those deeper, quieter levels

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<v Speaker 1>of our own self. In meditation, it creates a whole

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<v Speaker 1>constellation of changes in the brain and the body. One

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<v Speaker 1>of the most significant is an increase in serotonin. That's

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<v Speaker 1>why when you're done meditating, you feel happy. You have

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<v Speaker 1>a sense of being settled at home with yourself. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>what is the relevance to addiction. To break an addiction,

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<v Speaker 1>the first step is you have to have a desire

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<v Speaker 1>to recover from addiction, and the second step is you

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<v Speaker 1>have to have the will power to sustain that desire

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<v Speaker 1>and actually change the brain wiring. When you experience that

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<v Speaker 1>increase of serotonin during meditation and afterwards, the contrast is

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<v Speaker 1>so great you think, I feel good now, I want

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<v Speaker 1>to stop taking drugs. And as you continue to meditate regularly,

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<v Speaker 1>you increase in your resilience and your will power to

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<v Speaker 1>make that change in order to change. It's not a

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<v Speaker 1>change over a horizontal level. I'm going to break my

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<v Speaker 1>addiction to cocaine, but then I'm going to fulfill that

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<v Speaker 1>craving with alcohol. It has to be an inner growth,

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<v Speaker 1>an inner evolution. We have to outgrow that craving, and

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<v Speaker 1>that's why it's so important to have a regimen. Transcendental

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<v Speaker 1>meditation alone is not enough to overcome addiction, but meditation

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<v Speaker 1>along with a good diet exercise very important. My tip

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<v Speaker 1>that I leave you with today is a point that

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<v Speaker 1>Russell brings out all the time. We can be lonely

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<v Speaker 1>to break an addiction. In order to sustain that will power,

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<v Speaker 1>learn how to work with a mentor to keep you

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<v Speaker 1>on track. That's a lesson I think we can all

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<v Speaker 1>take advantage of. In the ancient meditation text, they talk

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<v Speaker 1>about how important it is to maintain the company of

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<v Speaker 1>the wise. This means maintain the company of friends who

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<v Speaker 1>share your vision of what life could be like and

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<v Speaker 1>are not constantly pulling you down. All right, Let's end

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<v Speaker 1>this time together doing something that I think should be

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<v Speaker 1>a feature of our everyday life, and that's appreciation and gratitude.

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<v Speaker 1>Let's take thirty seconds of quiet, thirty seconds to take

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<v Speaker 1>a break. Just take a moment. It turns out when

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<v Speaker 1>we do that, it's good for our health as well.

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<v Speaker 1>I'll be right back all right. Thank you for joining.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Bob Roth. Keep calm. Thanks for listening today.

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<v Speaker 1>I hope you heard something that inspires, that uplifts you

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<v Speaker 1>and that you can incorporate into your own life. Until

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<v Speaker 1>next time, remember, meditate, be kind, and be true to yourself.

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<v Speaker 1>M Hey, all of you out there, I'd love to

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<v Speaker 1>hear from you. You can send me your stories, your questions,

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<v Speaker 1>or anything else on your mind. Just connect with me

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<v Speaker 1>on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram at meditation Bob. You can

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<v Speaker 1>also send me an email at meditation Bob Roth at

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<v Speaker 1>gmail dot com. I look forward to hearing from you.