WEBVTT - How Bob got Here

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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 loved

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>My hope is that I can share what I know

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<v Speaker 1>to anyone who needs it. Ready, sit comfortably, take a

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<v Speaker 1>few deep breaths, and let's begin today's journey. Over the years,

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<v Speaker 1>I've had the very good fortune of interviewing some very

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<v Speaker 1>impressive people, business leaders and doctors and professional athletes and

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<v Speaker 1>guidance counselors, therapists and VA hospitals, And I always enjoy

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<v Speaker 1>asking them is this something that they knew they wanted

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<v Speaker 1>to do their whole lives. It's kind of amazing how

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<v Speaker 1>many people had that feeling inside they had a sense.

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<v Speaker 1>People have asked me that same question, and I said,

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<v Speaker 1>not on your life. I didn't know. I wanted to

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<v Speaker 1>make an impact in the world, but nobody even knew

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<v Speaker 1>what meditation was. When I was growing up, my family

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<v Speaker 1>was really politically minded. When I was seventeen years old,

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<v Speaker 1>I volunteered to help out with Bobby Kennedy presidential campaign.

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<v Speaker 1>In fact, I remember going to see him speak on

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<v Speaker 1>June one and looking around the room with two thousand people,

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<v Speaker 1>and it wasn't that I identified with being a Democrat

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<v Speaker 1>or a political party. I just wanted to make a

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<v Speaker 1>better world. So there I was thinking, now I've got something.

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<v Speaker 1>We're going to make a better world than as history records.

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<v Speaker 1>Four days later, Senator Kennedy was killed. So I went

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<v Speaker 1>off to college with a career track of I'm going

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<v Speaker 1>to become a lawyer and then I'm going to become

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<v Speaker 1>a United States Senator like Bobby Kennedy and change the world. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>it took me about a month for me to realize

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<v Speaker 1>that politics was never going to heal the soul of

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<v Speaker 1>the nation. And my mom was a school teacher, so

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<v Speaker 1>I thought, well, how about if I write educational curriculum

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<v Speaker 1>that a child can learn to help them navigate and

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<v Speaker 1>survive a very tumultuous, stressful, trauma filled world, particularly inner

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<v Speaker 1>city school kids. I was just naive, just want to

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<v Speaker 1>make a better world, and pretty darn stressed, anxious. Where

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<v Speaker 1>I was working, I happened to meet this one guy.

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<v Speaker 1>His name was Peter Stevens. There was something just special

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<v Speaker 1>about him. He was a good person, he was smart.

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<v Speaker 1>And I found out he was doing something called transcendental meditation,

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<v Speaker 1>and I had no idea what he was talking about.

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<v Speaker 1>I asked him more about it and said, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>I don't believe in that stuff. He held a pen

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<v Speaker 1>up and he let the pen go and it dropped

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<v Speaker 1>into his other hand, and he said, you don't have

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<v Speaker 1>to believe in gravity for the pen to fall, and

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<v Speaker 1>you don't have to believe in this meditation for it

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<v Speaker 1>to work. Still very skeptical that I went and herd

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<v Speaker 1>of talk and then I decided, Okay, I'm gonna learn

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<v Speaker 1>this thing. Imagine, here's this tightly wound eighteen year old kid.

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<v Speaker 1>No it all sure that this is just bunk. And

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<v Speaker 1>the first experience was so physically relaxing and mentally familiar

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<v Speaker 1>and yet unique, and I remember after my first or

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<v Speaker 1>second meditation, the thought came, oh, so this is the

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<v Speaker 1>tool I want to teach those kids. That was June

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen six, and a few years later I began teaching.

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<v Speaker 1>Over the years, taught a lot of people, but always

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<v Speaker 1>in the back of my mind was these kids. In

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<v Speaker 1>two thousand five, I had become friends with the filmmaker

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<v Speaker 1>David Lynch. I said, you know, there's this huge need

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<v Speaker 1>in the world for kids. Our kids are just getting

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<v Speaker 1>demolished by stress, and particularly kids going to under resource

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<v Speaker 1>schools and underserved communities. There's sixteen million kids who live

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<v Speaker 1>below poverty in the United States. Why don't we start

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<v Speaker 1>a foundation so we could bring this meditation for free

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<v Speaker 1>to school kids and then veterans and women survivors of

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<v Speaker 1>domestic violence. And I'd like to do it in your name, David,

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<v Speaker 1>who had been meditating himself for thirty years sitting grade.

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<v Speaker 1>I think none of us thought this thing was going

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<v Speaker 1>to take off, but I had learned how to write

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<v Speaker 1>a press release, wrote it. Next thing I know, there

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<v Speaker 1>are articles in newspapers all over the world, and that

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<v Speaker 1>was the seed of a foundation that has now brought

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<v Speaker 1>the meditation to over a million kids, and now we

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<v Speaker 1>work with veterans and their families who suffer the nightmare

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<v Speaker 1>of post traumatic stress disorder, women who are survivors of

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<v Speaker 1>domestic violence and sexual assault, young people and adults who

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<v Speaker 1>are battling substance use disorder. But really everybody, as everybody

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<v Speaker 1>now is at risk for the impact of stress and trauma.

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<v Speaker 1>So never in a million years what I have thought

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<v Speaker 1>that I was going to be running a foundation that

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<v Speaker 1>was using transcendental meditation to make a change in the world.

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<v Speaker 1>But here I am. My trajectory for teaching is my trajectory.

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<v Speaker 1>But there are thousands and thousands of teachers of meditation

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<v Speaker 1>who took a focused but unforeseeable path to get to

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<v Speaker 1>this point now where meditation is so widely accepted and

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<v Speaker 1>appreciated in the world. So my tip here is really simple,

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<v Speaker 1>be true to yourself. If you're looking for a career path,

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<v Speaker 1>first and foremost, you have to be true to yourself.

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<v Speaker 1>Has to resonate with you. I like to conclude with

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<v Speaker 1>these thirty seconds of quiet, where you have an opportunity

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<v Speaker 1>to reflect, appreciate your life, someone in your life, just

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<v Speaker 1>to slow down for a moment. And the great thing

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<v Speaker 1>is that when we do that genuinely, spontaneously, naturally, it's

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<v Speaker 1>very healthy. I'll be right back all right. Thank you

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<v Speaker 1>for joining. This is Bob Roth. Keep calm, Thanks for

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<v Speaker 1>listening today. I hope you heard something that inspires, that

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

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<v Speaker 1>Until next time, remember, meditate, be kind, and be true

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>your questions, or anything else on your mind. Just connect

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<v Speaker 1>with me on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram at meditation Bob.

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

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<v Speaker 1>Roth at gmail dot com. I look forward to hearing

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<v Speaker 1>from you.