Speaker 1: Stay Calm as a production of I Heart Radio. Hi.
Speaker 1: I'm Bob Roth, and I've been teaching people to meditate
Speaker 1: for fifty years, helping them to stay calm under pressure,
Speaker 1: reboot and re energize their lives, and basically be a happier,
Speaker 1: healthier version of themselves. And now I want to help
Speaker 1: you do the same. Welcome to Stay Calm, your daily
Speaker 1: dose of calmness. Every weekday morning, I'll share a meditation story,
Speaker 1: offer a simple practical tip about how you or loved
Speaker 1: one can stay a bit calmer in your life, and
Speaker 1: then we'll end each episode together with a moment of gratitude.
Speaker 1: My hope is that I can share what I know
Speaker 1: to anyone who needs it. Ready, sit comfortably, take a
Speaker 1: few deep breaths, and let's begin today's journey. I want
Speaker 1: to tell you about the first time I went into
Speaker 1: San Quentin Prison. I was thirty years old, and I
Speaker 1: did not go there for anything I had done wrong.
Speaker 1: I had been invited to teach meditation to the inmates
Speaker 1: and guards, who both lived a nightmare existence behind the walls.
Speaker 1: To get to San Quentin, first you have to drive
Speaker 1: through two gates, and then you walk through four huge
Speaker 1: bolted locked doors, and at each door to gain entry
Speaker 1: into the courtyard, the inner space of San Quentin Prison,
Speaker 1: I had to sign an agreement that if I was
Speaker 1: taken hostage, they would not negotiate for my life. So
Speaker 1: the guards took us downstairs and into a dingy, dark
Speaker 1: classroom with thirty chairs, and then thirty men came in.
Speaker 1: They all had learned to meditate before, and I was
Speaker 1: just coming in at the time to talk to them
Speaker 1: about their experiences and do a refresher So I sat
Speaker 1: in the front and we meditated. I remember it today
Speaker 1: like it was yesterday, the experience of settling down, of
Speaker 1: such profound rest and relaxation, and my mind just settling
Speaker 1: into this inner quiet. And after I was done meditating,
Speaker 1: after the twenty minutes we're up, we had talked, I reflected,
Speaker 1: and I said, of all my years of meditating, that
Speaker 1: was one of the most profound experiences I've ever had. Afterwards,
Speaker 1: a guard came over to me who had been in
Speaker 1: the room, who was a Baptist minister and also a meditator,
Speaker 1: and he said he'd never had an experience like that
Speaker 1: in the thirty years he'd worked in the California prison. System.
Speaker 1: He said, you had in the room members of three
Speaker 1: deadly violent gangs. He said, you never have any of
Speaker 1: those men sit next to each other, much less close
Speaker 1: their eyes. And you had all thirty of them meditate
Speaker 1: for twenty minutes, and they left talking to each other.
Speaker 1: I reflected on that, and I've reflected on that for years,
Speaker 1: and transcendental meditation, which I practice and teach, gives access
Speaker 1: to a deep, transcendent field within every human being. Doesn't
Speaker 1: matter what religion you are, philosophy, anything, it's just natural.
Speaker 1: And when you have that experience, it's so incredibly peaceful
Speaker 1: and then rejuvenating. I thought those men in San Quentin Prison,
Speaker 1: maximum security prison, in twenty minutes could have that experience
Speaker 1: of just deep peace. What would the world be like
Speaker 1: if more people took time to access that field of
Speaker 1: silence that lies within every one of us. There's a
Speaker 1: whole science now called self transcendence where brain researchers and
Speaker 1: physiologists are looking at the experience of transcendence and it's
Speaker 1: benefit to daily life. There was a study on some
Speaker 1: high school students. They were out in the woods and
Speaker 1: they just spent one minute looking high at some eucalyptus trees,
Speaker 1: and afterwards they reported that they were less self centered
Speaker 1: and they were more generous with each other. Other people
Speaker 1: who had transcendent experiences reported that they were more satisfied
Speaker 1: with their lives, that their life was more meaningful. But
Speaker 1: most important, they had higher levels of oxytocin, which is
Speaker 1: the hormone that promotes bonding between two people. Oxytocin was
Speaker 1: coursing through their veins. My tip for you is make
Speaker 1: moments of transcendence, and that can be between you and
Speaker 1: a loved one, you and your child, you listening to
Speaker 1: music or playing music, you playing a sport, do things
Speaker 1: like spend some time in nature. Calm is not a
Speaker 1: surface reality. Calm starts from deep within and bubbles up.
Speaker 1: Make moments of transcendence, even a few minutes, a priority
Speaker 1: in your life. All right, let's end this time together
Speaker 1: doing something that I think should be a feature of
Speaker 1: our everyday life, and that's appreciation and gratitude. So let's
Speaker 1: take thirty seconds of quiet, thirty seconds to take a break,
Speaker 1: just take a moment. It turns out when we do
Speaker 1: that it's good for our health as well. I'll be
Speaker 1: right back, all right, Thank you, for joining. This is
Speaker 1: Bob Roth. Keep calm. Thanks for listening today. I hope
Speaker 1: you heard something that inspired airs, that uplifts you, and
Speaker 1: that you can incorporate into your own life. Until next time, remember, meditate,
Speaker 1: be kind, and be true to yourself. Hey, all of
Speaker 1: you out there, I'd love to hear from you. You
Speaker 1: can send me your stories, your questions, or anything else
Speaker 1: on your mind. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,
Speaker 1: or Instagram at meditation Bob. You can also send me
Speaker 1: an email at meditation Bob Roth at gmail dot com.
Speaker 1: I look forward to hearing from you.