WEBVTT - Let’s Be Still

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<v Speaker 1>Stay Calm is a production of I Heart Radio. Welcome

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<v Speaker 1>to Stay Calm, your daily dose of calmness. I'm Bob Roth,

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<v Speaker 1>and I've been teaching people to meditate for fifty years,

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<v Speaker 1>helping them to stay calm under pressure, reboot and re

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<v Speaker 1>energize their lives, and basically be a happier, healthier version

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<v Speaker 1>of themselves. And now I want to help you do

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<v Speaker 1>the same. Ready, sit comfortably, take a few deep breaths,

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<v Speaker 1>and let's begin today's journey. Sometimes when we feel particularly overwhelmed,

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<v Speaker 1>told in a million different directions, unsure about our uncertain future,

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<v Speaker 1>and our type a logical problem solving mind seems to

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<v Speaker 1>be more than a bit foggy. Well, sometimes the best

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<v Speaker 1>thing we can do to fix things is to do nothing,

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<v Speaker 1>even just for a few minutes. And as you know,

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<v Speaker 1>I regularly talk about the research that backs up the

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<v Speaker 1>very real benefits to our brain, our mind, and our

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<v Speaker 1>body from taking a break from the constant pushing, pushing,

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<v Speaker 1>pushing of life. Today, I want to set aside the

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<v Speaker 1>science and instead I want to ask you if you

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<v Speaker 1>can to stop what you're doing for just a few

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<v Speaker 1>minutes and sit back and listen to some really beautiful

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<v Speaker 1>thoughts from some really wise poets and other thinkers, both

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<v Speaker 1>modern and ancient. Their words give voice to the need

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<v Speaker 1>to get away from it all and just be still.

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<v Speaker 1>These next five minutes will be our upside for taking

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<v Speaker 1>this downtime. The great author and essayist Pico Iyer, in

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<v Speaker 1>his book The Art of Stillness, says it best. In

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<v Speaker 1>an age of speed, I began to think nothing could

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<v Speaker 1>be more invigorating than going slow. In an age of distraction,

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<v Speaker 1>nothing can feel more luxurious than paying attention, And in

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<v Speaker 1>an age of constant movement, nothing is more urgent than

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<v Speaker 1>sitting still. Loud Sue, the great ancient Chinese philosopher and writer, said,

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<v Speaker 1>to the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders.

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<v Speaker 1>Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart said, the music is not in the notes,

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<v Speaker 1>but in the silence between. And if we needed any

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<v Speaker 1>additional convincing, Isaiah commands be still and know that I

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<v Speaker 1>am God. But what do we do? What kind of

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<v Speaker 1>break can we take when nothing seems to be going

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<v Speaker 1>right for us, when the winds do not seem to

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<v Speaker 1>be in our favor, when we seem to be fighting

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<v Speaker 1>an uphill battle. Listen to the advice of John O'Donohue,

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<v Speaker 1>Catholic priest, poet and visionary. This is the time to

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<v Speaker 1>be slow, lie low to the wall until the bitter

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<v Speaker 1>weather passes. Try as best you can not to let

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<v Speaker 1>the wire brush of doubt scrape from your heart all

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<v Speaker 1>sense of yourself and your hesitant light. If you remain generous,

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<v Speaker 1>time will come good, and you will find your feet

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<v Speaker 1>again on fresh pastures of promise, where the air will

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<v Speaker 1>be kind and blushed. With beginning, Wendell Berry and his

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<v Speaker 1>famous poem The Peace of Wild Things writes, when despair

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<v Speaker 1>for the world grows in me, and I wakened the

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<v Speaker 1>night at the least sound and fear of what my

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<v Speaker 1>life and my children's lives, maybe I go and I

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<v Speaker 1>lie down with the wood drake rests in his beauty

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<v Speaker 1>on the water, and the great heron feeds. I come

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<v Speaker 1>into the peace of wild things who do not tax

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<v Speaker 1>their lives with forethought of grief. I come into the

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<v Speaker 1>press sense of still water, and I feel above me

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<v Speaker 1>the day blind stars waiting with their light. For a time,

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<v Speaker 1>I rest in the grace of the world and am free.

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<v Speaker 1>And this from the great German philosopher, playwright and author

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<v Speaker 1>Gerta who seeks transcendence, how yearns the solitary soul to

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<v Speaker 1>melt into the boundless hole and find itself again in peace.

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<v Speaker 1>The blind desire, the impatient will, the restless thoughts and

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<v Speaker 1>plans are still we yield ourselves and waken bliss. And Finally,

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<v Speaker 1>no matter how challenging these times may be for us,

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<v Speaker 1>or how dark the night, nothing lasts forever. As Khalil

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<v Speaker 1>Gabron writes in the Prophet, at the heart of every

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<v Speaker 1>winter there is a quivering spring, and behind the veil

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<v Speaker 1>of each night there is a smiling dawn. All right,

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<v Speaker 1>let's end this time together doing something that I think

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<v Speaker 1>should be a feature of our everyday life, and that's

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<v Speaker 1>appreciation and gratitude. So let's take thirty seconds of quiet,

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<v Speaker 1>thirty seconds to take a break, just take a moment.

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<v Speaker 1>It turns out when we do that, it's good for

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<v Speaker 1>our health as well. I'll be right back, all right,

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<v Speaker 1>Thank you for joining me today. I hope you heard

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<v Speaker 1>something that inspires that uplifts you and that you can

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<v Speaker 1>incorporate into your own life. This is Bob Roth. Stay calm, Hey,

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

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<v Speaker 1>you You can send me your stories, your questions, or

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<v Speaker 1>anything else on your mind. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,

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<v Speaker 1>or Instagram at meditation Bob. You can also send me

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<v Speaker 1>an email at meditation Bob Roth at gmail dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>I look forward to hearing from you