WEBVTT - How to Begin your Journey

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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.

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<v Speaker 1>So I've been talking a lot about meditation in general

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<v Speaker 1>and specifically transcendental meditation, and a lot of you have

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<v Speaker 1>written in and said, well, how does it work. One

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<v Speaker 1>of the things that many people say to me is

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<v Speaker 1>I believe that meditation would be good for me, but

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<v Speaker 1>my skepticism is whether I could do it myself. I

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<v Speaker 1>want to make this point that all meditations are not

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<v Speaker 1>the same in In a previous podcast, I talked about

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<v Speaker 1>the three different types of meditation. Focused attention, which is

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<v Speaker 1>a concentration technique, open monitoring meditation where we learned to

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<v Speaker 1>dispassionately observe our thoughts. But transcendental meditation recognizes that there's

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<v Speaker 1>a vertical dimension to the mind, just as there's a

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<v Speaker 1>vertical dimension to the ocean, and that while the ocean

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<v Speaker 1>may be turbulent on the surface by its nature, it's

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<v Speaker 1>pretty darned silent at its depth. And the mind is

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<v Speaker 1>the same way. On the surface, we have a million thoughts,

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<v Speaker 1>but at the depth of our mind, the hypothesis is quiet, peaceful,

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<v Speaker 1>naturally calm, and wide awake. So in transcendental meditation, how

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<v Speaker 1>do we go from that surface, agitated level of the

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<v Speaker 1>mind to that deep inner quiet. I'm going to give

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<v Speaker 1>you two examples that have nothing to do with meditation,

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<v Speaker 1>but I'll tie it back, and this explains how we

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<v Speaker 1>go from the surface to that quiet depth. You're sitting

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<v Speaker 1>in your room or your office doing some really boring paperwork,

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<v Speaker 1>and all of a sudden, in the other room, some

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<v Speaker 1>unbelievably beautiful music comes on. Where does your attention go

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<v Speaker 1>to that music, turn up that music that is so beautiful.

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<v Speaker 1>Or you have two books to read and one book

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<v Speaker 1>is so poorly written you can't imagine how it was

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<v Speaker 1>ever published, and you can't read a word, and the

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<v Speaker 1>other book is spectacular, and you're absorbed in hours go by.

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<v Speaker 1>So what are those two instances? Your attention being drawn

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<v Speaker 1>to that music, your attention absorbed in the book. What

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<v Speaker 1>this reveals to us is, by its name chure, the

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<v Speaker 1>attention of your mind, given the opportunity, will always be

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<v Speaker 1>drawn to something more satisfying. The natural tendency of the

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<v Speaker 1>mind is to seek greater happiness, knowledge, satisfaction, pleasure, wisdom, beauty.

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<v Speaker 1>And where we go to find that happiness is out

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<v Speaker 1>through the senses, into the environment, this job, relationship, new clothes,

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<v Speaker 1>new home. In transcendental meditation, it's a simple process of

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<v Speaker 1>setting up the conditions so that the attention of your mind,

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<v Speaker 1>instead of going outward, is drawn inward. How do we

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<v Speaker 1>do that? In transcendental meditation, we're given a mantra, which

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<v Speaker 1>is a word or a sound. It's a simple syllable,

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<v Speaker 1>simple sound that has no meaning, because if it had

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<v Speaker 1>a meaning, then we're stuck on the surface. And then

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<v Speaker 1>we're taught how to use it properly. A certified teacher

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<v Speaker 1>in personal instruction gives us a mantra and then just us,

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<v Speaker 1>you alone, not in a crowd, the teacher teaches you

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<v Speaker 1>how to use the mantra correctly effortlessly, which means no forcing,

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<v Speaker 1>no strain, automatically easily. It's like teaching a child how

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<v Speaker 1>to dive. You say, honey, lean over like this, take

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<v Speaker 1>the correct angle, and then gravity takes over. So in

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<v Speaker 1>transcendental meditation, we learned how to give the attention of

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<v Speaker 1>the mind an inward direction, just like it's drawn to

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<v Speaker 1>that music. It settles down inwardly, and we know that's

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<v Speaker 1>happening because our body takes a profound state of rest

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<v Speaker 1>and relaxation. The technique has taught over four consecutive days,

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<v Speaker 1>about an hour each day, practice for twenty minutes twice

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<v Speaker 1>a day, once in the morning, sitting comfortably in a

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<v Speaker 1>chair with the eyes closed, and again in the afternoon

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<v Speaker 1>or early evening. It's not a religion, it's not a philosophy.

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<v Speaker 1>It's not a change in lifestyle. You can be a

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<v Speaker 1>hundred percent skeptical and the technique works just fine, and

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<v Speaker 1>if you're interested you can go to TM dot org

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<v Speaker 1>and find out more about it. It's a nonprofit educational organization.

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<v Speaker 1>Now I'm going to shift gears here for a moment.

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<v Speaker 1>I'd like to give a little tip for health. It's

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<v Speaker 1>going to sound like when you're a kid and your

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<v Speaker 1>mother said, eat your vegetables. Vegetables are a food that

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<v Speaker 1>are incredibly healthy. Vegetables are packed with vitamins, minerals, fiber,

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<v Speaker 1>and disease fighting phytochemicals. You can't take a pill that

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<v Speaker 1>will give all of that to you, but you can

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<v Speaker 1>eat your vegetables. All right, Let's end this time together

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<v Speaker 1>doing something that I think should be a feature of

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<v Speaker 1>our everyday life, and that's appreciation and gratitude. So let's

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<v Speaker 1>take thirty seconds of quiet, thirty seconds to take a break,

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<v Speaker 1>just take a moment. It turns out when we do that,

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<v Speaker 1>it's good for our health as well. I'll be right

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<v Speaker 1>back all right. Thank you for joining. This is Bob Roth.

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<v Speaker 1>Keep calm, Thanks for listening 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. Until next time, remember, meditate,

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<v Speaker 1>be kind, and be true to yourself. Hey all, of

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<v Speaker 1>you out there. I'd love to hear from you. You

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<v Speaker 1>can send me your stories, your questions, or anything else

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<v Speaker 1>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.