WEBVTT - Meditation can Protect

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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>going 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. So, how's

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<v Speaker 1>day umpteen of shelter and place kids? Getting on your nerves?

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<v Speaker 1>Home schooling, working from home, never getting outside can be

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<v Speaker 1>pretty stressful, can be pretty frustrating, counting the days. I

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<v Speaker 1>want to take a moment, though, and talk about some

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<v Speaker 1>people who are in similar situations. But it's not just frustrating,

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<v Speaker 1>it's dangerous. These are people who are survivors and living

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<v Speaker 1>with the threat and the reality of domestic violence. For

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<v Speaker 1>these people, the ability to stay calm is not just

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<v Speaker 1>a nice option. It can be the matter between life

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<v Speaker 1>and death. I entered this world several years ago when

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<v Speaker 1>the David Lynch Foundation began working with the Family Justice

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<v Speaker 1>Centers of New York. This is an organization that serves

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<v Speaker 1>as a portal for women and children and some men,

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<v Speaker 1>most of whom are homeless, who visit the Family Justice

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<v Speaker 1>Centers to get advice on healthcare, on education, guidance on jobs,

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<v Speaker 1>get legal assistance, and now to learn t sinental meditation

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<v Speaker 1>for free. And I met Andrea and her ten year

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<v Speaker 1>old son, Abraheim through the Family Justice Centers, and I

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<v Speaker 1>heard their story and took notes. I'm not going to

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<v Speaker 1>summarize her experience. I'm going to read these notes to you,

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<v Speaker 1>and I want you to just take a moment to

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<v Speaker 1>listen to them. They're not notes for a television script.

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<v Speaker 1>They're not made up, exaggerated. This is the reality of

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<v Speaker 1>four million women in America every year who are victims

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<v Speaker 1>of domestic violence. I'm trying to keep my family together.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm trying to convince myself with a million different reasons

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<v Speaker 1>why I should stay, and one of the main reasons

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<v Speaker 1>is I want my child to live with his father.

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<v Speaker 1>But his father is a very, very violent man. It's

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<v Speaker 1>hard to defend myself from him. When I look back

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<v Speaker 1>to all that I went through, it's truly a miracle

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<v Speaker 1>that I'm alive. But my child, Ibraheim, developed severe symptoms

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<v Speaker 1>of post traumatic stress disorder. He had a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>hospitalizations that prevented me from working, so I became homeless. Fortunately,

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<v Speaker 1>I was invited to the Family Justice Center, where I

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<v Speaker 1>was offered help. They have been wonderful. While I was there.

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<v Speaker 1>I learned transcendental meditation and it has been a completely

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<v Speaker 1>life changing experience. I now have a tool to give

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<v Speaker 1>myself deep rest, even deeper than sleep. It creates a

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<v Speaker 1>calm after meditation that it's hard for me to overreact

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<v Speaker 1>now or get into confrontations. I asked Ibrahim how he

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<v Speaker 1>liked his meditation. He said, anger and stress is something

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<v Speaker 1>that I feel has been corrupting my life because it

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<v Speaker 1>makes my temper extremely short and it makes me feel

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<v Speaker 1>unhappy all the time. But with my meditation, it takes

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<v Speaker 1>away so much of the anger and stress, and I

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<v Speaker 1>just feel happy. Andrea told me after his first meditation,

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<v Speaker 1>Abraheim said those were the best ten minutes of my life.

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<v Speaker 1>Andrew concluded by saying, I now feel hopeful life that

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<v Speaker 1>has been gray for so long has been back to colors.

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<v Speaker 1>I wish everybody had the opportunity to learn this. It

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<v Speaker 1>will have such an impact in their lives. What kind

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<v Speaker 1>of a tip could I possibly give after reading that?

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<v Speaker 1>If you know someone who is a victim of such assault,

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<v Speaker 1>you must get them help. They're going to be afraid

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<v Speaker 1>to leave. Just get them to make a call in

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<v Speaker 1>your community. You can google domestic violence and there's hotlines.

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<v Speaker 1>Please do that. What can you do for your friend

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<v Speaker 1>who you suspect is a victim of assault? You're not

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<v Speaker 1>a therapist, don't even venture there, but spend time with

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<v Speaker 1>your friend. Take them out, take them to a yoga class, kickboxing,

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<v Speaker 1>spend time with them. And if it's you in this situation,

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<v Speaker 1>you make that call, You'll google you find out where

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<v Speaker 1>to go. The situation doesn't go away by itself. Trauma

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't go away by itself. Now, I like to share

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<v Speaker 1>a quote that I think it's particularly relevant to this conversation,

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<v Speaker 1>and the quote is anonymous, but so beautiful. Stop trying

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<v Speaker 1>to calm the storm. Calm yourself and the storm will pass.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm going to read that again, stop trying to calm

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<v Speaker 1>the storm. Calm yourself and the storm will pass. 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 few each of our everyday life, and

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<v Speaker 1>that's 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. This is Bob Roth. Keep calm,

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>own life. Until next time, remember, meditate, be kind, and

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<v Speaker 1>be true to yourself. Hey, all of you out there,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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

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<v Speaker 1>Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram at

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

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<v Speaker 1>meditation Bob Roth at gmail dot com. I look forward

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<v Speaker 1>to hearing from you.