WEBVTT - Routines are Empowering 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:06.760 Stay Calm as a production of I Heart Radio. Welcome 0:00:06.800 --> 0:00:12.160 to Stay Calm, your daily dose of calmness. I'm Bob Roth, 0:00:12.240 --> 0:00:14.800 and I've been teaching people to meditate for fifty years, 0:00:15.280 --> 0:00:18.439 helping them to stay calm under pressure, reboot and re 0:00:18.600 --> 0:00:22.600 energize their lives, and basically be a happier, healthier version 0:00:22.640 --> 0:00:25.280 of themselves. And now I want to help you do 0:00:25.360 --> 0:00:30.000 the same. Ready, sit comfortably, take a few deep breaths, 0:00:30.200 --> 0:00:36.600 and let's begin today's journey. Paul called his father two 0:00:36.600 --> 0:00:40.160 in the morning to say goodbye. His father had heard 0:00:40.200 --> 0:00:43.879 that voice before, knew what it meant, and pleaded with 0:00:43.960 --> 0:00:46.240 his son to give him forty five minutes to get 0:00:46.280 --> 0:00:49.320 from his place over to Paul's apartment so he could 0:00:49.360 --> 0:00:54.600 talk him out of it. Paul has bipolar disorder, the 0:00:54.840 --> 0:00:59.400 mental disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood and energy 0:00:59.480 --> 0:01:04.200 and activity levels, extremes of severe depression where they can 0:01:04.240 --> 0:01:06.480 hardly get out of bed for days or weeks at 0:01:06.480 --> 0:01:10.560 a time. I first met Paul Daio back in two 0:01:10.600 --> 0:01:15.000 thousand and five. It was at Yale University at Battel Chapel. 0:01:15.800 --> 0:01:19.280 Paul was an aspiring filmmaker and a huge David Lynch 0:01:19.360 --> 0:01:24.039 Fan and he had come to hear David talk about creativity, meditation, 0:01:24.720 --> 0:01:28.600 art film, and he hoped afterwards to meet with David 0:01:28.720 --> 0:01:31.080 and show him a film script he'd done and get 0:01:31.160 --> 0:01:35.760 David's guidance. As we were talking backstage, it was clear 0:01:35.800 --> 0:01:39.080 that Paul was quite agitated. Paul said that he had 0:01:39.160 --> 0:01:42.959 learned to meditate, but wasn't doing it regularly. David very 0:01:43.000 --> 0:01:45.880 gently looked over to me and at Paul and said, Bob, 0:01:45.920 --> 0:01:48.720 maybe you and Paul could do a little meditation refresher 0:01:48.720 --> 0:01:52.080 and then we could talk afterwards. So Paul and I 0:01:52.160 --> 0:01:55.440 found a place to sit some quiet corner. We meditated 0:01:55.480 --> 0:01:59.800 for twenty minutes. Afterwards, Paul opened up. He had been 0:02:00.000 --> 0:02:02.920 bipolar for about five years. He had been in and 0:02:02.960 --> 0:02:06.760 out of hospitals, once on a six week suicide watch. 0:02:08.120 --> 0:02:10.799 He has a very strong family support system and they 0:02:10.800 --> 0:02:15.280 tried everything, but still he wasn't getting traction with his treatment. 0:02:16.360 --> 0:02:20.560 Paul really enjoyed his meditation. It resonated with him, and 0:02:20.639 --> 0:02:24.720 he continued to meditate regularly over the coming weeks, months, 0:02:24.800 --> 0:02:28.359 and even years. As we became good friends and sometimes 0:02:28.400 --> 0:02:31.120 we would travel and he would talk about his experience 0:02:31.120 --> 0:02:35.760 with meditation and bipolar disorder. Along the way, I learned 0:02:35.800 --> 0:02:39.359 a lot. About three percent of the American people suffer 0:02:39.400 --> 0:02:48.560 from bipolar are it's considered severe high suicide rates. The 0:02:48.639 --> 0:02:52.720 whole approach of treatment of bipolar disorder, whether it's medication 0:02:53.320 --> 0:02:57.840 or talk therapy or lifestyle changes, is to help maintain 0:02:58.360 --> 0:03:03.160 stability in a routine, to maintain what's called the circadian 0:03:03.280 --> 0:03:08.040 rhythm in the body. So a person with bipolar is 0:03:08.120 --> 0:03:12.359 encouraged to go to sleep one time, wake up, exercise, meditate, 0:03:12.600 --> 0:03:16.920 eat on time because if their system is thrown off, 0:03:17.320 --> 0:03:19.720 if for example, they don't sleep well for a couple 0:03:19.760 --> 0:03:23.200 of nights, they could just fall through the cracks. So 0:03:23.360 --> 0:03:29.680 everything is designed around maintaining a strong circadian rhythm. Paul 0:03:29.760 --> 0:03:33.960 did well with that. The medication kept him more stable, 0:03:34.280 --> 0:03:37.720 but it frustrated him as well because it didn't make 0:03:37.800 --> 0:03:43.000 him healthy, more creative, it didn't make him happier. When 0:03:43.000 --> 0:03:46.880 he began meditating again, suddenly he found his creativity beginning 0:03:46.880 --> 0:03:50.320 to flourish. And he'd been depressed for so long, and 0:03:50.360 --> 0:03:53.839 he thought that that was his life, his destiny. Then 0:03:53.840 --> 0:03:57.320 he met a fellow, Jeff Rice, who had been meditating 0:03:57.360 --> 0:04:01.120 for ten years and had bipolar disorder. And he asked 0:04:01.160 --> 0:04:05.480 Jeff if he was ever happy, and Jeff said, of 0:04:05.520 --> 0:04:10.480 the time. That was a stunner for Paul. There was 0:04:10.520 --> 0:04:14.640 a vision of a possibility of not a dark existence. 0:04:15.760 --> 0:04:21.600 With the support of his family, medication, therapy, exercise, good diet, 0:04:22.000 --> 0:04:27.680 and regular practice of meditation, Paul has really flourished. He's 0:04:27.720 --> 0:04:31.520 now married with two young boys. He completed a critically 0:04:31.520 --> 0:04:35.400 acclaimed film which you should see. It's called Touched with Fire, 0:04:35.680 --> 0:04:42.800 semi autobiographical about his experience with bipolar disorder. He's now 0:04:42.839 --> 0:04:46.400 working with his wife on her film and developing a 0:04:46.440 --> 0:04:50.839 film for himself. And he said to me, life is 0:04:50.880 --> 0:04:55.120 better and better. I still have a tendency to slip, 0:04:55.880 --> 0:05:00.520 but I come back faster. The one take away I 0:05:00.560 --> 0:05:05.560 got from all of this is the absolute importance of routine. 0:05:06.640 --> 0:05:09.520 It's the same for everybody. If we go to bed 0:05:09.600 --> 0:05:14.800 on time, sleep well, wake up on time, exercise eat well, 0:05:15.279 --> 0:05:22.880 meditate regularly, our body, our brain thrives. My tip is 0:05:23.080 --> 0:05:29.760 the value of routine is liberating, is empowering. All right, 0:05:29.800 --> 0:05:32.200 let's end this time together doing something that I think 0:05:32.200 --> 0:05:35.200 should be a feature of our everyday life and that's 0:05:35.240 --> 0:05:39.320 appreciation and gratitude. So let's take thirty seconds of quiet, 0:05:39.680 --> 0:05:42.760 thirty seconds to take a break, Just take a moment. 0:05:43.160 --> 0:05:45.240 It turns out when we do that, it's good for 0:05:45.279 --> 0:06:17.160 our health as well. I'll be right back all right. 0:06:17.680 --> 0:06:27.480 Thank you for joining. This is Bob Roth. Keep calm, 0:06:27.480 --> 0:06:31.440 Thanks for listening today. I hope you heard something that inspires, 0:06:31.520 --> 0:06:34.520 that uplifts you and that you can incorporate into your 0:06:34.520 --> 0:06:39.160 own life. Until next time, remember, meditate, be kind, and 0:06:39.240 --> 0:06:43.240 be true to yourself. Pay all of you out there, 0:06:43.279 --> 0:06:45.560 I'd love to hear from you. You can send me 0:06:45.600 --> 0:06:48.400 your stories, your questions, or anything else on your mind. 0:06:49.120 --> 0:06:52.800 Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram at 0:06:52.839 --> 0:06:57.080 Meditation Bob. You can also send me an email at 0:06:57.120 --> 0:07:01.200 meditation Bob Roth at gmail dot com. Um I look 0:07:01.240 --> 0:07:02.320 forward to hearing from you.