WEBVTT - Dusty’s Story, Part 1

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<v Speaker 1>Stay Calm as 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. Dusty was a member of

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<v Speaker 1>the U. S. Army for twenty years. The last fourteen

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<v Speaker 1>of those years were spent as a U. S. Army

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<v Speaker 1>Airborne Ranger in the Airborne Division, which meant he was

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<v Speaker 1>a member of an elite infantry fighting force that specialized

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<v Speaker 1>in raids deep inside enemy territory. He was doing what

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<v Speaker 1>he was trained to do, doing what he believed in,

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<v Speaker 1>and he did it well, but it came at a

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<v Speaker 1>massive price. When he left the military, he suffered from

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<v Speaker 1>what doctors at the local v A hospital would call

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<v Speaker 1>PTSD post traumatic stress disorder. Twice divorced, battling alcoholism, depressed,

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<v Speaker 1>with no family and no real job, Dusty was hurtling

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<v Speaker 1>across Florida on his motorcycle one day, headed nowhere when

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<v Speaker 1>he stopped at a bar for something to eat and drink.

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<v Speaker 1>It was then that something miraculous happened. He went to

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<v Speaker 1>put a quarter in a jukebox, but without his glasses,

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<v Speaker 1>he couldn't read the tiny text of the music offerings.

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<v Speaker 1>He looked across the barroom floor and spotted a woman

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<v Speaker 1>sitting by herself. Mustering up some courage, he walked over

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<v Speaker 1>to her and asked for her assistance. There was something

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<v Speaker 1>special about her, something genuine. She wasn't like anyone Dusty

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<v Speaker 1>had ever met. They ended up exchanging phone numbers. Dusty

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<v Speaker 1>opened up a bit about his experiences growing up with

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<v Speaker 1>an Alcoho Hallock father, his experiences in the army. They

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<v Speaker 1>went on a few dates. Then Charlone said something Dusty

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<v Speaker 1>never in a million years expected to hear. I'm going

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<v Speaker 1>to give you a gift, she said, and it's totally

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<v Speaker 1>your choice if you want to accept it. But if

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<v Speaker 1>you don't, I can't continue to see you. You've got

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<v Speaker 1>some serious issues you need to address, and I can't

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<v Speaker 1>do it for you. The gift Charlyne was offering Dusty

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<v Speaker 1>was the opportunity to learn to meditate. Now, I'm going

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<v Speaker 1>to interrupt my story here to say that when Dusty

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<v Speaker 1>told me this, even I thought it was a bit much.

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<v Speaker 1>Army ranger with PTSD meets a woman in a bar

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<v Speaker 1>who tells him he needs to learn to meditate. Come on,

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, I know meditation is going mainstream, but this

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<v Speaker 1>was a little much. Charlton said she'd been meditating since

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<v Speaker 1>she was four years old. It had changed her life.

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<v Speaker 1>Dusty pushed back. At least inside alcohol was his choice

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<v Speaker 1>of meditation, not some mantra. But he was really drawn

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<v Speaker 1>to Charlyne, really loved her. He mustered up all the

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<v Speaker 1>courage he could and rode two hours on his motorcycle

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<v Speaker 1>to the nearest teacher of transcendental meditation in Florida, doubting

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<v Speaker 1>his decision all the way, but he did it. His

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<v Speaker 1>first meditation was so profoundly relaxing, so incredibly peaceful, that

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<v Speaker 1>he went home and slept for twelve straight hours. Now

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<v Speaker 1>this was a guy who only managed to sleep a

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<v Speaker 1>few hours total in a week. Dusty meditated regularly twenty

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<v Speaker 1>minutes twice a day every day, sometimes with Charlyne, but

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<v Speaker 1>often on his own. His life began to turn around.

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<v Speaker 1>He slept better, stopped abusing alcohol and drugs, started exercising,

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<v Speaker 1>started connecting with old friends. He thought about the future

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<v Speaker 1>for the first time, and who knows how long and

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<v Speaker 1>something else happened that would change his life again. He

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<v Speaker 1>attended a reunion of his eighty second Airborne Ranger Division.

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<v Speaker 1>He saw some of his old buddies for the first

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<v Speaker 1>time in years. It mainly saw how many of his

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<v Speaker 1>old buddies were not there, how many had taken their

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<v Speaker 1>own lives, mustered up some more courage, got up and

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<v Speaker 1>spoke about his new life, about meditation, about his future. Afterwards,

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<v Speaker 1>many of his buddies said, can you teach me to meditate?

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<v Speaker 1>Dusty wasn't trained as a transcendental meditation teacher, but he

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<v Speaker 1>vowed to himself that that's what he would do with

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<v Speaker 1>his life, trained to be a meditation teacher and bring

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<v Speaker 1>it to his fellow vets men and women who were

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<v Speaker 1>suffering so much. But we're falling hard to the cracks.

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<v Speaker 1>He knew meditation was not the only tool of vet

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<v Speaker 1>would need to heal the hidden wounds of war, but

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<v Speaker 1>it was a necessary one, and he wanted to be

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<v Speaker 1>the one to lead the charge. Now I'm going to

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<v Speaker 1>have to pause here, but in my next podcast, I'm

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<v Speaker 1>going to tell you the rest of my story about Dusty,

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<v Speaker 1>former U. S. Army Airborne ranger and now TM teacher,

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<v Speaker 1>and how he's bringing meditation and other healing tools to

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<v Speaker 1>thousands and thousands of veterans and their families. It's one

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<v Speaker 1>of the most inspiring stories I've ever heard. But for now,

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<v Speaker 1>I want to share with you my health tip of

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<v Speaker 1>the day. It's something I learned from Dusty. If you're

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<v Speaker 1>going through a challenging time something we're all facing during

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<v Speaker 1>this coronavirus, and if you feel things are spinning out

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<v Speaker 1>of control, then one piece of advice from all the experts,

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<v Speaker 1>including Dusty himself, is to hold on to something you

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<v Speaker 1>can control. In this case, hold onto your routine. Yes,

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<v Speaker 1>it's as simple but as profound as that. Set a

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<v Speaker 1>bedtime and hold to it, and set a time to

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<v Speaker 1>get out of bed in the morning, and hold to it.

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<v Speaker 1>Eat at a set time, follow the clock. They call

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<v Speaker 1>it self regulation. 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 else 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.