So here’s what went through my mind yesterday evening at 5:15pm:
“Oh, Jesus. Here he comes.”
Broad-shouldered, wild-eyed, screaming incoherently at the top of his lungs, the man a-few-sandwiches-short-of-a-picnic was coming straight at me on Connecticut Avenue.
I did what any sensible, self-protective pedestrian would do in that situation—I crossed the street as quickly as FREAKING possible.
Such is urban life.
From that safe distance, I recalled an Eckhart Tolle insight that got me straight in the egoic jugular a few years ago:
“You have probably come across “mad” people in the street incessantly talking or muttering to themselves. Well, that’s not much different from what you and all other “normal” people do, except that you don’t do it out loud.”
How tame is your mind?
To illustrate, imagine this: a two-millimeter tall scribe with a clipboard crawls into your left ear. She’s there to transcribe the thoughts that appear in your mind, as they come up. Her gig only lasts about 5 minutes. When she completes the transcription, she enlarges it, because it’s tiny, and hands it to you.
Will it read like a well-cadenced powerpoint presentation?
Or more like the non-stop ramblings of King George III?
(I think we all know the answer.)
Does it even matter?
But wait, you’re a pretty high-functioning individual, right? Who CARES what that hypothetical transcription implies if it doesn’t prevent you from pursuing your career, paying your bills, nurturing your relationships, making money, etc?
True, a sprawling, out-of-control inner monologue may not stop you from pursuing your goals in the world. However, as many of our clients report, and as I know too well myself, it’s an obstinate obstacle to having a mind characterized by:
- peace
- clarity
- focus
- creativity
- ability to enjoy life as it is.
Unless you’re a cyborg, I think it’s safe to say that you’re interested in cultivating at least one of the items in the list above. Here are some of the veiled ways our clients express that interest at our clinic:
- “I’d spend big bucks for a button that I could use to turn off my anxiety.”
- “I just want to be happy.”
- “I wish I could be more productive”
- “The next month is full of exams—I can’t afford not to be laser focused.”
- “I am loving my judo classes and am inspired to really master it.”
- “My day-to-day life has been feeling stale.”
- “Ugh. Things are insane at work, so it’s only natural that I’m stressed out of my mind.”
- “I think it’s time to get more serious and step up my spiritual practice.”
- “I dread going to work because there’s so much tension there with so-and-so.”
The list goes on.
So here’s the deal—Jeremy and I thought of a way to help you cultivate more peace of mind in just 5 minutes per day, right there, at your home or office, live, with us! We call it the…
THE DAILY CHILL-PILL CHALLENGE
10 LIVE Micro-Meditation lessons on Facebook.
… in just 5 minutes per day, for 10 days
Join us daily at noon EST
Monday Dec 12 – Wednesday Dec 21
Like our Page for the 10 FREE live lessons
(and group meditations):
Yes! Thanks to Zuckerbergian technology, Jeremy and I will be coming to you via live video recording on our Facebook page to introduce the
amazing, no-equipment-needed, totally-free-of-charge, 100% portable, time-tested, elegantly simple TOOL of meditation to smooth-ify that frazzled, urban mind.
In these micro-meditation lessons, followed by a micro-meditation with us, you’ll:
- Learn 10 simple techniques to help you get more acquainted with your inner world (one per day for 10 days).
- See how to apply the meditation skill to deal with the “pinpricks” of daily life.
- Get clear on what all of the meditation fuss is about.
- Find out why Jeremy and I wake up at 5am to meditate for half an hour.
- Get your questions regarding meditation—and your experience with it—answered. We’ll be actively engaging with participants through comments after the recordings.
And if cultivating peace of mind, clarity, focus and creativity isn’t enough, we have some more, shall we say… TANGIBLE incentives for you to spend 5 minutes per day with us on Facebook:
- The chance to win a gift certificate for a free first-time acupuncture session at Transformational Acupuncture (makes for a unique and thoughtful holiday gift, hint-hint)
- Holistic Holiday Pack giveaway (a beautiful basket of our favorite all-natural self-care products)
- A $10 promo code that can be used towards any product or service at the clinic through 12/31/16… we’ll utter it in one of the videos–listen carefully. =)
… we’ll explain how to win these items in-person, at our first live recording at noon this Monday, December 12th.
And don’t worry, you can still be part of the contest if you can’t make the LIVE noon-time EST rendez-vous. All of the live recordings will be available for viewing afterwards on our Facebook page; you can take part in the contest by watching and leaving a comment.
It’s easy to participate in our DAILY CHILL PILL CHALLENGE:
(to be notified that we’ll be going live).- Visit our page at noon SHARP on as many days as you can from Monday December 12 – Wednesday December 21. (You’ll see us live streaming at the top of our page).
- If you can’t make a live lesson, visit our FB page for access to all of the recordings.
Also, share the wealth that is peace of mind. Let your friends, family members and co-workers know about our free meditation lessons. Share this post!
Will you join us? Leave any comments or questions in the comments below.
Hope to see you on Facebook this upcoming Monday at noon!
Nadia (and Jeremy too)
About the Author
Nadia was the previous co-owner and operations manager of Transformational Acupuncture.
