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Terms apply. Greetings fellow meditators. It is

0:18

me, Michael Bechamire, here before we start

0:20

our meditation today, to give you a

0:22

few updates. First of all. We finally have

0:25

a much better version of

0:27

our website up at CTBD

0:29

meditation.com. If you think of

0:32

that, it's Calm the Bleep

0:34

Down. CTBD meditation.com.

0:36

And there we have a

0:39

blog we're working on and

0:41

we have some little bit

0:43

about us, but mostly what

0:45

we're most excited about is

0:47

we have meditation classes. And

0:50

we want you to think of

0:52

it like a drop-in yoga class.

0:54

So it's not so much, hey,

0:56

come here and learn how to

0:59

meditate, but it's more of a

1:01

place where meditators of all levels,

1:03

beginners, advanced, people who meditated for

1:05

20 years, people who meditated

1:07

for 20 minutes to come and

1:10

sit as a group and... meditate together. The

1:12

classes are going to be $5 in January.

1:14

In February, they go up to $10 and

1:16

we're basically going to format it. We're going

1:19

to go with the flow a little bit.

1:21

Mostly my idea for the format is some

1:23

Q&A at the beginning. Hey, some chit chat.

1:25

Here's what we're going to talk about. How's

1:28

it going? We're going to meditate for 20

1:30

or 30 minutes and then we'll wrap it

1:32

up at the end with any... questions or

1:34

comments or, you know, just chit-chatting, and you'll

1:37

be in and out in an hour or

1:39

less. It's $5 for the rest of

1:41

the month in January, $10 from

1:43

then on out. And we're really

1:45

excited about it because one of

1:47

the things I've missed is meditating

1:49

with a group, and I'm really

1:51

looking forward to spending some time

1:54

with people. So, I have meditation

1:56

classes for the month of January,

1:58

$5 from then on out. $10 and

2:01

you can sign up for

2:03

classes at CT BD meditation.com.

2:05

I really look forward to

2:07

meeting some of you, meditating

2:10

with you, and finding a

2:12

few moments of connection and

2:14

peace with some fellow human

2:16

beings. We really hope to

2:19

see you there. Okay, on

2:21

with the show. Welcome

2:36

to Mindful Meditations with Calm

2:39

the Bleep Down. I am

2:41

your guide Michael Beccamire, and

2:43

today we are going to

2:46

show up for ourselves. Let's

2:48

get started. As always, we

2:50

have a mindfulness quote to

2:53

help us go into our

2:55

meditation with some intent and

2:57

purpose, and today our quote

3:00

comes from Lou Holtz. And

3:02

it reads. Without

3:04

self-discipline, success is impossible. Period.

3:06

I like that quote because I

3:09

find it to be true,

3:11

obviously. The idea of discipline being

3:13

what leads us to success

3:15

is universal, I think, but even...

3:18

If you have like a

3:20

coach shouting at you and screaming

3:22

at you, work harder, work harder,

3:24

run faster, run faster, any

3:26

of those things that you have

3:29

a coach that does for

3:31

you or a boss standing over

3:33

your shoulder telling you to

3:35

get your paperwork in on time,

3:38

it's still you who makes the

3:40

decision to do the thing,

3:42

whatever it is. And even in

3:45

the moment when you're doing

3:47

the thing, it's up to you,

3:49

you're the one making the

3:51

decision of how hard you're going

3:53

to work in that moment.

3:55

Are... are you going to

3:57

do it halfway and do the

4:00

bare minimum just so you

4:02

can skirt skate by? So that's

4:04

one side of it, but

4:06

for me, it made me think

4:09

of something I've heard people

4:11

say over and over again, and

4:13

I've said it to myself

4:15

that the hardest part is just

4:17

showing up. Have you ever had

4:20

a project that you needed

4:22

to do, like maybe a house

4:24

project, and you're looking at

4:26

your garage and it's a mess?

4:29

And you're thinking, I don't

4:31

want to do that today. And

4:33

then you put it off for

4:35

six months from experience. But

4:37

at the same time, have you

4:40

ever had that happen and

4:42

then say, okay, I don't want

4:44

to do it, I'm going

4:46

to go do it now anyway.

4:49

And then two hours later, you're

4:51

like, you're like. I'm done.

4:53

Wait a minute. This is something

4:56

I've been dreading for months,

4:58

and now suddenly it's done. That's

5:00

because the hardest part was

5:02

just showing up. And it's true,

5:04

I find for myself at

5:06

least, it's true for almost everything.

5:09

A goal you want to set

5:11

for yourself, you want to

5:13

head to the gym three or

5:16

four days a week. It's

5:18

harder in your mind than it

5:20

is. And the thing is...

5:22

We get many things once we

5:24

push past that resistance and go

5:27

do the thing, whatever it

5:29

is. We get a sense of

5:31

accomplishment. We get the feeling

5:33

of feeling lighter because that thing

5:36

is off our plate now.

5:38

We can be proud of ourselves

5:40

for finishing a project or heading

5:42

to the gym. I'm a

5:44

runner so if I'm going out

5:47

for a run sometimes I

5:49

just don't want to do it.

5:51

It's like I don't want

5:53

to go, you know, running is

5:56

hard. I don't want to

5:58

do it. But I almost always

6:00

feel at the end. What I'm

6:02

saying about all that is

6:04

that the idea of how meditation

6:07

ties into all this thing

6:09

is it requires mindfulness to push

6:11

past that initial sense of

6:13

resistance where you say I don't

6:16

want to do that but I'm

6:18

going to do it anyway

6:20

because you know on the other

6:23

side of that it feels

6:25

much better. It requires mindfulness. You

6:27

have to be mindful of

6:29

the fact that like I feel

6:31

that way now that I know

6:34

I'm going to feel better

6:36

when I'm done, or when I

6:38

get it started. And then

6:40

it just makes everything easier. The

6:43

hardest part is showing up.

6:45

No matter how hard the project

6:47

is, if it's a six-month-long

6:49

project, it's not just hard showing

6:51

up the first day, it's hard

6:54

showing up six months into

6:56

it. If you're trying to lose

6:58

50 pounds, It's hard showing

7:00

up the first day, but you

7:03

know what? It gets even

7:05

harder to show up six months

7:07

down the road, because now not

7:09

only have you had to

7:11

commit to it one day, you've

7:14

had to commit to it

7:16

for six months' worth of days.

7:18

It feels counterintuitive almost. So

7:20

for me, how meditation helps with

7:23

that is, meditation is where we

7:25

practice. and develop mindfulness by

7:27

following our breath in and following

7:30

our breath out and recognizing

7:32

when we've lost track of our

7:34

breath and we are our

7:36

mind is wondering and we're daydreaming

7:38

about something else or we're

7:40

thinking about what we need to

7:43

do when we're done here or

7:45

we're thinking about what we're

7:47

trying to avoid or maybe the

7:50

stuff I'm saying to you

7:52

right now is causing your mind

7:54

to drift. It takes mindfulness

7:56

to recognize that my mind has

7:58

wondered. and I'm going to push

8:01

that thought away and come

8:03

back to my breath. So in

8:05

a way, committing to meditation

8:07

daily or twice a day or

8:10

however many times a week

8:12

you want to do for five,

8:14

ten, fifty, 15, 20 minutes even,

8:16

is a real commitment and

8:18

it requires discipline to continue doing

8:21

that over time. Because it's

8:23

real easy to do something once.

8:25

It's harder to do it

8:27

a thousand times. And a thousand

8:30

times is what we need

8:32

to do it so that we

8:34

can keep getting better at it,

8:36

right? This is what we're

8:38

gonna meditate on today. Congratulations yourself

8:41

for doing the hard part

8:43

and just showing up. and find

8:45

yourself in a comfortable seat

8:47

if you've never meditated before it

8:50

is totally fine. All you need

8:52

to do is find yourself

8:54

in a comfortable place in a

8:57

quiet place where you can

8:59

be undisturbed for the next 10

9:01

or 15, 20 minutes and

9:03

just close your eyes and start

9:05

lengthening your breath. We're looking for

9:08

a feeling of relaxation. and

9:10

start paying attention to the sensations

9:12

in your body, starting to

9:14

feel heavier and heavier, either sinking

9:17

into the seat or cushion

9:19

or mattress that you were sitting

9:21

or lying on at this

9:23

time, feeling yourself getting heavier and

9:25

heavier with each exhale. As

9:29

you exhale, feel yourself

9:31

sink just a little

9:34

deeper into relaxation. Finding

9:37

yourself feeling heavier and

9:39

heavier. Maybe take a

9:42

quick moment and scan

9:44

your body from head

9:47

to toe. Start to

9:50

loosen all the tight

9:52

places that have collected

9:55

over the days. Working.

10:04

Feeling the present sensation

10:06

of air coming into

10:09

your lungs, nice cool

10:11

sense of your lungs

10:14

filling with air. Feel

10:16

that air fill you

10:19

up. Feel that air.

10:21

Leave your body as

10:24

you exhale. Maybe

10:34

take a moment

10:37

and notice the

10:39

sensation of the

10:42

air in the

10:45

room up against

10:47

your skin, the

10:50

space around your

10:52

body. your neck,

10:55

shoulders all the

10:58

way down your

11:00

arms, and as

11:03

you exhale, imagine

11:05

a wave of

11:08

relaxation sweeping from

11:11

the top of

11:13

your head all

11:16

the way down

11:18

to the tip

11:21

of your toes,

11:24

sinking deeper into

11:26

that relaxed state

11:29

with each new

11:31

exhale. Maybe

11:39

as you're scanning your

11:41

body and following your

11:43

breath, coming in and

11:45

out, you lose track

11:47

of that and you

11:49

at some point notice

11:52

that your mind has

11:54

wandered somewhere else and

11:56

your thoughts have carried

11:58

you away. This

12:02

is normal. This happens to

12:04

everybody every time we meditate.

12:07

And it's not a time

12:09

to get frustrated or annoyed

12:11

with yourself. What it is,

12:14

is if you notice your

12:16

mind has wandered. Like I

12:18

said, that is the mindfulness.

12:20

So you actually need your

12:23

mind to wonder so you

12:25

can notice that it has

12:27

wandered. So you can

12:29

practice mindfulness. In

12:31

many ways, it is

12:34

the point of the

12:37

meditation. So if

12:40

your mind has

12:42

wondered, it's okay.

12:45

Just observe that

12:47

last thought, recognize

12:49

it for what

12:52

it was, and

12:54

then return to

12:56

your breath in.

12:58

And out. in

13:00

and of itself

13:03

requires discipline and

13:05

practice awareness enough to

13:07

know that your mind

13:10

is going to wander

13:12

and not to lose

13:14

your temper or get

13:17

frustrated because you have

13:19

the discipline to recognize

13:21

that for what it

13:23

was and see it as

13:26

an opportunity and not a

13:28

setback. and

13:33

out. Take more

13:35

and more time

13:37

here to take

13:39

deeper and deeper

13:42

breaths with each

13:44

inhale and exhale.

13:47

Try to slow

13:49

it down even

13:52

more, bringing in

13:54

that cleansing new

13:57

breath and see.

14:00

each new breath

14:02

as if it

14:04

is an arrival

14:06

into this present

14:08

moment as ever

14:10

present moment that

14:12

is always happening

14:14

right now. It

14:16

only exists in

14:18

the now and

14:20

it is as

14:22

your breath which

14:24

also only exists

14:26

right now. Breathing

14:28

in now. You're

14:30

breathing in now.

14:32

You're breathing out.

14:34

Now. If you

14:36

pause and don't

14:38

breathe in and

14:40

you don't breathe

14:42

out you are

14:45

not breathing now.

14:47

Continue to lengthen

14:49

your breath. I

15:08

see meditation as

15:11

a practice, but

15:13

I also see

15:15

meditation more and

15:18

more as a

15:20

practice for life.

15:22

It's an exercise

15:25

that we make

15:27

ourselves due, that

15:29

we give ourselves

15:31

time for. So

15:34

when obstacles are

15:36

thrown at us

15:38

in day-to-day life,

15:41

We have mindfulness

15:43

as a tool

15:45

in our bag

15:48

of how to

15:50

handle it. Breathing

15:52

in and breathing

15:55

out. Breathing

16:00

in

16:03

and breathing

16:06

out. out.

17:29

out. out.

17:59

out. Okay,

21:00

wherever you made it

21:02

into your meditation, now

21:04

it is time to

21:07

return. Take another long,

21:09

slow, deep breath in

21:11

and out. And allow

21:14

this final moment of

21:16

silence and stillness to

21:18

settle in. As you

21:21

do that, just remind

21:23

yourself that the hardest

21:26

part is just showing

21:28

up. And

21:30

by showing up, you took

21:32

care of yourself, you practiced

21:35

some mindfulness and some discipline.

21:37

And any time you need

21:40

to find yourself a moment

21:42

of peace, all you have

21:45

to do is return to

21:47

this place, where you close

21:49

your eyes, take a long,

21:52

slow, deep breath in. And

21:54

out. and go about.

21:57

Throughout your day,

21:59

day, be well

22:02

and have

22:04

fun, fun, one breath

22:07

at a a time. That's

22:29

it for this time on Calm on Calm

22:31

the If you like this meditation, please

22:33

feel free to send us an feel post

22:35

a comment, hit us up on post a

22:38

comment, hit posting a lot these days. We'd

22:40

love to hear from you. Once again,

22:42

I'm Michael love to you to you.

22:44

the bleep down. We'll

22:47

see you again soon. please Thank

22:49

you for meditating with us. see Be

22:51

well, soon. Thank you fun, with

22:53

us. Be well. Have fun.