Mindfulness Mode

• Website: https://www.catherineweissenberg.com

• Catherine: Eugene Gendlin

• Jocelyn: “Before this, I was much more of a control freak than I am now, I don't worry like I used to, I am much calmer that I used to be.”

• Jocelyn: “Now that you said that, I'm going to be thinking about breathing all the time.”

• Book: Beyond Ever After: A Heart-to-Heart Journey Through Death and the Afterlife by Catherine Weissenberg and Jocelyn Montanaro

I’m Bruce Langford, host of Mindfulness Mode. I'm here to share a meditation of strength; a meditation to help you move through this COVID19 situation. This is a time for strength, confidence, and empowerment. And you have these within you. You may not feel it right now, but that strength is within you.

This is a time to focus on what we do have control over. We can choose what we focus on. We will choose strength. We will choose to accept social distancing because its the right thing at this time. Let’s get started with the meditation.

Make sure you’re comfortable, in a chair or on a cushion. Sit upright, so your spine is straight. Sit with confidence. If you're driving a car or operating machinery, listen to this meditation later.

Begin to breathe deeply, take a breath in, and then let it go. Breathe in through your nose if possible, if not, just breathe comfortably in, then out. Remember - you have control over your breath, this is important to remember, breathe, just breathe.

Now is a time to acknowledge nature. Think of your most precious memory in nature. Think of a tree, or a leaf, think of a grassy field, the sounds of the birds, I’m adding nature sounds to the meditation here. 

Enjoy the feeling of being immersed in nature. It’s just you, amid the trees and the plants. 

As you breathe, you appreciate the fresh, ozone-rich air, it feels like the most healthy fuel imaginable. You feel appreciation that you have this beautiful air to breathe.

You take a step and look around you. You see a faint path and you decide to go there. It feels right. You begin to walk on the path and you see it becomes more visible. This trail has obviously been walked before. You stop briefly to observe the greenery, to notice the trees, to feel the faint breeze on your cheeks. You fill your lungs with air. You feel alive and vibrant.  

You are enjoying this very moment in time. It feels right to be where you are. You begin to walk briskly and you feel your body strengthening. You feel confident.

Just then, a feeling of gratitude sweeps your body. You’re grateful for every leaf, every tree, every detail of nature. You are incredibly grateful for this moment. You know that you are meant to be here, right now. You are exactly what you are meant to be. 

You begin to loosen and relax the muscles in your face. The area around your forehead and your eyes become more relaxed. You experience a letting go in your cheeks and jaw. The feeling of letting go is wildly real. 

With every breath, you feel more and more confident that you’re in the right place. Confident that you are meant to be strong and be filled with joy. Let that joy permeate your cells.

The joy you are feeling is unexplainable. And you know it is just there, with no need for explanation. The joy is moving on to playfulness and you notice you are feeling almost child-like in the way you are letting go. Letting go of everything except gratitude and joy.

In your mind, you are running and jumping and celebrating and breathing in the fresh air of life. You know that you will remember this exact feeling. No matter what thoughts may come up for you, you have the power to bring back this beautiful feeling of exhilaration. 

You are grateful to be alive because you know you can support others. You can bring happiness and peace to those around you. To those you love and who love you. 

The feeling of love sweeps through you and lands in your heart. You’ve felt it before and now it’s returned. You love that feeling because you know it validates you. It gives you strength and confidence. 

You take another breath, deeply, you hold it comfortably and then release it slowly. As you release the air, you release what’s no longer needed, you release tension and stress. In its place, you immediately feel a rush of strength and confidence. 

You know you are meant to be confident. You know you are strong and you can move through challenges. You paste this feeling of strength into your mind as a memory you can pull up at any time.

You continue to embrace the sounds of nature coming from all around you. You know that this place is perfect right now. You inhale, slowly and with confidence. Hold the breath and then begin to slowly exhale.

This meditation is concluding and you still feel immense gratitude flooding your body.

Take one more breath as the meditation ends. When you’re ready, slowly outstretch your arms, prepare to stand. You can reconnect with me on the Mindfulness Mode podcast at www.MindfulnessMode.com or through an app like Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Thanks for listening to this guided meditation. Peace to you. Namaste.

Susan Shumsky can help anyone become a psychic or clairvoyant if that’s what they truly want. She has dedicated her life to helping people take control of their lives and to do that she uses her expertise in the human potential field. She has taught meditation, prayer, affirmation, and intuition to thousands of individuals worldwide. Susan has written 17 books and has recently released two new books: Third Eye Meditations: Awaken Your Mind, Spirit, and Intuition”  and “The Big Book of Chakras and Chakra Healing: How to Unlock Your Seven Energy Centers for Healing, Happiness, and Transformation. For over two decades, her mentor was Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder of Transcendental Meditation and guru of the Beatles. She served on Maharishi's personal staff for 6 years.

• Company: Divine Revelation

• Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

• “The main thing in attaining higher awareness or experiencing who you really are, that that brings you to a space of tranquility.”

• “Breathing is part of everybody's daily life.”

• Book: Third Eye Meditations by Dr. Susan Shumsky

Sam and Paddy Cullinane have personal, real-life experience at taking marriage from miserable to magnificent. In fact, that is the title of their new book, Marriage: From Miserable To Magnificent. They were so miserable they went so far as to sign divorce papers. Due to an incredible turn of events, they are now one of the happiest couples they know. Their book is told in a practical, yet humorous format presented as He Said, She Said and followed by the science to support their conclusions (They Say). They share formulas to deal with conflict, arguments and fighting as well as a simple solution to improve your sex life. Sam and Paddy are also hosts of ‘The Not-So-Perfect Couple’ podcast.

• Website: www.BiggerLove.com

• Patrick: Sam Cullinane

• Sam: Well, mindfulness allows me to understand what I'm feeling to begin with because I think a lot of times I just let, I realized now that I've let my emotions sort of push me around in my life. Now I recognize I'm not my emotions. They are something that happens to me. So those recognitions have changed my life entirely.

• Patrick: Well, that's interesting because we spent a day with a Peruvian Shaman last year who talked to us about breathing and ever since he was talking to us about it, I see it. I'm like, oh my God, somebody told us about this last year and so he was talking to us about this now and so you know how the universe conspires to put things in front of you once you figure it out. Um, but yeah, we will use just taking a normal breath in a day where we're doing what, 28 percent capacity of our lungs and feeding your body. And so just forcing yourself to breathe when I feel any stress or laying there having trouble sleeping or any of that, I just breathe. I try to maximize my lung capacity, hold it for a little bit, oxygenate my body and then breathe out. Then I have to do that, focus on my breathing when I meditate.

• Book: Marrige: From Miserable to Magnificent by Sam Cullinane

Tiffany Toombs is the Founder of Blue Lotus Mind and is a Mindset Coach who specializes in helping people overcome self-sabotage and limiting beliefs allowing them to experience success in every area of life. Tiffany is a Master Practitioner and Trainer in NLP (Neurolinguistic Programming) and Matrix Therapies. She has overcome some major challenges including physical abuse, infidelity, and eating disorders. Tiffany has worked in the health and fitness industry for 18 years and exclusively as a coach for the last five. She combines her science background and knowledge of the body & mind with her spiritual interests and training to achieve the goals of her clients.

• Company: Blue Lotus Mind

• Martin Luther King Jr.

• “I was very angry growing up. Mindfulness has allowed me to deal with it so I'm not like a volcano that's always about to erupt.”

• “I use breathing to pull me out of anxiety and I am the only person in my family who manages it without any sort of prescription drug.”

• Book: Stop Being a Selfish Bitch by Tiffany Toombs

• “I was bullied in the school a lot. So, if I had the mindfulness techniques then, that would have completely transformed that.”

Gary Gach is a San Francisco based author who was educated in Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh. He has written a number of books including his most recent, Pause Breathe Smile: Awakening Mindfulness When Meditation Is Not Enough. While living his life as a writer, Gary has worked at various jobs to make ends meet including as a bookshop clerk, editor-in-chief, hospital administrator, journalist, stevedore, and typographer. Gary currently lives in San Francisco, where he hosts a weekly Mindfulness Fellowship in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh and the Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism.

• Company: PlumVillage.org

• Thich Nhat Hanh

• “I used to be a very angry person, now I'm a better person to be with.”

• “I've been aware of my breathing as a practice, as an early human being.”

• Book: Pause Breathe Smile: Awakening Mindfulness When Meditation Is Not Enough by Gary Gach

• “There was a bully at elementary school and I just couldn't believe what he was doing.”

Alec Torelli is a high stakes poker player and has been a poker coach for more than 15 years, traveled to 45+ countries and made millions of dollars in the biggest cash games and tournaments in the world. He has competed on televised shows such as the World Series of Poker on ESPN, The World Poker Tour on Travel Channel and Poker Night in America on CBS Sports.  Alec uses mindfulness on a daily basis and shares how his lessons learned from poker apply to life and business. He is an expert at reading people, knowing how to take calculated risks and applying smart strategies to make winning decisions.

• Company: Conscious Poker

• Sam Harris

• “If you let your emotions dictate your actions, you're never going to win.”

• “It's an easy way to stay mindful.”

• Book: The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

Ola Muhammed is the founder and creative director of Ijorere designs and has worked with some major celebrities including NBA superstar player Lebron James and music recording artist J.Cole. When Ola was choosing a career, she was told that her dream of becoming an architect was not suited for a black woman. Even though people tried to step on her neck on the way up, it didn't stop her. She looked at her goal as a challenge and became a highly successful architect living in the most affluent neighborhood in Illinois. Ola learned that what holds people back the most from achieving their dreams is not racism but self hate.

• Company: Ijorere Designs

• Her Mother

• “I realized the power of simple things.”

• “Breathe deep to stay calm.”

• Book: Get Your Foot Off My Neck by Ola Muhammed

Bill Protzmann uses the power of music to delight and inspire self-care. He is an avid volunteer having held Board positions with Guitars for Vets and the San Diego Veterans Coalition. He has been instrumental in connecting thousands of military service members and Veterans with honor tickets to attend the San Diego Symphony concerts. Bill has delivered keynote addresses to organizations including The American Music Therapy Association, Consumer Action, The Society for Financial Education and Professional Development. Bill has published articles at Fox News, Your Tango, The Good Men Project, Psychology Today, and PracticalHeartSkills.com. Bill is author of the book, More Than Human – The Value of Cultivating the Human Spirit in Your Organization.

• Websites: www.Quest.MusicCare.net

• The Dalai Lama www.DalaiLama.com

• I think the thing that is important here is letting go of what you think.

• Early on, I had a piano teacher explain to me that a melody on the piano is being made by hitting things and the challenge is to make that melody sing.

• Book: The Path of Least Resistance by Robert Fritz

• When I was in first grade I walked to and from school. I was always interrupted on my walk by these older guys who would grab my arm and twist it behind my back.

Thinking of launching your own podcast? You’ll need a host, a place to upload your episodes. Podbean is awesome. Podbean is built specifically for podcasters, been around for 10 years and the pricing is super competitive. It’s $9 a month, no matter how much content you upload and they have great stats as well. You can help support Mindfulness Mode AND get a month of free hosting with my affiliate link. Go to www.Podbean.com/PodbeanMM

Julie Reisler, Life Designer®, TV Host, Next Level Facilitator and Global Brand Ambassador is the founder and CEO of Empowered Living, a Life Design and personal development company. Julie facilitates retreats, workshops, masterminds and summits to help big-hearted high achievers take their life to the next level. Julie is also the author of the Get a PhD in YOU book series, a multi-time TEDx speaker, host of The You-est You® podcast and meditation teacher on the popular app, Insight Timer, with over 110,000 downloads. Julie has a master's degree in coaching and more than twelve certifications in mindset and wellbeing. Julie is also on the faculty at Georgetown University in their coaching program. Julie is passionate about helping you to be your ‘you-est you' so you can up-level your life at work and beyond.

• Company: Empowered Living

• Heidi Most, Acupuncturist

• “It has helped me to navigate them in a way where I can stay in the bottom of the ocean meaning, I don't have to overreact, I can choose.”

• “I have to tune in to my breathing everyday because I tend to go up to my chest.”

• Book: Get a PhD in YOU: A Course in Miraculous Self-Discovery by Julie Reisler

• “The pattern of bullying started early. I saw my dad being a bully to my mom verbally.”

Do you want to become more calm, relaxed, peaceful, and content? If so, you can learn how by downloading this free ‘Waves of Content' Meditation by Bruce Langford. Unlock the secrets of calm by downloading the meditation here at MindfulnessMode.com/wavesofcontent