Kris Carr's Crazy Sexy Blog!

(OK REALLY… DEEPAK, DAVID SIMON, DAVID G, ME, MY HUSBAND AND 270 OF MY CLOSEST MEDITATING PALS ☺)

Happy Chill Sunday!

As some of you may recall a few weeks back I wrote a blog called HOW MEDITATING MAXIMIZES YOUR MANIFESTING MOJO. I was inspired to write that blog in part by reading a Deepak Chopra book from 1994 called THE 7 SPIRITUAL LAWS OF SUCCESS. As synchronicity and the universe would have it, out of nowhere my husband Vic and I received a big fat gift certificate to the Chopra Center from a friend who could not use it. This inspired us to sign up for a Meditating Renewal Weekend in NYC with Deepak, David Simon and David Ji. So the adventure began….

We got to the Park Central Hotel on Friday at 9am to sign up for our Primordial Sound Meditation Mantra and to spend the day learning about this style of meditation. We loved our main facilitator David Ji (AKA Greenspan). His story of transformation was incredible and his funny hippy vibe and delivery really made the information accessible (think of a Jewish George Carlin). He is supremely skilled as a meditation teacher/guru and thanks to him…I FINALLY got it. He explained when to meditate and why. He likened it to brushing your teeth. When you were a child brushing your teeth was a chore. As you grew up and realized your teeth will fall out without it-you just did it. None of us think, “Gee I won’t brush my teeth today-too hard”. We never think about it-we just do it. He challenged everyone there to get committed for 21 days and then decide if it is for you.

Psychologically this is smart. Really, how hard is 21 days? Creating a ritual or making it a habit takes all of the angst out of it. The question is not, “Should I meditate?” The question is, “Exactly when today will I meditate?” David Ji gave us two acronyms to take the guesswork out of the WHEN. The first is RPM, which means Rise, Pee, Meditate. (I actually Rise Pee Brush my fangs then Meditate) The second is RAW which is Right After Work. This is exactly how I do it. It helps that Vic is on board and created a sacred meditating space in his barn/studio. We support each other by being accountable and sharing our successes and struggles.

The first thing David Ji taught us about this type of meditation is that since we have 60,000 to 80,000 thoughts a day, stopping thoughts is not possible or the point. Having thoughts and an active mind while meditating is not, “doing it wrong”. It is normal. The goal is to get comfortable with gently drifting from your mantra to thoughts, and when you realize you have drifted away from your mantra…just drifting back, with no judgment. He gave us the visual of mist rising off a lake. Make it that easy and effortless. Someone asked David Ji, “What is SUPPOSED to happen when you meditate” and much to my relief he said, “NOTHING. “ He went on to explain that meditating is about the other 23 hours in the day. Being in silence and stillness for an hour a day will affect your ability to be a little more reflective and a little less reactive in your life. He encouraged us to take a thimble or shot glass full of silence and stillness back to our waking lives everyday and to be mindful of the subtle changes in our words, deeds and actions.

In Sanskrit mantra means mind vehicle. So the mantra that is given to you is based on Ayuvedic teachings and they say it is the sound that the universe was making at the moment of your birth. They took our birth info and calculated our mantras before we got there. We were then given a specific time and room to go to receive our mantra. The room was dark with candles and incense. The giver of the mantra was sitting there and then came over to me and whispered it in my ear three times. The whole scene sort of had a Twin Peaks/Tim Burton vibe. Covert and mysterious…and we were instructed that the mantra was not to be shared with anyone. Repeating something that has no meaning to you, over and over is a way to gently keep your mind away from thoughts and in the zone. Deepak calls the zone the GAP, where all the potentiality of the universe lies. Friday night we meditated for 30 minutes in a group of our closest 270 meditating pals and for the first time in my life, 30 minutes felt like five. I was amazed.

Deepak, rockin’ some red crystal rimmed glasses and red shoes, gave an amazing talk about what must die in your life to make room for what you are creating. He also lectured on manifesting and the basis of all human suffering stemming from the illusion of separateness.

The third facilitator was David Simon who is Deepak’s partner at the Chopra Center, an MD and a prolific author in his own right (The 10 Commitments-Translating Good Intentions Into Great Choices and many others). He gave 2 very effective talks. The first about integrative health and the mind/body connection and the second about love and how to get your needs met.

We did yoga and meditated every day. We met wonderful people and were so moved by our experience that we signed up for a six-day retreat at the end of October in California called Seduction of Spirit with the Chopra posse. But the real take away for me was this amazing new ability to meditate and the awesome guidance and support that came from David Ji. He just emailed a shout out to the group making him self available if we get stuck☺

So I am journaling about my experience daily and have already seen a shift in my life. Meditating has given me a slight time delay before I react in a situation. I think about it and then DECIDE how I WANT to react. I am observing more and evaluating less. Since 30 minutes of meditating is more restorative than 30 minutes of sleep, I choose to get up earlier to make it happen. I really loved this experience and would encourage anyone who can, to do it. Go to www.chopra.com and check it out. They schedule weekends all of the country and beyond. I hope that some of my a-ha moments will inspire your meditation practice. I would love to hear your struggles and successes.

NAMASTE

Your Crazy Sexy (VERY ZEN) LIFE COACH
Terri