I recently had the privilege of teaching a series of one-hour weekly classes to a group of women about this stuff that we talk about here at A Clean Mind. The first class went very well, as they usually do. Because this is just really awesome stuff to talk about! And everyone can relate to it pretty much immediately. And I get kind of excited… Anyway, when I showed up the second week, I asked them if there had been any changes in their lives as a result of what we had talked about the week before. And a couple of them raised their hands.
One of the women works at a restaurant. This particular place gets super busy at peak times like lunch, so this information is crucial for her. It might’ve been that her boss said something harsh or critical during a busy time, and of course she felt the emotional fireworks right away. But she took a breath and simply listened to him, centered herself, then got back to work. And she was amazed that while it was not a fun experience, it was nothing like it would’ve been before our class. It didn’t ruin her day; quite the contrary. It made her day when she realized that we make so many mole hills into mountains, and it’s totally optional! But nobody tells us this stuff. Until now.
While this might seem like nothing, it’s not! This is major. It’s a different way to live, so I was very psyched to hear about it. She has already learned too much to ever be a stress ball at work again. She knows the secret. And how cool is that?? From learning two simple facts in an hour, work will never be as stressful for the rest of her life. Wow. And for her, this insight regarding work will start spilling over into the rest of her life right away.
And here’s the other one, which honestly brought some tears to my eyes. Another young woman raised her hand and said that in between the first class and the second was the anniversary of the death of her very young sibling that died, I think she said at age 2. She said that this one class helped her more than six years of counseling had. Wow. I was very moved. And it’s not me but just the information that is shared. It’s not like that day was the best day of her life, but she was able to stay in her breath, in her wisdom/common sense, and out of the chatter. This way those feelings can pass without getting so stuck. It’s normal to feel emotional on this day. It’s normal to feel sad, or even angry. Just let it be, breathe into, put space around it, and let it pass when it wants to pass. And the day came and went and her experience was way different than it had been each year before. Again, WOW. I love this stuff!!
Then the next week, the first woman said she had received some very painful news, news about a major part of her life that she didn’t want to hear. And she was very proud, and somewhat amazed, at how she handled it. She said she definitely had a moment, but she would’ve had a panic attack before. She said, “Usually news like this would send me into orbit.” Bam! I’ll take a moment over that any day. So cool, and well freaking done. Well done. Painful things still happen, and they’re just not as painful as they used to be. And even if they are, it doesn’t last nearly as long.
So there you go, just sharing some more experiences people are having from learning this simple stuff and then practicing it. The two simple facts, by the way, are that you are feeling your thinking (and not feeling the world directly) and that you have a good source of thinking built in. And if you know of any other groups that could benefit, please let me know! It’s so fun sharing with groups. More people can be reached that way, too. Other than that, enjoy the Fall weather wherever you are. We had the hottest summer in years here in Pensacola. I’m scheming to find a way to take this show on the road in the future so I can beat the heat. And if you’re somewhere like South Carolina where there’s lots of flooding, all the best and be careful. Peace out and let me know if I can help!