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How to Avoid the Toilet Vortex of Anxiety | Sebene Selassie and Jeff Warren

Sep 6, 2024

Sebene Selassie, a writer and meditation leader, joins Jeff Warren, a dynamic meditation instructor, for an engaging conversation on mindfulness. They explore the notion of 'failed meditators' and discuss how to navigate anxiety and grief with compassion. The duo emphasizes the importance of self-awareness in meditation and the value of community support. They also share practical meditation tips tailored for parents, encouraging quick mindful moments within family life. Their insights on connecting with emotions provide a relatable guide for personal growth.

01:01:22

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Episode guests

Jeff Warren

Sebene Selassie

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Quick takeaways

Meditation serves as an effective tool to foster mindfulness and reduce anxiety by promoting self-compassion and awareness of thought patterns.

The importance of community is highlighted as a vital element in meditation practices, transforming solitary activities into shared experiences to combat isolation.

Grief is recognized as a natural emotion that necessitates mourning rituals, encouraging expression and community connection to process loss effectively.

Deep dives

Overcoming Anxiety and Judgment

The discussion centers around practical methods for managing anxiety, including the concept of avoiding the 'toilet vortex' of overthinking. Meditation serves as a tool to promote mindfulness in moments of stress and reduce judgmental feelings towards oneself and others. Participants emphasize the importance of recognizing and altering habitual thought patterns that lead to anxiety, highlighting the necessity of developing compassion for oneself when facing challenges. Techniques shared include using awareness to stay present rather than getting lost in continuous worry.

Intro

2min

Banter and Audience Insights: A Prequel to Audience Questions

5min

Mindfulness and Human Connection

8min

Exploring Self-Awareness and the Challenges of Meditation

5min

Navigating Meditation Challenges

22min

The Personal Journey of Mindfulness and Overcoming Anxiety

5min

Mindfulness in Chaos: Navigating Anxiety and Grief

19min

Navigating Emotions: The Active Process of Grieving

3min

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We also talk about: whether it is possible to be a failed meditator; grief versus mourning; and meditation tips for parents.

Sebene Selassie is a writer, teacher, and speaker who leads meditation, creativity, and nature-based practices for personal & collective liberation. Using ancient wisdom and modern science mixed with her own relational and relatable style, Sebene helps spiritually curious people explore the profound and sacred truth of belonging. She is trained as a meditation teacher, an integral coach, a practitioner of Indigenous Focusing Oriented Therapy for Complex Trauma (IFOT), and is a licensed hiking guide in New York State. She has taught classes, workshops and retreats online and in person for almost fifteen years. Sebene is a devoted student of mystic traditions, including astrology, and writes the popular newsletter Ancestors to Elements. Her first book, You Belong: A Call for Connection, is published by HarperOne.

Jeff Warren is a meditation instructor and writer, known for his dynamic and accessible style of teaching. He is the co-author of The New York Times best-selling Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics, founder of the nonprofit Consciousness Explorers Club, and co-host of the Mind Bod Adventure Pod. Jeff's Do Nothing Project streams for free every Sunday night on YouTube; his guided meditations reach millions of people through the Ten Percent Happier and Calm apps, as well as through his Substack, Home Base.

Jeff’s mission is to empower people to care for their mental health, through the realistic, intelligent and sometimes irreverent exploration of meditation and personal growth practices. As someone with both ADHD and bipolar, he is big on destigmatizing mental health issues, and championing a neurodiverse outlook on life and practice.

Related Episodes:

How to Stay Calm No Matter What’s Happening | Sebene Selassie and Jeff Warren

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Meditation Party with Sebene Selassie and Jeff Warren: Psychedelics, ADHD, Waking Up From Distraction, and Singing Without Being Self-Conscious

Meditation Party: Magic, Mystery, Intuition, Tattoos, and Non-Efforting | Sebene Selassie and Jeff Warren

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