Mindfulness Mode

TM Hoy is an author with a fascinating story. His books include, Lasting Happiness, Rotting in the Bangkok Hilton (Skyhorse Publishing), and The Nature of Religion (Pan Publishing). Originally from California's Silicon Valley, he became a gemologist after college and worked in the jewelry industry for years. He traveled extensively throughout Europe and Asia and kept homes in Bangkok and the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai. It was at his home in Chiang Mai where a fateful event happened which caused his life to suddenly veer in a radically different direction. Today he lives in Tucson, Arizona where he enjoys the breathtaking mountain views daily along with his freedom to write. You can find TM Hoy online at LastingHappiness.net Listen & Subscribe on: iTunes / Stitcher / Podbean / Overcast / Spreaker / Spotify Contact Info Website: www.LastingHappiness.net Book: Lasting Happiness: Secrets of the Heart, Mind, and Spirit by TM Hoy Connect with TM Hoy by leaving comments on the bottom of his web pages at: www.LastingHappiness.net Most Influential Person Thomas Moore Effect on Emotions It's been a wonderful thing. It has enriched my life a lot, I think mainly because I feel a lot more connection to the surroundings, and in daily life, I try to spend time pausing for beauty and looking at the beauty of the natural world. I'm very fortunate, Tucson is a lovely town, and we've got the Catalina mountains and the Santa Ritas, so we're surrounded by mountains, the clouds, the sun. It's just a very beautiful place and I take enough time to really pause and take that in, and that to me really is the core of mindfulness, being able to appreciate your daily life. Thoughts on Breathing Breathing is an Absolutely crucial [part of my mindfulness].. Whenever you feel a little bit tense or a little bit upset or any kind of stress at all, just do a quick little minute or two exercise where you count your breaths. That's all. So for me, whenever I begin, it always begins with, 'Take a deep breath. Hold it for three seconds, release it for three seconds' and you do that pattern. And the next thing you know, everything becomes manageable again and you're focused and you're in the moment. That breathing exercise helps calm the mind down and that is a crucial part of any meditation exercise. Suggested Resources Book: Urban Shaman by Serge Kahili King App: n/a Bullying Story There's a lot of conflict in prisons and violence and conflict are kind of at the core of that experience because you get a lot of people that really are rule breakers and you get them all together and stuff them in one room and they're not allowed to leave. That's prison. So there was this one guy, and this was in Texas, in a prison in Texas, who just couldn't get along with anybody in his cartel member. And he would, he would bully because he was a very large guy and worked out a lot. Making a long story short, he was picking on one guy who is kind of small and thin, a native American kid. It was on the weight pile and there was a number of us that were around that really liked this kid. He was a good kid, from one of the tribes there in Texas. And we just said, "You know what, we're not putting up with this anymore." And we surrounded this guy in the middle of this session where he's belittling this kid and really, really overbearing. And we surrounded him and were just like, "Look at yourself. Look at who you are. You're 280 pounds of solid meat. You bench press 500 pounds. And here's this kid who's 100 pounds and you're bullying this kid. What are you doing? Look at yourself. Who are you?" And the shame of the group, the ability of the group to just focus their energy and saying, "You know what, you are so close to being an outcast, we are done with you. We are so sick of this." That had an enormous impact. He went quiet, he gathered up his things, he left and he was a lot more reflective and a lot more thoughtful and that, of everybody just dirty looking him, giving him a hard time, and saying this is not acceptable behavior, and that bringing the present moment, that mindfulness moment, if you will. Interfering there had a real impact and it had an impact on other people that had that kind of personality as well, because they saw what happened that, and this is the essence of society, is that if you have a group of people that share the same kind of values and vision, that they really can make an impact, really can have an impact on your surrounding. Even in a society that's violent and sort of out of control like a prison. When you mentioned bullying, I thought immediately of that little get together where we were like, "No, no, no, we're done. This is enough." On-Line Course Join Mindfulness Coach and author, Keith Macpherson in an immersive learning environment as you explore the five key principles to mindfulness practice. Adapted from his best selling book, Making Sense of Mindfulness, Keith takes you through all five principles of mindfulness practice with videos, guided audio exercises and a workbook to assist you with bringing more balance, focus, and meaning into your life. $100.00 off for a limited time. www.MindfulnessMode.com/msof

Grant Sabatier is the creator of Millennial Money.com and author of the book, Financial Freedom. In 2010, Grant was 24 years old, with a philosophy degree and a mere $2.26 in his bank account. In a fleeting moment, he made the decision to become a milliionaire. Five years later he had a net worth of over 1.25 million dollars and the American news network, CNBC started calling him, The Millennial Millionaire. Grant’s creative, often counterintuitive thoughts on money have been featured in over 400 publications and he regularly writes, speaks, and gives interviews on the topic. Listen & Subscribe on: iTunes / Stitcher / Podbean / Overcast / Spreaker / Spotify Contact Info Website: www.MillenialMoney.com  Website: GrantSabatier.com (for more mindfulness based content) Website: FinacialFreedomBook.com (for the book, Financial Freedom) Twitter: @MillenialMoney Most Influential Person Thich Nhat Hanh; see www.plumvillage.org Effect on Emotions Mindfulness, as I mentioned at the beginning, to me is a muscle and it's something that was very confusing for me at first. It took a lot of time, but now mindfulness has completely changed my life because I don't have to cultivate it as much. The garden is already there and so when I used to have to be very present and kind of reengage with the present moment, I feel like engaging with being in the present moment and truly seeing now is more of my default instead of it being like five percent of my day where I have to be very intentional about it. I've entered probably just in the last six months that shift where now more than 50 percent of my day, I'm truly awake. That's been a mixture of having the time and space with which to cultivate that. Thoughts on Breathing This is something when I was really stressed and I was working all the time, I had to kind of, come into meditation and focus on my breath once I got in like 20 minutes a day, once I got out of the corporate world and was truly financially independent that I could wake up and do anything that I wanted with my day, my breath naturally settled. So now I actually don't have to. Unless I'm really stressed out, I don't have to come home to my breath. My breath is my default home. My blood pressure dropped. It's kind of like the length of your breath is the length of your life, and I really feel like the length of my breath is much longer simply because it took me like nine months to detox from leaving the corporate world. Suggested Resources Book: Financial Freedom: A Proven Path to All the Money You Will Ever Need by Grant Sabatier Book: The Art of Living: Peace and Freedom in the Here and Now by Thich Nhat Hanh Book: The End of Your World: Uncensored Straight Talk on the Nature of Enlightenment by Adyashanti App: Oak - Meditation and Breathing App: Checkout Mint (Net Worth Tracker) App: Peak Money (Mindfulness Money App) Bullying Story So there was a neighbor, there was a guy that lived on the street behind me and I'd known him growing up. He was one of three siblings and he was just one of these people who now in hindsight I realized was quite lonely and quite sad. He always just reeked of body odor, just like intense. I think it was a mixture of his parental situation, I don't think his parents were very present. It was the environment he grew up in. I would make comments around his body odor and, that he was just a jerk. This wasn't a very long period of time, but it was all facilitated by some friends that I was hanging out with. I remember that he got upset about it. He told his mom, his mom called my mom and my mom being like, you know, do you want this to be your character? And all those sorts of things. You know, I felt really bad about it. I remember going over and apologizing earnestly, but then that was, I was actually a bully in that sense before I was bullied myself. And then two years later in eighth grade, there was a kid who would just always bully me really intensely. Free Gift Get the brand new Awaken With Focus 12-Minute Guided Meditation by Bruce Langford Be alert and focused after waking. Feel invigorated, fresh and dynamic. Let your vibrancy feed those around you. Be the energetic person you desire to be. Click here: www.MindfulnessMode.com/AwakenWithFocus  

Dr. Laura Gallaher is an Organizational Psychologist, Speaker, Facilitator, and Executive Coach. She is the founder and CEO of Gallaher Edge, which she started in 2013. Her noteworthy career began after the Space Shuttle Columbia exploded upon re-entry in 2003, killing everybody aboard. Following the tragedy, NASA hired Laura and a team of organizational psychologists to change the cultural influences that were deemed to play a role in the accident. She worked for 8 years to positively influence culture, develop leadership capacity, and improve organizational performance at Kennedy Space Center. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, and a Masters and PhD in Organizational Psychology. Laura is a Licensed Human Element® Practitioner, a Certified Radical Collaboration Trainer, and a Certified Coach. Listen & Subscribe on: iTunes / Stitcher / Podbean / Overcast / Spreaker / Spotify Contact Info Company: Gallaher Edge Website: GallaherEdge.com Podcast: Expand Your Edge https://gallaheredge.com/podcast/ Listen to Laura on her recent TEDx Orlando: How to Feel at Home Anywhere - Dr. Laura Gallaher: https://youtu.be/RUxT8wuDsG4  Most Influential Person Judy Bell (helped Will Schutz develop the Human Element) Effect on Emotions It slows them down, is the biggest thing. If I feel emotion coming with speed, I'm able to just dial it back a bit. So the motions are either slower to come or I'm actually faster to recover. Thoughts on Breathing I actually want to be more intentional about breathing. I think that, maybe through instinct or maybe through what I've learned over the last five or 10 years, it definitely is a part of it. And I know every time I teach, I tend to model breathing as a means to sort of settle the mind, settle the body. I think it's ridiculously powerful, breathing. And so I want to be even more intentional with it. Suggested Resources Book: The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer App: Happify One Thing You Want To Change In Your Life I believe that we are hardwired for human connection and I don't believe that we're meant to walk through the world alone. I think for me personally, if I could make one change, it would be to have that one life partner to share life with. So I'm a big believer in the idea that if I can't be happy alone, I can't be happy with somebody. But if I'm happy now and I think that my life could be richer and more full if I had that life partner, then I would say that's the biggest change I would want. Free Gift Get the 'Release Your Overwhelm' Guided Meditation for only $4.99. Bruce Langford helps you abandon your inner blocks. Surrender your stress. Become more focused and raise your personal level of contentment. Achieve more with increased concentration. Download this full-length 30 minute guided meditation by Bruce Langford. www.MindfulnessMode.com/release

Eiji Morishita is the Founder of the Movement Makers, whose mission is empower 1000 leaders over the next 10 years to start a movement that impact millions of lives.  His purpose is to ignite souls to step into their calling. Eiji has been part of several movements including the spread of the Sushi Movement in North America and building over 100 schools in Guatemala.  He is currently creating, building, & advising dozens of movements through his community on the world's toughest issues. His clients and the Movement Makers Community have been featured on the NY Times Best Seller List, TED, and many more. Eiji is a genius in creating practical & tactical solutions to create fun, easy, and profitable Speaking Training Coaching businesses. Listen & Subscribe on: iTunes / Stitcher / Podbean / Overcast / Spreaker / Spotify Contact Info Company: Movement Makers Website: www.MovementMakers.org Website: www.EijiMorishita.com Instagram: @RealMovementMakers Facebook: @MovementMakers Free Gift: www.MovementMakers.org/gift Most Influential Person Mahatma Gandhi Effect on Emotions Mindfulness has been extremely helpful, especially when it comes to making decisions as well. What works for me is when my emotions are at an even keel or so are settled; if it's not too high or too low or just going up and down. There's the old saying, when emotions go up, intelligence goes down. So mindfulness helps settle the emotions and process emotions so I can make decisions from a place of peace and a place of joy. Thoughts on Breathing That's been very powerful because the things that I use for mindfulness, you know, breathwork is important. Just stopping and paying attention to my breath. So there's several different types of [exercises]. I just take deep breaths in through my nose and out through my mouth. I do various [versions], like one for two counts or four for four counts in. It depends on the day. Afterwards, my body feels energized, my mind feels clear and it really helps take emmotional baggage off my plate. Also the other ways that I know is by walking or running. That is my form of meditation as well. Suggested Resources Book: The Surrender Experiment: My Journey Into Life's Perfection by Michael A. Singer App: Calm and also a sleep app called Pzizz Bullying Story English is my second language and I grew up in the eighties and nationalism was very high. I was bullied mostly from fourth grade all the way through junior high. Definitely I think mindfulness [would have made a difference]. What's interesting is, I was bullied in elementary school and junior high. And then on Saturday school, which is Japanese school, I was a bully myself. So I was being bullied first, then was a bully in Japanese school. From being bullied, I think mindfulness would have been really helpful for me to check into my emotions and process those emotions versus suppressing it or, or just avoiding it completely. I think it also gives me a perspective of what's going on, um, that I wouldn't be in reaction mode that I have to respond as well. I think mindfulness would have been very helpful and I think it would allow me to address my feelings instead of just ignoring them. Free Gift Get the brand new 'Sleep Naturally' Guided Meditation by Bruce Langford. A deep, easy sleep is yours to enjoy. Sleep naturally and fall asleep easily. Drift off to sleep with a calm, gentle voice. Rest comfortably, without effort. Click here: www.MindfulnessMode.com/Sleep

Sherife is an artist with a very unique perspective. When asked the question 'Who are you?' he replied: I'm god. And I'm not saying that in the sense like I'm the religious god, what I'm saying is, who I am truly is beyond the physical, and that being is hard to describe in words, because the potential of that soul or that spirit is so vast, it's endless. You're an infinite being, and if you're an infinite being, there's no way to really sum up in a few words who you actually are. Being able to go to sleep, having a dream, living in another dimension, coming back into this dimension and living out that dream, or having predictions of things, seeing the future, out of body experiences, there's so much to me as far as what I can do as a human being, it's hard to really sum it up. Listen & Subscribe on: iTunes / Stitcher / Podbean / Overcast / Spreaker / Spotify Contact Info Website: N/A Podcast: No Most Influential Person Not a specific person, just nature. Effect on Emotions I was able to feel my thoughts. You know, when I monitor my thought, I'll say, okay, you know what? I'm not going to go any further to hurt myself or to hurt anyone else because I know that, in order for me to evolve will become better, I have to give up. But see, you gotta have a passion for these things. So I've always had a passion for it. So, the more mindful I became of my own thoughts and what I was doing at the time, it helped me snap out of it. And you know, sometimes I look back at the good deeds I've done for so many people and I fall in love with myself, you know, I've fallen in love, and it makes me more mindful. So in the middle of an argument, sometimes I can stop and tell a person, 'Hey, I love you' and people are scared to say that word today. You know, it's like a nightmare just to say that word. People are so afraid of it. Thoughts on Breathing Well, you know, the brain needs oxygen. Oxygen is a part of the ethos of the plants. And when you breathe in these, um, I mean we've get, when you breathe in the oxygen these plants are giving off, it's not just a cycle. It's not just what happens. This air that we breathe from these plants is communication. You received the oxygen from the plant. You inhale and when you exhale it's carbon. That carbon goes back into the plant. Then the plant knows now what you need to heal yourself, if you got cancer or if you got a liver problems. So now in turn, what the plant does is start growing fruits and vegetables for certain parts of our illnesses. It's no coincidence that the plant produces fruits and vegetables for certain parts of our body. That's not a coincidence, that's from the carbon that we breathe out. The plant knows now because, the oxygen that the plant has set out actually went into the bloodstream. The blood carries the oxygen to the brain, the muscles. And that has helped me heal. Definitely. You know, so when we exhale out, the plant takes that information back in. It's like oxygen has spied on your body by the oxygen traveling through your blood and through your kidney. Then you look at pecans and certain nuts you'll see that some nuts look like the brain, you know, and some foods are like different parts of our body, but that's not by accident. That's because the oxygen that we're breathing, the ether, the things that we shared with plants and stuff, it's important for us to breathe. You know? So when Shifu told us to breathe from the stomach and inhale, exhale, and you know, dealing with Tai Chi, that helped me a lot. Suggested Resources Book: The Celestine Prophecy: An Adventure by James Redfield App: Youtube (Chanting Shaolin Monks) Bullying Story Oh yeah. Well, you know, I was always fighting when I was young because I was picked on a lot. And so I learned how to become a bully myself at times. I'll tell you what, I was bullying somebody and that person turned out to be handicapped, you know, I'm teasing the person talking about them real bad. And then when they opened their mouth to respond to me, I found out that person was handicap, that that person couldn't really speak. And that hurt me. It hurt me really bad because see, that person was innocent. And when that person went to speak to me, when they turned around and talked to me and they sounded so crippled inside. I was really hurt because they can't defend themselves. It was a girl I was just picking on, but she would be considered ugly in today's society because she doesn't match up with the average models and so, she's not ugly to me, but by average standards that people would normally say she's ugly because she don't look like Beyonce or look like any other model out there. So, I had to tell her I love her. She's beautiful. I apologized to her and then she gave me thumbs up like she, you know, like, okay, we cool. She accepted it. Yes. And that made me feel so much better. It eased me because I walked away, but, you know, I just couldn't accept what happened, what just took place. So I had to apologize to her and everything. Free Gift Become more calm, focused and happy by reading the top 12 books recommended on the Mindfulness Mode Podcast. This mini 14-page ebook entitled '12 Must-Read Mindfulness Books' outlines each of the top books recommended by guests on the show. Get your digital copy now at  MindfulnessMode.com/top12books

David Cheng is a Shanghai-based investor/entrepreneur. He founded AngelVest Group which is one of the largest angel investment groups in China, having provided funding to 16 companies. They provided the initial seed funding to bring Hanson Robotics to Hong Kong  from USA. David is the former product developer at Honda R&D in Japan and USA. He has invested in over twenty early and growth stage companies. He's a former investment banker at US/ China bulge bracket and boutique firms. He also led AMD’s microprocessor technology transfer to China’s Ministry of Science and Technology. David holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and BS Electrical Engineering Degree from the University of   Rochester. Listen & Subscribe on: iTunes / Stitcher / Podbean / Overcast / Spreaker / Spotify Contact Info Company: Hansen Robotics (CFO) Company: AngelVest Group https://angelvestgroup.com/ More info: https://angelvestgroup.com/members/david-chen/ Most Influential Person Shifu Deru (Shi Deru) Effect on Emotions  I think mindfulness has kept my emotions in check. I mean, there were times when I was younger where, you know, anger would flare, and emotions would kind of run up and down. But I think that if I were to take a step back in a situation and kind of brush it off, well that is growth. That is my personal growth, I believe. Suggested Resources Book: The Voice Code by John Marshall Roberts App: Calm Bullying Story Bullying has become a hot topic in modern times. One of the tenets of karate is seek perfection of character. And in that statement in itself, all people who practice that martial art are asked to behave in a way that would be respectful of others and yourself. And that means no bullying. When I was growing up in New York state, it was a very different environment many decades ago and people didn't take bullying seriously, if at all. And certainly I observed bouts of that and even myself growing up as a kid, I was more on the quiet side, on the shy side and you know, some people did take advantage of that. And while I found it to be bothersome. I was able to find my own ways to just avoid that or to find other interests that didn't put me into, let's say a negative mood or depression. But I think it's a big problem, or I think it was a big problem and I think in today's society, because I got two kids of my own now, that's certainly something that I look out for in their school and their environment. I think it's all about upbringing, values at home, education, and also finding ways perhaps through mindfulness or consciousness to elevate our society, our community. To realize that we're all connected and that kind of behavior, whether it's, you know, amongst your peers or within your social group, amongst your kids. That kind of behavior can be changed, I believe. Free Gift 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

Zeke Zelker is a filmmaker, entrepreneur, and a pioneer of transmedia, which is storytelling through multiple platforms to get different sides of the story. He has released several critically acclaimed projects, and he even produced the first transmedia project at Sundance Film Festival. He has spent his time making films in his hometown of Lehigh Valley near Allentown, Pennsylvania for the last 20 years. His latest project, Billboard, is a full-length film, a mini web series, a mobile app, and a virtual radio station, to which music artists all over the world submit their music. Listen & Subscribe on: iTunes / Stitcher / Podbean / Overcast / Spreaker / Spotify Contact Info Website: http://zekezelker.com/ Website: www.BillboardMovie.com Submit Your Music: http://wtyt960.com/ Social Media: @BillboardMove  / @WTYT960 Most Influential Person My Mother Effect on Emotions Mindfulness has stabilized my emotions. I am a very passionate person and the idea of taking a breath and kind of like taking a step back has made me not do things that I necessarily would regret. Thoughts on Breathing I have sleep apnea where I stop breathing in the middle of the night and so I gasp for air and wake myself up. So breathing is a very big part of my life. Obviously we wouldn't be alive without it, but I will literally take a moment every once in a while throughout the day to to literally deep breathe in and slow breathe out. I have taken yoga on occasion as well and that actually helped me with breathing. It's just a matter of taking the time to be able to do it. Sometimes I get too wound up and I don't do it and then I suffer the consequences. Suggested Resources Book: The Art of Happiness: The Art of Living by The Dalai Lama App: n/a Bullying Story Growing up, we did not have economic means and so we couldn't afford the greatest trends and everything else and being the person that I am, I decided that I was going to do all the shopping at thrift stores. Then I became basically a hardcore punker, you know, with mohawks and everything else. I was never ultra aggressive. But the interesting about it was, I definitely looked different from everybody else intentionally. Was I ever bullied? No, but the interesting thing about it was, I was also a big kid. I stopped growing in seventh grade, so I was, you know, just a monster. But I would always protect other people that got picked on. I got into more fights by protecting people than ever myself. It's interesting just because quite honestly, even in today's political climate, I just had no tolerance for it. I really don't. In the Marine Corps we didn't have much of it and anything along those lines, but I just can't stand the idea of bullying. It's someone's own insecurity trying to push their insecurities onto somebody else. And so I just don't have time for it. And I literally will protect other people for it as well. And the scars on my face prove it. Free Gift Get the brand new Awaken With Focus 12-Minute Guided Meditation by Bruce Langford Be alert and focused after waking. Feel invigorated, fresh and dynamic. Let your vibrancy feed those around you. Be the energetic person you desire to be. Click here: www.MindfulnessMode.com/AwakenWithFocus  

Kremena is a yoga teacher and self-taught entrepreneur. She is founder and owner of YorYoga.eu, which allowed her to combine her passion for yoga with a corporate career. She teaches others how to achieve balance and self-awareness by incorporating yoga practice in their lives. Her flair for teaching and organizing weekly yoga classes, special workshops and events was what motivated her to contact more yoga professionals to join her mission of sharing yoga with working professionals.Her realistic, straight-up, and modern attitude has made her a favorite teacher in both Amsterdam and The Hague. Listen & Subscribe on: iTunes / Stitcher / Podbean / Overcast / Spreaker / Spotify Contact Info Website: www.yoryoga.eu Retreats: https://yoryoga.eu/packages Email: YorYoga.eu@gmail.com Most Influential Person My mom. Effect on Emotions Many people say I'm super emotional. Sometimes I even cry in my classes and some students get disappointed if it didn't happen to cry in that specific class. And I'm like, guys, come on. It's not a competition about who makes me cry. It's just emotions are something that come through your body and it's better to let them manifest, then go and be there and be present with all those things that happened, the good, the bad, the ugly. Everything that happens is there, and cultivating that awareness and sitting with yourself sometimes is a very, very good experience and sometimes it's not. Being aware of your emotions is a big deal of practicing mindfulness because sometimes those uncomfortable moments where you're realizing you're still dealing with some stuff or where you get the most Aha moments where things just really come to you and you're aware that you still have to deal with this unsorted business. With mindfulness you can name them, you can make sure that you know are present and you can still choose what you want to do with those emotions. Thoughts on Breathing Breathing is super essential. I. I always say in a yoga classes, the first five minutes is [crucial]. Call it whatever you want, but connecting to that inhale and exhale, there is no better way to really be in the present moment. It's just as simple as that. It's deeper inhales, longer exhales and everything comes into place. All the thoughts before that needs to happen to this breath really doesn't have any importance in anything that will have to happen after it. It's not there yet, so that one breath that you have, each and every time is the only thing we have, but it does take time to notice that it's really true. Suggested Resources Book: The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle App: The Breathing App Bullying Story When I was growing up in Siberia, (I didn't even think of it being as bullying), but I had a difficult time speaking to kids in school and I would be mocked and maybe few accidents where it was proper bullying now that you know it. The way I handled it was maybe not the best way, but kids are mean. And you start thinking, oh, I should have a thicker skin and just become tougher and don't cry and don't show weaknesses. And there was a moment where you really have to put the shield and to make sure that no one can come close to you. And it manifests it in many ways. It's not the only the way you do one thing is the way you do everything. So it's only recently I started realizing actually there are some childhood traumas there that I need to be dealing with. Mindfulness helped me to just be present with the uncomfortable feelings. These are things from more than 30 years ago. in Yoga we speak about letting go a lot, but it's actually a very difficult act. The task requires awareness and you can cultivate that awareness by simply meditating or being mindful about it. And as a child, I don't think I would have had those capacities, but as a grownup I can heal and I can understand and I can do the work of healing right now. Free Gift Become more calm, focused and happy by reading the top 12 books recommended on the Mindfulness Mode Podcast. This mini 14-page ebook entitled '12 Must-Read Mindfulness Books' outlines each of the top books recommended by guests on the show. Get your digital copy now at  MindfulnessMode.com/top12books

Dr. Robert Schneider, MD, FACC is an internationally renowned physician-scientist-educator and leader in mind-body medicine and integrative medicine. Dr. Schneider received his MD from Rutgers University Medical School and did his postgraduate training in internal medicine and hypertension at the University of Michigan Medical School. Beginning in 1984, Dr. Schneider was one of the first physicians in the United States to practice, teach and research Maharishi AyurVeda, a scientific restoration of an ancient and comprehensive system of prevention-oriented natural medicine. The results of his studies have been published in 150 peer-reviewed articles, including those published by the American Heart Association, American Medical Association and featured in more than 1,000 television, radio, magazine, and newspaper reports, including ABC’s 20/20, CNN Headline News, the Discovery Channel, the New York Times, and Time magazine. He has been a consultant to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the US Congress’ Prevention Coalition. Based on his groundbreaking research and clinical experience, he authored the popular book: Total Heart Health. Listen & Subscribe on: iTunes / Stitcher / Podbean / Overcast / Spreaker / Spotify Contact Info Website: MUM.edu Book: Total Heart Health: How to Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease with the Maharishi Vedic Approach to Health by Robert H. Schneider and Jeremy Z. Fields Most Influential Person Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Effect on Emotions Oh, I'm much more stable. As I grow older and meditate longer, it's given me a centeredness deep within that I haven't had before that connects me to the larger. There's something greater outside of me I found inside of myself. Thoughts on Breathing During transcendental meditation, breathing naturally gets less by itself. A spontaneous effect of the mind becoming more quiet is that the body becomes more quiet. There are other yoga practices which involve manipulating the breathing, Pranayama they call it, or breathing exercises. That's a way to go. Rather than from the mind to the breath, to go from the breath to settling the mind, so that's complimentary. These Yoga asanas and Yoga breathing are certainly complimentary to meditation. Suggested Resources Book: Total Heart Health: How to Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease with the Maharishi Vedic Approach to Health by Robert H. Schneider and Jeremy Z. Fields Book: Strength in Stillness: The Power of Transcendental Meditation by Bob Roth App: TM.org (a place to get started with Transcendental Meditation) Bullying Story Colleagues of mine are working in the school system in the San Francisco Bay area and there there's a very famous school project to bring meditation to lower socioeconomic and high stress school systems there. There's one school system which has had a very high rate of violence, bullying, shooting, knifing all that kind of school violence. And they have what they call a quiet time program where the children practice meditation. It's a few minutes in the morning and a few minutes in the afternoon, they practice this meditation or they could do whatever else they want quietly, but most of them practice meditation. They've documented lower rates of, these violent behaviors in the school. So those kinds of violent crimes are much less and other classroom behaviors, much more harmonious. And studies have been published on this. So from a scientific point of view, I'm impressed by those kinds of projects. Free Gift 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  

Maxwell Ivey is a personal coach and teacher, who, through his many challenges, motivates others through theirs. He was born into a family of carnival owners in Texas and at age 12 permanently lost his eyesight. Having a natural gusto for life, Max graduated college and became heavily involved in the Eagle Scouts. He also worked in the family business alongside brothers until his father succumbed to lung cancer. Faced with his own mortality, Max made some life-altering changes. He underwent gastric surgery and lost over 250 pounds. He started his own business, buying and selling amusement rides, and learned how to blog using software for visually-impaired people. Max then made a name for himself online as The Blind Blogger. Contact Info Website: www.TheBlindBlogger.net Blog: http://theblindblogger.net/blog Book: The Blind Bloggers NYC Adventures + How You Can Make Your Dreams Come True by Maxwell Ivey Book: Leading You Out of the Darkness Into the Light: A Blind Man's Inspirational Guide to Success by Maxwell Ivey Most Influential Person Adrienne Smith, Blogger http://adrienneksmith.com/ Effect on Emotions Well, I am generally thought of as somebody who doesn't care because people don't realize that my approach is not that I'm not affected, but it's that I am focused on things that are more important to me or that are more important at the moment. And some things that just totally, you know, ruin everybody else's day just don't bother me. I mean, a perfect example is the number of people who have lost focus over the elections. To me, I just have a good laugh at all of that stuff and go about my work Thoughts on Breathing You know, I don't focus that much on breathing, but as somebody who likes to sing, I noticed that, when I'm singing, that that helps me. It helps me think, helps me focus, and I like to refer to it as one of my ways of what I call modern meditation. Suggested Resources Book: The Adversity Advantage: Turning Everyday Struggles Into Everyday Greatness by Erik Weihenmayer Book: Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert Book: Leading You Out of the Darkness Into the Light: A Blind Man's Inspirational Guide to Success App: n/a Bullying Story I was once bullied for a short time. My parents relocated me to a different school district. My father worked construction before he was in the carnival business; sometimes we were in Texas and sometimes we were South Carolina. For a short time I went to a school where I was made fun of a bit because of my weight and there was one day where I didn't realize they were being mean until after it was over with. The other kids got me to sit on one end of a seesaw and then they wanted to see how many kids it would take on the other end to make it go up and down. I think it ended up being like six or seven kids and at the time it was funny, but later on my parents were not happy. So I realized that this was not a funny thing. So they decided to move me to a different school at that point. And whenever we lived in Texas in Spring, which is where my family is from, I hardly ever had trouble with that [bullying], because my grandfather had moved all of his family out to this area, it was the country at that time. And so if you went to school with the Ivey's, you also went to school with the Wagner's the Server's to Crouches. So if they mess with one of us, they had to mess with all of us. Free Gift 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