Forrest: We set up a private Facebook group, which was our central touch point for supporting each other through the 21 days. Here’s what one of our clients, Dera, posted on our Facebook page. . . and this was only the second day! While listening today, I had tears streaming down my face. Happiness has always been what I struggle with. I look at how happy my friends are and wonder what makes them happy. I have everything they have and often more, yet I have never been truly happy. I always felt that I wasnt good enough and that my career and material things defined my happiness. Today I am reminded that what I am and what I have is enough. Im giving myself permission to be happy! As you can imagine, this type of feedback opened up the floodgates and allowed our group to really bond with each other on a level we never had before. We, as coaches, were able to respond as one meditator to another, in a way that helped us create a connection and accent the Way of Life teachings already in our program. MT: How did pairing the 21-Day Meditation Experience with your boot camp program help with participant outcomes? Forrest: The meditation program really helped the group become more self-aware and connected to each other in inspiring, transformational ways. Many of us were able to work through things that before this 21-Day Experience had been hidden underneath the surface. This level of awareness is key to our work, allowing us to bring forgiveness and loving compassion into the tool kit that our clients use to shift the cycle that follows when we hold onto limiting thoughts and feelings. It really blows my mind as a coach how incredible this program helped us get to a new level inside of ourselves. Sharing the experience as a group really helped create an authentic we are in this together spirit of camaraderie. Heres another post I shared with our private group: Each meditation has been difficult, supportive, and enlightening. Today I really valued just the fact Im giving myself the space and time to just be. Im a day behind, and thats okay. The idea that we all have access to power and can step into our power is a powerful thing! I will remind myself of this power during the moments in life where I dont feel that confidence. Its cool to think that I can train myself to turn that power on whenever I need it. Posting authentically like this really helped to express what I experienced and showed—that as a coach, Im human too! MT: How did the 21-Day Meditation Experience support you, Forrest, overall in life? Forrest: During this period, life was intense for me both personally and professionally. In business, we were starting a 6-week body transformation contest that placed a lot of demands on me. Personally, I had many very important and difficult family challenges happening all at once. In short, the 21-Day Experience really helped keep me centered despite a time that was also filled with unexpected personal challenges that made life feel as if chaos was surrounding me. I felt stretched and surrounded by chaos. Without the 21-day program, I might have let it overwhelm me, but with the daily meditation teachings and routine, it was as though I possessed a radio dial which turned the volume and stress down—helping me to be my best each day. MT: Did you experience any special moments or insights? Forrest: My biggest insight was how much I need meditation, and how much our group needs this practice too! Really, the world needs the benefits of mindfulness, and I feel its a shame this isnt taught to our children in schools. Really anybody can benefit, and you can practice any religion and practice this and it doesnt conflict with any belief system. As a fitness group, the overall experience we got from our 21-day Meditation Experience was becoming closer as a group, and many of us having individual breakthroughs that helped us shift ourselves into new patterns of behavior that supported our fitness and healthy lifestyle goals. MT: What benefits did you receive when you meditated each day with us? Forrest: I became physically, mentally and emotionally centered. When I left the meditation, my mind was clear and focused. Without it, I feel fragmented, scattered, and I never feel like Im being truly productive in my day. I guess you can say meditation is a very practical and pragmatic practice for me. Im a businessman, a trainer, a life coach, a father, a husband, a friend, and a brother. I couldnt effectively be ANY of these things without first centering myself and returning to the present moment. Thanks, Deepak and Oprah, for helping me with that!!!
Posted on: Tue, 24 Jun 2014 21:08:42 +0000
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