Rx Chill Pill Podcast Excerpt: Mindfulness With Laurie Cameron, Author Of The Mindful Day Practical Ways To Find Focus, Calm, & Joy From Morning To Evening

My guest, Laurie Cameron, learned how to breathe in the most unusual place. Her colleague, who was an engineer from Vietnam, introduced her to mindfulness at work. She was then introduced to the work of Thich Naht Han who became her teacher. This is a short excerpt of our conversation about why mindfulness matters, followed by a short 10- minute meditation guided by Laurie.

Image credit to Kelly Sikkema

Transcript

I think that's the beauty is when we have pain and suffering in our lives.

It carves out a space that matches the amount of pain and suffering we've had and that allows us to be compassionate and to tell stories from our lived experience.

And as you know,

You and I have chatted in our own relationship over time that I've had my fair share of challenge and suffering.

You know,

When I was 16 in 11th grade,

Which my daughter has officially started today,

I'm just realizing that.

When I was in 11th grade,

My dad died of a heart attack right in front of me.

And that was completely unexpected.

And even though I mentioned that he had a heart attack and I had to go in and tell him about the car,

He looked great.

You know,

Full head of dark hair,

You know,

Rock star rocket scientist at NASA loved his work.

You know,

Just I didn't see it.

He was supposed to go back to work on Monday.

On Saturday morning,

He had a heart attack and I tried to give him CPR.

I learned that the Girl Scouts and you know,

The heart attack was massive and he didn't survive.

And that trauma as a kid in high school of losing dad,

You know,

In front of me with me really was a was a an event that shaped me and made me realize how fragile life is.

Even at,

You know,

A young age,

You have teenagers aren't usually thinking about that.

But I was I just couldn't believe that suddenly he's not here.

Like there's his dad.

There's his chair.

There's his mechanical pencil.

But I started to really that's when I started really getting into the human psychology part of life.

And why are some people stressed and others not?

Why are some resilient and others not?

So and then when I went to college,

I really started pursuing that and studying it in depth and then started working at Accenture looking at that.

And then when I moved out to San Francisco,

About 10 years after I met that engineer where I was learning and practicing mindfulness,

I was pregnant with my first and only child that was a real journey,

A hard journey to get pregnant.

And I was pregnant with Ava nine months pregnant and my brother,

Johnny,

My soulmate suddenly died.

And he was he was 37.

So that was a real shock.

And in the space of three weeks,

I had such,

You know,

Incredible grief,

Like it like indescribable pain and the most exquisite joy.

I tried for so many years to get pregnant.

And here I was holding a newborn.

And Johnny had just passed three weeks before.

So that was powerful.

And you know,

All the ways of you know,

That you don't expect to experience in your life and actually lost two brothers.

And now,

You know,

Now in 2020,

I've lost my mom since then.

So that was seven years ago.

So losing my mom and dad pretty young and my two brothers was really,

I don't have adequate words to describe how hard that is.

But I do know that it sharpens and fuels the work I'm doing every day because for myself,

But also for others.

And that's why I teach this.

That's why I have trouble saying no.

That's why I was telling you I just got back from the beach a few days ago.

And you said,

You know,

Was it vacation or working?

And I said,

Well,

I did three events down there.

And the reason I did even though I normally block off and protect that time is I have a hard time saying no these days to an organization or company that wants me to speak to their leadership off site or I was doing I did a program for a nonprofit called the Wharton's Kids that are working with underprivileged disadvantaged kids in Washington,

DC.

And this was their company off site.

And it was that week like I couldn't say that's the time.

So I said yes.

And so that's why I do it because I've felt tremendous suffering and pain in my own life.

And I know for sure irrespective of all the evidence that mindfulness meditation and training in self compassion and compassion for others and knowing how to work with emotions and like grief can transform your life.

So it's transformed mine.

And that's why I say yes.

And that's that's why I'm here with you right now.

I think I mentioned to you it's been I've never been busier in the company purpose blue than I am now.

We have almost more demand and we can we can navigate but it's you know,

We've got a super team thank goodness.

But I wanted to take this time because I think these conversations are what share practices and teachings of people.

So yeah,

I mean,

I can I'm right there with you everything you said exactly.

To be honest.

Yeah,

I do really believe that these practices and understanding your brain and your emotions and your own body chemistry is something that everyone can use.

And you know,

Right now my my biggest passion is I'm hoping to get it to kids at critical times in their life.

So when their neurons are developing,

And there's very critical times one is the mother themselves when they're pregnant,

Or even before pregnancy,

Great.

And then the kids at certain ages,

Especially like right before middle school,

End of middle school into high school,

High school into college,

I mean,

Their neurons are so plastic at that point.

And what you learn you keep,

You know,

And a lot of illnesses come up at that point in their lives,

Like if there's any,

You know,

Massive anxiety or depression that that can rear its head in that age group.

So I think it's so important to go back as far as you can go and hit those critical moments.

And there's no reason why people shouldn't know this.

Because it's really like you said,

It's all science based.

I'm so glad you're doing this.

I love how you laid that out that at these critical times in in the child's development,

You're going to focus on these junctures for both parents and kids to really help them.

I'm your number one fan in that work and I'm here to support you because I've seen that in my own experience and my daughter's life and her journey and her friends.

It's really key.

And it's easier when you're kids,

It's easier when we have that higher degree of plasticity.

So that's why I took my daughter out of school when she was in fourth grade.

And then when I turned 50,

I took her out again.

And I said,

No,

Wait a minute.

I didn't.

That was in the summer.

So I didn't take her out.

But I said what I wanted for my 50th birthday was a five week international trip with her.

And one of those weeks was a week at the Tignan-Hans monastery in Plum Village,

France.

So we did that again.

So I just keep bringing her back.

But it's for that reason,

Just to immerse her in the field and the community and have her learn the practices and songs and all the walking and the body practices and just keep bringing her back.

Keep bringing her back.

That's wonderful.

Yeah,

That's amazing.

So I'm really glad you're doing that.

It's going to be wired in her brain.

Like whether or not she leaves it and comes back,

It's always going to be there.

I mean,

Yes.

And I can feel like this unease bubbling up in me while you're saying that because it's absolutely wired in her.

And at the same time,

I'm aware of just the phones and TikTok and Instagram and Snapchat and Netflix,

Just this new world our teens are in that we don't know the outcome of all that.

And so I'm so aware of all the things being wired in right now.

My prayer is that the meditation and being in nature and dancing and music with mom in the kitchen,

All of that,

Hiking with her dad,

All the things she loves to do will offset all the other things that are getting wired in.

It's all going in there.

You said there's those sensitive times and it's easier.

I'm going to tell you one quick story.

I had a student who was in middle school and she was so nervous to go to middle school.

It was her first day in sixth grade and she disappeared.

They had to call the police and they eventually found her reading by herself in the local cafe right next to the school.

I told the mom,

I said,

Just bring her to my class.

I'm starting a group class.

She came for eight weeks.

Her mom told me she did all of the practices and she never had an issue again.

She's off to college now.

She's pre-med.

The reason I tell you this story is because I think it's so much easier when you catch them earlier,

When they're setting those neuronal connections.

So that was an easy one.

It's harder when they get older and then they're using alcohol or drugs to soften anxiety or depression.

Then it gets a little bit complicated because then you have all those other chemicals there.

That's why I'm so passionate about trying to get them earlier.

I'm so glad you're doing that.

So you're teaching eight week classes?

Is that what you're doing?

I have been always.

I've been teaching that for 10 years,

But I really want to focus.

If not the kids,

I actually have had real success with teaching parents who then do the exercises with their kids.

Oh,

Great.

So that's the other way.

I'm so glad you're doing that.

I think that's key.

Anyway,

You have been so amazing and thank you so much for your time.

If you would like to stay and guide,

I will put this meditation up.

Are you okay?

Are you tired?

Yeah,

But that's what re-energizes me.

Do you need to stretch or anything?

That'll work.

I don't need to stretch or anything.

That'll re-energize me to do that.

All right,

So I'm going to sit back and meditate with you.

I'm going to stop this recording.

Laurie is kind enough to lead us in a meditation around uncertainty.

Great.

Thank you.

So I'm Laurie Cameron and we are going to do a mindfulness meditation to navigate uncertainty in challenging times.

So just begin by finding a way to sit or stand that's alert and relaxed.

You can close your eyes if you like or just gaze softly at the floor.

You can pull up your back a little bit,

Straighten your spine,

But not so that it's stiff,

But you've got this energy there holding you up,

Keeping you alert.

Feel your feet flat on the floor and just let your hands rest easily softly on your lap.

I'm going to invite the bell and as you listen to the sound,

Follow the sound all the way to the end and then just follow my voice.

Now bring attention to the body breathing,

Feeling the rise and fall of the chest or abdomen,

The air coming in at the nose,

Just dropping attention and awareness into the body.

Following the breath and then following the breath all the way through the body to the feet.

I'm just taking a few easy breaths here.

When we're navigating uncertain times,

It really helps to drop attention inward into the body,

Feeling the breath and feeling the feet firmly planted.

So we can use the metaphor of a mountain.

The body is stable like a mountain,

Feeling the feet,

The legs,

The hips,

Strong and steady.

And now bring attention to breathing,

Feeling the breath come one after the other like waves in an ocean,

Breath like ocean.

You don't have to try to breathe a certain way.

You just rest and relax into the natural flow and rhythm of the breath.

You're practicing surrendering to what's here right now.

Body like mountain,

Breath like ocean.

And now bring attention to the mind,

Envisioning the mind like a vast blue sky.

Worries,

Thoughts,

Emotions,

All are like passing clouds moving across that blue sky.

But you are the blue sky.

So we center ourselves in uncertainty,

Body like mountain,

Breath like ocean,

Mind like the blue sky.

And from this place,

We cultivate balance and equanimity,

Inner peace.

So just take a couple of breaths here.

And now I invite you to bring to mind something in your life,

At home,

At work,

In your community,

Or it might be in society at large or in the world somewhere that you're finding really hard to accept in this time of uncertainty and change.

Just bring to mind whatever that might be,

That situation or issue,

That challenge,

That big unknown.

And bring that into your mind's eye,

Into your body,

You're visualizing it.

You're noticing any emotions that might arise in the body when you think about this situation or challenge.

And you can practice the mantra,

So this is here.

So it's like this right now is another one.

We can cultivate acceptance by meeting whatever is present in our current reality with openness,

Almost saying yes,

Yes,

This is here.

Yes,

This too.

You might say,

So it's like this right now.

By meeting uncertainty with acceptance from a grounded centered body,

You start to see clearly.

The mind becomes clear,

The nervous system relaxes,

And we can see with wisdom.

We can see current reality in a way that allows us to have a broader perspective,

To invite in empathy and open a compassionate heart for ourselves and others.

And it requires those two steps,

Anchoring attention in the body and viewing the world,

Your situation through the quality of acceptance.

So it's like this.

And then we can meet that experience and self-compassion,

Recognizing that this is hard,

Knowing that we're not alone.

I'm not the only one navigating a house full of kids going to online school and a tough job,

Or a loved one who's ill or job loss or whatever it might be.

We're not knowing what two months from now looks like.

I'm not the only one anchoring in common humanity.

And then finally bending our compassionate beam of attention around to ourselves,

Asking,

What do you need right now,

Sweetheart?

What will best serve here?

Just taking a few breaths here.

Exhaling the spacious,

Loving awareness and self-compassion in this time of uncertainty.

And you might just stay here breathing.

You can put a hand on your heart,

Tapping into our own inner pharmacy,

Releasing oxytocin.

Or if you feel ready,

You can deliberately bring attention to what's good,

Cultivating a positive mind,

Uplifting the mind.

Is there a gift in the situation as hard as it is?

What is the gift that's present in this really difficult thing that's hard to accept right now?

Or is there an opportunity?

Or perhaps we can connect with gratitude,

Invite gratitude.

Is there something to be grateful for that you're learning or a benefit that you're receiving because of this situation or that others might be receiving?

Thank you.

.

Reviews

Really good. Thank you 😊

So inspiring!! The program sounds incredible, I wish something like it would have been available when I was younger. Blessings to both of you and your families!! 💫🙏🏻😊