Introduction

My intro to the Insight Timer Community - brief background on how I discovered mindfulness and Buddhist principles, what motivated me to start an Insight Timer page, and what I hope to accomplish through this experience.

Transcript

Hello,

My name is Brian Palermino.

Thank you for taking the time out to listen to this introduction,

To listen to my story.

First,

I am not an empowered Buddhist meditation teacher.

I'm not even a mindfulness instructor,

Nor have I been trained.

I'm just another human being who discovered how mindfulness and Buddhist principles can help me understand the world,

Help me understand life,

Help me be the person I know that I am today.

I came to these practices and to develop my own program in 2017,

Late 2017,

When I decided I needed help from my addiction to meth.

I started smoking meth in about 2014,

2015,

When the world was collapsing,

When I thought I was broken,

When I didn't think there was hope,

And I can go into more about my story at a later time.

But in 2017,

I knew something wasn't working for me.

So I did what people in recovery,

When they're looking for help,

Do.

I went to counseling,

I worked programs,

There's plenty out there to work and they're all great.

But for me,

What really worked was understanding or learning,

Being introduced to Buddhist principles.

What does my own Buddha nature teach me?

What does the truth of our reality teach me?

What does the Sangha teach me?

It was revolutionary,

Even though I know these principles have been around for 2000 plus years and I've heard people talk about it.

It wasn't until I experienced it and had an opportunity to work with others and to learn from them and discuss and experience things that it made sense to me.

My recovery hasn't been perfect since then.

I did have one relapse.

But that's life.

We make mistakes,

We fail,

It doesn't mean that we're starting over.

We just had something to learn and we continue on.

And so here I am starting my first insight timer page,

My first social media podcast attempt at teaching page.

Before recovery,

I don't think I would ever have done this.

I would have been too scared to be vulnerable,

Too scared to put myself out there to try something new.

And yet today I can sit here excited to have this opportunity to share with you all what has worked for me.

I'm not a Buddhist.

I was raised Catholic.

I don't even know really what I am or it even if it doesn't really matter now.

I just know that I'm on a path where I can understand life better than I did yesterday.

I can laugh again,

Which is something remarkable.

I can choose to be happy.

I can choose how I want to live my life.

So I'm choosing to challenge myself to grow,

Do something new.

And so I'll be releasing meditations that have benefited me in my recovery.

All I ask is that you let me know how I'm doing.

Do they work for you?

Could I improve on how I'm recording?

Help me be a better person.

I hope as I practice that in some way I help you become a better person.

So thank you for joining me on this journey.

Reviews

Your real raw style has soothed me, It’s honesty resonates. Thankyou

Thank you for choosing to improve your life and for sharing your journey! By being who you are, you show people that they can do that, too! Keep shining your light!

Thank you for sharing your amazing story
I look forward to meditating with you often
Your presentation is soothing snd powerful at the same time
🙏🏼😊

I just want to thank you for putting yourself out there. Like Ram Dass said- We’re all just walking each other home.
Thank you ❤️

Looking forward to hearing more from you and practicing with you🙏🙏

You are surely a compassionate spirit Bryant! Thank you!!!

Bryant speaks from the heart and from experience. For me, these are the best kind of teachers. These are the meditations that have shaped my practice and my life and I'm grateful to Bryant for these beautiful recordings.

very happy to have discovered you and your story here on IT. Putting you out there alone all by yourself takes great courage, but also tells me you've got a Future and more exciting new Choices here ahead of you. Looking forward to more of your work. 👍👍

Your courage and transparency are admirable and inspiring! Thank you for being genuine and true.

Thank-you for being real. Super happy for you! Thanks for sharing. You are very brave. Awesome.