I know… I’ve done it.
When you think about the term “mindfulness mediation” you’re probably thinking mala beads, not diamond rings; Birkenstocks, not Tieks. But if I’ve learned anything throughout my journey as a consciousness coach and consultant, narrative coach, and meditation practitioner it’s that no matter who you are, where you come from, what you do for a living, or where you shop, we could all benefit from more silent stillness in our lives. Sure, my alter-ego might be Audrey Hepburn’s Holly Golightly now—but as much as I love luxury, pampering, and posh, I come from somewhere else altogether.
Let’s take a trip—or, rather, a motorcycle ride—down memory lane, shall we?
My story began on the back of a Triumph motorcycle. My mom was seventeen years old, seven months pregnant, and barefoot on the back of that motorcycle, on her way to marry my dad. He was just twenty: dark and gorgeous. They had practically nothing; they’d both grown up in one of the poorest neighborhoods on the Southside of Richmond, Virginia.
My mom loved my dad more than anything.
In spite of that love, life was full-throttle from the moment I was conceived. Both of my parents grew up surrounded by staggering levels of dysfunction, including alcoholism, drug addiction, and domestic violence. They were dirt poor and lived in government-subsidized housing with no car and no money. Neither of my parents learned to aspire to or dream of a life that could be any different or better than the one they had.
Somehow, though, I did. And that journey: from lack to abundance, from darkness to light, began with mindfulness.
Mindfulness isn’t just something I teach; it’s my personal story. It’s a story of sitting down, and shutting up, and discovering silence and all the life-changing magic that comes with it. I want that journey, that discovery, that life-changing magic for you, too.
Don’t you want it for yourself?
Just shut up and sit. I say that to myself a lot: Just shut up and sit. It’s not all that difficult. (Except, it totally is. If you’ve ever bolted out of a yoga class just as savasana is beginning, you know what I’m talking about.)
Here’s the thing: as humans, our brains want to know things. We want to know who, and what, and where, and when, and why, and how, and for how long, and what will it feel like, and what will be the outcome, and what if we don’t like it, and what if people don’t like us, and what if we lose, and what if we fail? What if we do this when we were supposed to do that? What if we go here when we were supposed to go there? What if we aren’t enough, exactly as we are? Phew.
I often live in that place of unknowing, with a mind filled with the same “I don’t knows” that probably fill your own mind. There is so much I don’t know. I don’t know why I’m doing what I’m doing, why I’m going where I’m going, why the universe selected me for one task, and not another. Chances are, you’ve felt the exact same way. But here’s what I do know: the journey I’ve been on can help me help others. It can help me help you.
Can I let you in on a little secret? I have read so many books, attended so many workshops, sat at the feet of so many gurus, and through it all, I thought: Does this really have to be so fucking hard? Does it have to be so damn arduous to unravel why we do what we do, why our behaviors are what they are, why we were created the way we were? Here’s the secret: it doesn’t.
If you’re looking for the fast track, Cliff Notes®-style low-down on how to achieve real, lasting behavior change, you’ve come to the right place.
If you’re ready to learn to systematically identify, isolate, and eliminate your negatives while amplifying your positives and taking a quantum leap toward greater health, vitality, and success, then welcome, friend. Take a seat. Stay awhile. This is going to be FUN. (I swear.)
Here’s my invitation to you: It doesn’t matter who you are, or what you do, or where you come from—you can shut up and sit. You can upgrade your thoughts and feelings, change your actions, and totally transform your life. You deserve to arrive at your innate sense of wisdom; to uncover your truth; and to return to the whole, unbroken parts of yourself that the world desperately wants and needs. You can learn valuable lessons on how beliefs and behaviors are created and how to let go of what is no longer serving you. You can grow, evolve, and bring your highest, brightest, most successful self fully into the world
So, let’s shut up and sit. Let’s discover how to be present, awake, and aware―and let’s do it together.
