Getting ready to finish up the fall semester of my senior year, I knew there was one last obstacle standing in my way: Finance. Not only was this class incredibly difficult for me to comprehend, but also incredibly difficult to study for. As the final approached, I had spent four hours prior creating my cheat sheet based off the provided study guide.
Walking into the testing room, study guide at the ready, I felt as prepared as I could. Attempting to work my way through the final exam, I found myself hyperventilating. Practically nothing on the test was on my study guide and I began to panic. This was one of my most defining experiences with anxiety. After deciding to Christmas Tree the rest of the test, not sure what any of these answers were, I walked out of the testing room in tears.
In the middle of the court yard, I was uncontrollably shaking. Suddenly, like sun breaking through dark clouds, one of my sorority sisters approached me. She sat next to me and kindly uttered “Put these in your ears and just breathe.”
Before I knew what was happening, a soothing voice started speaking to me, uplifting me, and calming me down. For the next 20 minutes, I was in awe. My breathing leveled out and I calmed down. Inhaling the positivity and exhaling the negativity, I felt empowered. After thanking her for this incredible moment, I could feel a change in the air.
You can find the link to this impactful video here: https://youtu.be/fGDu3IiB4dI
A few weeks later, the results of the final came back. To my amazement, I passed the final which, ultimately, meant I passed the class. One of the last professors I had would lead a guided meditation with breathing exercises for the first 30 minutes of every class with the resounding advice “just breathe.”
After graduating college, I travelled to Israel for my Birthright trip. Approaching the Western Wall, I knew what I needed to do: just breathe. Acknowledging all the energy I was immersed in, I knew that I was on the right path. When you put out positive energy, positive things happen in return. Meditation is one of the best ways I’ve found to put out positive energy and to also experience positive energy within yourself.
Upon my return from Israel, I hit the ground running and started trying to find a job. After applying to over 30 positions across New York City, I finally found my opportunity with NBCUniversal. Over the past three years, I discovered the importance of meditation and how it became a monumental part of my success.
Previously, the team I supported had bi-weekly meetings where each team member was able to help plan some type of activity or exercise. When it was my turn, I decided to switch things up. I work in a very high-volume, fast-paced industry, so I knew everyone was super busy. Therefore, I decided to utilize that time to play another 20-minute meditation video for the team discussing how to “Calm an Overactive Mind / Reduce Anxiety and Worry.” At the end of the video, I could visibly see the change in my team. Everyone seemed much more relaxed and at ease, instead of on hyper drive like they normally were. Taking that same approach, I formed the habit of taking time to just breathe at work and play a meditation video whenever I started to feel overwhelmed.
In my personal life, I meditate weekly. I do some weeks more than others, depending on the amount of stress I’m feeling. When the COVID-19 pandemic began, my stress was at an all-time high. The uncertainty of not knowing when I would see my family or when I would be returning to the office shook me to my core. To help calm me down and keep me focused, I turned to meditation once again. As the weeks of the pandemic rolled on and I was fortunate enough to work from home, I took the time to just breathe.
Spiritual benefits: I’ve always been a very spiritual person at heart. Although I alluded to it earlier, I wanted to touch on “The Benefits of Meditation” that I’ve found help me spiritually:
· Building Focus
· Bringing the mind and body back to harmony
· Enhancing positive thinking by training the mind to focus on solutions
Scientific Benefits: If one would prefer a more scientific approach, meditation has its “health benefits” too:
· Reducing Stress with “mindfulness meditation”
· Decreasing anxiety
· Enhancing Self-Awareness
· Lengthening Attention Span
· Generating Kindness
· Improving sleep
· Reducing blood pressure
Fast forward to the present and I’m currently making magic for The Walt Disney Company, which has been a life-long dream of mine. Transitioning to my new role, operating completely remote, as the world begins to return to normalcy has its challenges. Learning a whole new role in a whole new world while supporting a brand new team can make one lose sight of the familiar.
Finding the familiar helped me feel more comfortable. Meditation is familiar and more importantly, meditation feels like home to me. After joining the team, I was pleased to find out that Zenimation was created on Disney +, which marries my love of meditation and Disney. Zenimation is a brand new “series that creates a mindfulness soundscape experience with scenes from the timeless films of Walt Disney Animation Studios.” Taking those 20 minutes to just breathe changed my life and I hope it will change yours too.
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