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Your Nervous System Called. It Needs Mindfulness. · The Aligned Actor

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  SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to the Aligned Actor Podcast.
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  I'm Amy Schloerb,
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  your friendly fellow actor and mindfulness and mindset coach.
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  And this is the podcast where I share all kinds of practical
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  mindfulness tools and
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  SPEAKER_00: mindset shifts to help us all thrive in our full
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  SPEAKER_00: lives.
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  SPEAKER_00: Because actor life is a roller coaster, friends.
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  It is full of ups and downs,
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  twists and turns,
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  and sometimes there are full-on loop-de-loops.
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  And the only way that we will survive in this profession
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  long-term is if we care
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  for ourselves and find effective ways to handle all of that
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  stress that the
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  SPEAKER_00: entertainment industry loves to throw our way.
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  It is my firm belief that mindfulness is a tool that can be
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  used like a balm for
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  SPEAKER_00: pretty much any challenge that comes our way as actors.
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  And one of my goals with my work at The Aligned Actor is to
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  demystify mindfulness
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  SPEAKER_00: and make it as simple and as accessible as possible for you.
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  So to that end,
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  we are starting a new series here on The Aligned Actor Podcast.
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  SPEAKER_00: In this series we are going to do a deep deep dive on mindfulness because
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  mindfulness has the power to completely transform you as both
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  an actor and a human
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  being and it will transform your approach to your craft and
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  your career from
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  calming your nerves to remaining fully present in a scene to
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  increasing your
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  SPEAKER_00: emotional intelligence and range to perhaps most importantly
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  Allowing you to handle anything that the entertainment industry
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  throws at you
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  SPEAKER_00: without burning out.
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  Because the entertainment industry regularly wreaks havoc on
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  our nervous systems.
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  SPEAKER_00: Work is unpredictable.
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  SPEAKER_00: We have to stay ready for auditions at a moment's notice,
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  SPEAKER_00: and sometimes it's slow for no apparent reason.
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  SPEAKER_00: Rejection is a cultural norm.
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  SPEAKER_00: So whether it's an audition that we didn't book,
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  SPEAKER_00: or our series getting cancelled,
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  or the fact that the Academy keeps nominating and giving awards
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  to those other
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  SPEAKER_00: guys,
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  SPEAKER_00: this business is not a meritocracy.
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  SPEAKER_00: So you can be an incredibly talented,
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  established actor and still face work instability and rejection
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  regularly.
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  And all of that has the potential to leave you questioning,
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  am I good enough?
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  SPEAKER_00: Our confidence,
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  SPEAKER_00: our sense of self,
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  and our very identity as actors is continuously threatened and
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  can be harmed by all
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  SPEAKER_00: of this uncertainty and rejection.
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  SPEAKER_00: And all of that is just baked into the life of an actor.
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  So no matter how well we intellectualize and understand ideas
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  like,
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  you can't book every job.
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  SPEAKER_00: Book the room, not the job.
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  SPEAKER_00: Avails are a sign that you're so close.
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  SPEAKER_00: They just went in another direction.
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  We are still human beings in human bodies regularly facing
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  uncertainty and rejection.
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  And all of that takes a toll on our nervous system and can
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  trigger very real,
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  SPEAKER_00: very primal survival reactions within us.
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  SPEAKER_00: Because for our cave-dwelling ancestors, rejection literally meant death.
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  To be turned away by your group meant you were on your own to
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  deal with finding
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  SPEAKER_00: food and staying safe from all those predators that wanted to eat you.
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  SPEAKER_00: And our brains haven't evolved all that much since those days,
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  so there are still parts of our brains that still perceive any
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  form of rejection
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  SPEAKER_00: and uncertainty as a threat to our very survival.
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  Additionally,
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  for us as actors,
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  the professional uncertainty and rejection that we face
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  SPEAKER_00: is tied to our survival because we need money to survive.
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  SPEAKER_00: So slow times,
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  SPEAKER_00: dry spells,
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  and changes in the entertainment industry all threaten our
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  survival within this
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  SPEAKER_00: profession.
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  SPEAKER_00: Sure,
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  SPEAKER_00: we can have day jobs and we can have other sources of income,
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  but there's still a very real threat to our identity as actors
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  because so many of
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  SPEAKER_00: us still hold this belief,
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  SPEAKER_00: even if it's an unconscious belief,
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  SPEAKER_00: but this belief that
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  SPEAKER_00: If I'm not making my living from acting, I'm not really an actor.
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  SPEAKER_00: But hope is not lost, friends.
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  Just because the entertainment industry wreaks havoc on our
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  nervous systems doesn't
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  SPEAKER_00: mean we just have to take it.
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  SPEAKER_00: Mindfulness has been around for thousands and thousands of years,
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  and it offers scientifically proven ways to soothe and fortify
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  our nervous systems.
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  It can act like a balm for all the challenges of actor life
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  Mindfulness can help us
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  soothe the stress response triggered by uncertainty and
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  rejection Mindfulness can
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  help us sit with and get comfortable with all the uncomfortable
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  feelings that arise
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  in this rollercoaster of a career Mindfulness can help us
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  recognize that thoughts
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  SPEAKER_00: like
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  SPEAKER_00: I'm not really an actor if I can't make my living from acting.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's just a thought.
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  SPEAKER_00: And we get to decide whether or not we choose to believe it.
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  Mindfulness can help us stay focused on why we chose this
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  career in the first place.
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  SPEAKER_00: Our love of acting.
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  And our deep desire to tell stories and play characters and
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  impact an audience.
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  SPEAKER_00: And so much more.
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  SPEAKER_00: But wait, there's more.
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  SPEAKER_00: So
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  SPEAKER_00: In this series, we are going to learn and practice mindfulness together.
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  SPEAKER_00: We're going to learn what mindfulness is.
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  We're going to let go of common misconceptions about
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  mindfulness that often get in
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  SPEAKER_00: the way of starting or sticking with a practice.
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  We're going to break mindfulness down into its micro steps so
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  that you can really
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  understand what's going on in a formal mindfulness meditation
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  and completely
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  SPEAKER_00: demystify the process for yourself.
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  We're going to put a simple story to your mindfulness practice
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  because as actors,
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  we love stories and human beings actually understand things far
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  better through
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  SPEAKER_00: story.
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  SPEAKER_00: And we're going to talk about all of the many,
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  SPEAKER_00: many,
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  SPEAKER_00: many,
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  SPEAKER_00: many,
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  SPEAKER_00: many benefits of mindfulness for actors.
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  SPEAKER_00: And we're going to practice mindfulness a lot,
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  SPEAKER_00: like a lot,
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  SPEAKER_00: a lot,
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  SPEAKER_00: so that you can learn by actually doing.
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  and we're going to start right now by defining and practicing
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  mindfulness.
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  SPEAKER_00: Surprise!
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  SPEAKER_00: We're jumping right in.
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  So the way I define mindfulness is that mindfulness is a
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  special way of paying
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  SPEAKER_00: attention to the present moment with kind curiosity.
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  SPEAKER_00: That's it.
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  SPEAKER_00: So let's just take a second and do that together now.
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  SPEAKER_00: Tune in to whatever is happening in your present moment
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  SPEAKER_00: with curiosity and kindness.
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  SPEAKER_00: So where are you?
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  SPEAKER_00: What are you doing?
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  What,
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  if anything,
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  do you see or hear or feel on your skin or smell around you or
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  even taste?
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  SPEAKER_00: Just take a moment to notice.
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  Before I asked you to tune into your present moment,
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  were you off somewhere else?
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  SPEAKER_00: Were you maybe off in the future or the past?
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  SPEAKER_00: Just gently notice.
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  SPEAKER_00: There's no right or wrong answer here.
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  SPEAKER_00: Just remember that mindfulness is a judgment-free zone of kind curiosity.
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  SPEAKER_00: And that's it.
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  SPEAKER_00: That's mindfulness.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's simple.
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  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's way simpler than you were thinking,
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  because there's unfortunately a lot of misconceptions about
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  mindfulness that get in
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  SPEAKER_00: the way,
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  SPEAKER_00: which we're going to talk about in a future episode.
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  SPEAKER_00: But for now, stay here.
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  SPEAKER_00: In this present moment,
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  SPEAKER_00: with this simple definition of mindfulness,
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  SPEAKER_00: paying attention to the present moment with kind curiosity.
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  SPEAKER_00: Which is exactly what we are going to practice in the next episode.
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  So thank you so much for joining me if you found this content
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  helpful and inspiring
• 8:54
  I would be ever so honored if you would leave a comment share
• 8:57
  it with your actor
• 8:58
  pals check out my offerings below all of that good stuff would
• 9:03
  be so wonderful to
• 9:04
  me you could leave a review of the podcast you could I don't
• 9:08
  think you can leave
• 9:09
  reviews of Substacks I'm not sure but you could recommend it to
• 9:12
  other people
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  SPEAKER_00: Whatever you want to do.
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  SPEAKER_00: You could leave a comment on YouTube,
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: whatever you'd like to do,
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: but that would be awesome and I would so appreciate it.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, my love language is words of affirmation.
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  SPEAKER_00: So, anything nice, I always love!
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_00: And thank you so much for all of that.
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  SPEAKER_00: And I will see you next time.
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  SPEAKER_00: Bye!