The Art Of Meditation – Dina Proctor
MUST HAVE RESOURCES
SUMMARY
Dina Proctor, a mind-body connection coach, talks about how short bursts of meditation can help us decrease overwhelm and reach our goals.
She gives some practical steps through the art of meditation that we can do everyday are quick and easy to practice.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
With meditation, start sitting for three minutes at a time, 6-7 times a day.Short bursts of meditation several times a day rewire you from the inside out.
Put reminders on your phone to take 3 minute meditation breaks.
Take three deep breaths and feel the warmth around our heart.
Short bursts of applying the art of meditation can take down negative programming.
TRANSCRIPTION: THE ART OF MEDITATION – DINA PROCTOR
Kamala Chambers
In this episode, we’re going to be talking about how to create transformation in easy and practical ways every single day. We’ll talk about how to apply the art of meditation in your life today and how to reap the benefits from what Dina Proctor teaches in her work with the art of meditation.
Jack Canfield said, “You don’t meet people like Dina every day,” and that is the case. We’ve got Dina Proctor on the show today. She is a mind-body connection coach, a business productivity coach, inspirational speaker, and best-selling author.
We’re glad to have her here talking about her 3×3 Meditation and how to use the art of meditation to create transformation in these bite size pieces.
Hey, are you ready to launch?
Dina Proctor
I am ready to launch.
Kamala Chambers
All right.
We’re so grateful that you’re here because when we think about peace we definitely think about the art of meditation. I believe we all struggle with “Oh! I know all the things I need to do to get to where I want to be, but I can do them later,” or “I don’t have time right now.”
We want to explore with you how transformation doesn’t have to be this big daunting thing and how to use the art of meditation to create more peace in our daily lives. I know you focus on the art of meditation and how it can make all of our lives better.
Let’s talk about that. What do you recommend for people to start their journey of transformation and how they can apply the art of meditation right away?
Dina Proctor
For me, the art of meditation saved my life.
When I first started meditating, I was suicidal and alcoholic. I had no idea how to apply the art of meditation or even what the art of meditation was. I had been in a major clinical depression for more than ten years. I couldn’t live with alcohol, and I didn’t know if I wanted to live or die. It was such a bad place to be in.
When I first started meditating, the instruction was to sit still for 20 minutes in the morning and focus on my breath, but I was just physically, mentally, emotionally incapable of doing anything near that. This was the art of meditation that I learned about when I started. So I would sit for three minutes at a time, which was what worked for me, and I could do that several times a day to make 20 minutes total. I would sit for six or seven times a day.
Rewire Your Brain With The Art Of Meditation
Dina Proctor
I didn’t believe in any transformation. At that point, I’ve never heard of Law of Attraction. I didn’t know what any of this stuff was. I didn’t believe in God. All I was doing was I was just sitting in this place of like “I cannot figure it out, but if there’s an answer out there, I’m open to it.”
It was like this open willingness in a place of desperation. From that space just in this little three minutes, little insights were born. I had experiences in higher consciousness, and it was blissful, grounded, and amazing.
I know a lot about neuroscience, and when I wrote my book, I interviewed Dr. Bruce Lipton, who’s an amazing neuroscientist.
Kamala Chambers
We’ve had him on the show, and it was one of our favorites. We love him.
Dina Proctor
He’s amazing and also Jack Canfield. Both these teachers have a lot of great information on the art of meditation.
Kamala Chambers
We’ve had Jack on the show too.
Dina Proctor
I know you did. He was the one that first told that I could write a book and stood behind me as I did it.
With people that knew what they were talking about and doing to back up and to explain to me how this short burst of focus meditation several times a day, literally rewire you from the inside out. The cells of my body and thought patterns are different.
I’m sure if you took a scan of my brain back then and a scan of my brain now, it’s entirely different. It’s not just a woo-woo out there.
The Art Of Meditation To Change Your Life
Dina Proctor
I tell you that I hit rock bottom not because that’s something everybody has to do but to say that I was in that place and transformation at the deepest level happened for me. So imagine what it could do for you. Just by simply applying the art of meditation in simple ways you can change your whole life.
Kamala Chambers
Love it.
I’d love to hear a little bit more about some of the practical steps like things we can do on a daily basis to incorporate the art of meditation and transformation into our lives.
Dina Proctor
Absolutely.
This thing happened to me with meditation and applying the art of meditation and I think it can change anyone’s life.
You want to join the gym, take on a different eating habit, or get yourself healthier. We have this little bit of a new year’s resolution attitude about it. We think “Okay. I’m going to bite the bullet. I’m going to discipline myself. I’ve got the willpower. I can do this.” And we have this like a white knuckle or willpower type of “pull yourself up by the bootstraps attitude.”
When my transformation happened, it was exactly the opposite of that.
I want to help people understand to let go of the feeling of being overwhelmed by it. Don’t think of it as like, “Oh my gosh, I have to transform my life all at once,” like a new year’s resolution thing.
Just commit to playing full out with the new practice for seven days at a time. Because if you together seven days, and then 14, and then up to 21 and 28, that’s when patterns start happening.
Have Reminders To Practice The Art Of Meditation
Dina Proctor
It’s right at the two and a half week mark for me where my external reality whether it’s my body, my relationships, my financial situation started to change.
When I’m spending my 3×3 Meditation, three minutes three times a day, with a specific focus, for as little as about two and a half weeks, that’s the bout the amount of time when my outer reality shifts. This is the art of meditation that I teach now – it’s simple and applicable to anyone at anytime. It’s the art of meditation that I think more people can access.
To bring it down in a practical way like I always tell people, put reminders on your phone because you think you’re going to remember to do it, and you’re not. You’re going to forget it. It’s going to be 8 o’clock at night, and you’re going to be too tired.
Putting reminders in your phone is a great way to start.
Also, set a timer so you’re not peaking during the meditation time. Setting a timer for three minutes or five minutes or 20 minutes or whatever time feels suitable for you. By applying the art of meditation in this simple way I think many people can immediately reap the benefits of the art of meditation quickly and simply.
During that meditation time, when you’re playing full out, commit to practice but just commit to playing full out for those seven days.
So if you want to do three times a day or once a day in the morning, just commit to playing full out for those seven days.
Practice The Art Of Meditation In 7 Days
Dina Proctor
The reason that’s so powerful is that a lot of people start out with a lot of steam, and we get to day three or four, and it’s like, “Maybe I’ll just kind of skip it.” Or, “I don’t have that.”
We start out strong, and then we peter out a little bit. If you get to the three or four-day mark and you feel a little bit of declining of the energy, remind yourself, “I’m only doing this for seven days. It’s okay. I can commit and bring myself to doing this for three or four more days.”
Now, I’ll talk about what to do in the meditation itself for those couple of minutes. When you use the art of meditation in the way I am suggesting you’ll find yourself reaping the rewards in small actionable chunks.
I call the first 7 to 14 days, sometimes, even the first 21 days a practice of weeding the garden. There are so many times we have negative thoughts. Say that we have a negative thought about “Ugh! I’m never going to get out of debt.” Or “Ugh! I’m never going to lose this weight.” We had that thought.
Luis Congdon
I wanted to say something too about the small incremental ways of doing a goal because that’s powerful.
When I’ve talked to fitness experts over at the gym, I’ve spoken to them about New Year’s resolutions and how many people start coming in, and they told me memberships skyrocket.
At the New Year, that’s when you need to be at the gym if you work there because you’re going to sell memberships. You’re going to sell packages.
Goals And The Art Of Meditation
Luis Congdon
Every single trainer I’ve ever talked to has told me that the people would start coming in for maybe the first weeks, the first month or two even of the New Year. Then after that, you don’t see those people anymore. They’ve bought this programs and packages, but they just seem to disappear.
I think the big thing about it is that we make these goals, and we believe, “You know what? I’m going to lose 100lbs!” or whatever it is that people have these goals. They make them so big that they’re daunting. Then, they’ve been working out for a couple of weeks now, and it’s like “I lost a pound. How am I going to get to that 100lbs?”
That brings me to close the full circle here to something I read by Tim Ferris where he was looking at research and goal-setting stuff. What he read in some of the studies is that when people set small goals, and they’re able to reach those, there’s a lot more momentum.
Instead of 100 pounds, when people say “I’m going to lose 3 lbs,” they reach that goal. Then, they go, “I’m going to lose 6,” and they reach that goal.
I heard that Dr. Eben Alexander, one of our guests, he meditates two hours a day. So we might hear that and go “Well, I should meditate for like an hour, and that guy’s doing too. How powerful would it be if I started doing two hours? But I’ll break it to an hour.” But that still for me is a lot. When he uses the art of meditation it’s something that I have a hard time seeing others achieving and using in the same way as him. His way of doing the art of meditation is very unrealistic for most of us.
Practicing The Art Of Meditation When You Don’t Have Time
Luis Congdon
Right now, I’m doing ten minutes a day, and it’s fantastic. I have a little app on my phone. I have a reminder that pops up every morning. I’ve made it simple, and that’s what I recommend to people.
For me, a ten-minute meditation is fantastic. I have done full 8 – 9-hour day long meditation sessions but those were at special retreats. This isn’t like a regular lifestyle thing for me.
I think setting these little goals is a way to go. I think small goals for the art of meditation as well as for other parts of our life is the way to go.
Dina Proctor
I love it. I love that you’ve had that experience too. It’s awesome.
Kamala Chambers
Well, I’d love to hear a little bit more about this real bite size pieces like one practical thing we can do right now and how we can apply the art meditation in the way that you espouse.
Dina Proctor
Okay, great.
Dina Proctor
It’s because we have this hectic, stressful lives.
Even if it feels like three minutes or one minute is too much, it’s something that we can do wherever we are.
We can be out with a group of people. We can be sitting in a meeting. We can be on a phone call. We can be doing a number things like washing the dishes, cooking dinner, and be able to, as we’re in that activity, take three deep breaths and just feel that warmth in the area around our heart, expand and relax. Sometimes, it can be something that simple that can get you there.
Feeding Your Soul With The Art Of Meditation
Dina Proctor
It’s because we have this hectic, stressful lives.
Even if it feels like three minutes or one minute is too much, it’s something that we can do wherever we are.
We can be out with a group of people. We can be sitting in a meeting. We can be on a phone call. We can be doing a number things like washing the dishes, cooking dinner, and be able to, as we’re in that activity, take three deep breaths and just feel that warmth in the area around our heart, expand and relax. Sometimes, it can be something that simple that can get you there.
Dina Proctor
So those are some little tiny things that you can bring into your everyday life that won’t impact you regarding your time but can make a huge difference in the way that you feel, the way that you are, and the world around you.
Kamala Chambers
I agree.
Just the power of three deep breaths is incredible. Thank you for reminding us all to do that.
Before we close out today, what is the last thing that you want to make sure the Thriving Launchers walk away with?
Dina Proctor
I think one of the most important things when I was at my lowest point I needed to hear, but it was hard for me to understand at that time was there are many people out there willing to help. They’re ready to hold the lanterns for us and bring us to the next level.
Making Transformation Easy With The Art Of Meditation
Dina Proctor
Just let ourselves be guided, be open to that and be vulnerable so that we can hold hope that somebody out there gets it. Someone out there understands where we are.
Dina Proctor
It’s because one builds on another and builds on another. It’s like termites taking down a whole big house. These little tiny things have this power to take down a big structure.
These short bursts of meditation can take down huge structures of negative programming.
It’s so incredibly powerful just these little bits of a couple of minutes here and a couple of minutes there at a time. This is the way I see that the art of meditation can help any of us and be useful to us right now.
Luis Congdon
When I was trying to get over my social anxiety, it felt like such a daunting practice. It seemed like an exercise I because it was an exercise of coming out of my shell. It was an exercise of overcoming social anxiety.
One of the exercises I did last about maybe two or three minutes top. Got it to a point where it’s only more like one minute at the most, and what I would do is I would just sit down and think about an emotion that I wanted to experience more often.
For me, I wanted to feel more at peace. I would think of a time in my life when I felt that powerfully. In my life, meditation and yoga are where I find the most sense of calmness. I used the art of meditation in my yoga, and in my time sitting with my eyes closed.
Reflecting On Goodness With The Art Of Meditation
Luis Congdon
I put myself in the space where I was at my yoga practice. I have a very particular memory of me laying down on my back and just feeling this echoing laughter surging through my whole body. It was something beautiful I had woken up inside me.
Every night before I went to bed, I would recall that memory. I just close my eyes, breathe in, remember the memory, and feel it. As soon as I felt it pretty good, that was it. I just breathe a couple of breaths, feel the emotion and feeling of being relaxed, breathe out, open my eyes, and go to bed.
I’d wake up in the morning. I’d think about that time I was in yoga or might think about a time when I was doing something else that was peaceful, but I have two or three memories. It wasn’t like I’m always searching for a new memory or different one. I kept it very simple.
I would recall the memory, breathe in and then breathe out and that was it. Just 30 seconds to a minute every single day and after a month, my calmness and what I had experienced social anxiety shifted dramatically.
Within 30 days, I anchored something very powerful within myself that I can still call unto this day. That if I call that memory, do the breath in that particular way, I can shift my whole physiology. When I hear you talk about the way you want us to apply the art of meditation, I think of that time in my life.
Go Practice The Art Of Meditation
Dina Proctor
I believe it. That’s amazing and powerful.
Luis Congdon
Dina, it’s been a pleasure to have you here on the show. Thank you so much for joining us.
You gave us some great practical advice, and you also gave us a good reminder that goals start one bite at a time. That if we could make them simple, then we’ll be more likely to build the momentum to keep stacking and make the goals bigger and bigger.
Big results come from a bunch of small things put together.
Thank you so much for coming on the show.
Dina Proctor
Thank you so much for having me. It’s totally a joy.
