How to Help Others Build A Better Life

Damianne  President was a teacher for fourteen years before she decided to change career and now works in technology. She hosts the popular Podcast Change Big And Small and runs multiple blogs including dpresident.net.

Originally from St. Lucia, Damianne moved to Canada at 12, and move overseas at 23. She now lives in Prague, and has visited over 60 countries including Sudan, Yemen, Tanzania, Philippines, etc.

Damianne enjoys research, working with technology, and solving problems. She’s always been curious and loves teaching and learning. She helps people both in her job as a customer support person, and as a blogger and podcast host. Her intention for herself and others is for each of us to be able to build the life that we want.

Today we are going to talk about helping others build a better life.

Being connected with others and sharing the journey rather than just going for what one wants at all costs feels to me a better way to live life.  

The challenge I feel in helping others is knowing how and when to help and also believing in what one has to offer can make a difference.  Everyone seems so busy these days.  How can we each make a difference in supporting and helping others to have a better life?  Well, this will the theme of the show.

Damianne's offers her experience and wisdom on this matter.  Exciting! 

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Transcript

Unknown Speaker  0:00  
Hello, everyone, I'm your host, the gentle yoga warrior and please welcome today, podcast presenter, curious world citizen and change agent Damianne President.

Unknown Speaker  0:12  
Damianne President  hosts the popular podcast changes big and small and multiple blogs, including de.president.net. Originally from St. Lucia, she moved to Canada at age 12 and moved overseas at 23. She now lives in Prague, and has visited over 60 countries, including Sudan, Yemen, Tanzania, Philippines, etc. 

Unknown Speaker  0:43  
enjoys researching, working and technology and solving problems. She's always been curious and loves teaching and learning. She helps people both in her job as a customer support person. And as a blogger and podcast hosts. Her intention for herself and others is for each of us to be able to build the life that we want. So without further ado, joining us all the way from Prague, please welcome today, Damien. President, thank you

Unknown Speaker  1:19  
so much for joining us today. Happy to be here. I'm so pleased that you're here as well. So please.

Unknown Speaker  1:28  
So today we're going to talk about helping others build a better life.

Unknown Speaker  1:37  
Being connected with others, and sharing the journey, rather than just going for what one wants, at all costs, feels, to me a better way to live life. The challenge I feel and helping others is knowing how and when to help. And also believing in what one has to offer can make a difference. Everyone seems to be so busy these days, how can we each make a difference in supporting and helping others to have a better life in the world? In the words of Charles Dickens, no one is useless in this world who licenced the burdens of others. Damien, thank you so much for being for taking the time today to speak to us. I'm very interested to know what does helping others build a better life mean to you? And what motivated you to speak about it today? Yes, I think for me, the big thing is that community is very important. So when I think about helping people build a better life, it means that I want to use my skills in a way that helps other people. So if I've already tried something out, if I've discovered something, if I've learned something, if I can help somebody else, shortcut the process, then I'm very happy to do that. Yeah. And I think each of us has those skills, that we're very good at the things like we all have our zone of genius, we all have those things that were incredible at. And I can imagine that it's so much of a nicer place to live, when we're all able to contribute that to create a better community. I really like that philosophy. It sounds so simple, but simple. But it's so true. And yet, people don't seem to do that. I don't think these days. But that is that's wrong. Lots of people do. But I guess how can we build the awareness that that is so important to people and to inspire them to live by those great moral?

Unknown Speaker  3:36  
Well, it's interesting, because there's so much research and so much conversation happening nowadays about if you want to see a change, and the change really gets to be to start with you. Right. And so if we say that we want to encourage other people to behave in a certain way, a lot of how we behave, behave, invites a different response from people. And so I don't know that it's each of our responsibility to tell other people how they should show up in the world. But I do think there are kind of two elements here, like one living in a way that's in alignment with your beliefs with your values, and to asking people for what you need for what you want. So both of those allows us to be part of community by one given and two by being in a position to receive so there's that reciprocity. I like that I like that a lot and community

Unknown Speaker  4:31  
can feel a bit disconnected during this time can it because we're most most countries are in lockdown or limited to the amount of people we can see. And

Unknown Speaker  4:41  
are there any tips that you can get people who who feel kind of could offer and lacking and community and how you can get that love because that to me community is love. Yeah, and I don't want to pretend that the online world is the same as being in a physical space with others because it's not but

Unknown Speaker  5:00  
I think there is something to be realistic about the situation that we find ourselves in. And so yes, I, I do want to meet with people. And it takes a bit more effort and a bit more consideration to do that now during COVID. So we need some of depending on where we live, we might need to create bubbles with particular people in our lives.

Unknown Speaker  5:21  
And zoom can be very exhausting. But at the same time, I've also realised that it's important to keep those connections like

Unknown Speaker  5:29  
we might say, Oh, it's, it's exhausting to be on Zoom, maybe I just won't do it. But it could also be quite energising. So it really depends on your perspective, and how you could kind of switch that mindset.

Unknown Speaker  5:44  
When we use social media, there is a difference between just scrolling mindlessly and using it intentionally to connect with people. And so if you belong to communities online, if you belong to spaces online, we can turn spaces into communities, by the way that we interact with it by inviting other people into our lives. And by

Unknown Speaker  6:07  
commenting in by finding opportunities to connect, it doesn't happen just by chance. That's the big problem. The big issue that people face is that it does take some commitment, and it does take some work. And being intentional,

Unknown Speaker  6:22  
as I guess it takes, it's like looking online for things that would be of interest to you, or communities or hobbies that that you find interesting, and to people that aren't so savvy on on the on the internet or on social media, it's about stepping outside your comfort zone a little bit. So maybe kind of reaching out to someone if this is someone that you find inspiring or

Unknown Speaker  6:48  
skinny, and instead of like you said, just scrolling through, because that's quite easy, isn't it just a school life, it's not really that much interaction where it is, if you go back to the start of social media, it kind of was, I think, set of in a way for it to be a bit more kind of community vibe, rather than just liking people's posts and things.

Unknown Speaker  7:10  
So what advice would you give people who are struggling with life? You know, this is so I hear so many stories of people that are really finding it quite hard, not just at the moment, but it's just in general, and any, any tips that you'd like to offer? That's a really broad question, because it really depends on the kind of struggle and people are having, right. So if it's a struggle, because of some trauma, then you might want to get some help. I think that it's important to get the help that we need, and realise that we can't do everything on our own. Oftentimes, if it's a general feeling of discontent, or feeling that maybe there's something you want, that you don't have in your life, I'd say it's helpful to sometimes sit and be silent, to be quiet, to see, to think about to consider what is it that's actually missing? Like, what is that on is about, because I think so often we can,

Unknown Speaker  8:11  
what we do when we have that feeling is we make ourselves more busy. Or we go into avoidance mode with drinking or with

Unknown Speaker  8:22  
escaping into television or something where or social media where we don't have to be present. So I'd say that the first thing is to be present. If it's something that's too much where you can't handle it to be present, then by all means get help. But if it is something that you could be present with, then sit and give it some time and go through processing it, whatever, in whatever way works for you, that could be through journaling, that could be talking to somebody that you trust, it could be meditating, it could be writing it down some people get

Unknown Speaker  8:58  
some people get scared when you say journaling and journaling doesn't have to look any particular way. It could be that you take a scrap of paper and you write what it was in your mind.

Unknown Speaker  9:07  
Yeah, I find I do that for my practice. Actually, I find it really helps me a lot when my mind's too busy to because I'm sometimes I sit on the bed, I've meditate I meditate every day but sometimes when I sit on the meditation mass

Unknown Speaker  9:21  
to start with my mind can feel a little bit too busy. So I find that journaling is extremely consciousness it really kind of like helps and the thing is be never have to show that to anyone do you so you can just write whatever is bothering you and kind of just get it down on paper it almost feels like it's like kind of a a support a support tool for those who feel that they need to

Unknown Speaker  9:45  
add and I'll clear out all the garbage that we tend to carry in our subconscious and, and kind of find them more free away or have a well being there's actually some research that shows that if people are carrying a lot

Unknown Speaker  10:00  
have stuff in their head and they have trouble sleeping at night. Sometimes we have this resistance towards not writing negative things like we resist writing negative things, because we think we're supposed to be positive, or we're supposed to overcome whatever challenges we have. And there's research that shows that if you actually take some time and write down all of the things, even all of the negative things that are going through your head, that does give you some relief, for some reason, it takes it out of your head so that you can rest in a different way. Well, that's a very valid point, a very, very valid point, because we are taught that aren't we all know, you must be positive 24/7. And that's not feeling awful. All are all emotions and feelings, my thinking. Like, of course, it is good to have a positive mindset. But if there is something I think somebody can be guilty isn't it can write and sometimes as well, guilt, feel guilty to write negative things, when it's really it's a process of clearing them, clearing them from your subconscious and finding a way to kind of be more present. And I think that's a very, very valid point. Indeed, in your opinion, what is one of the greatest gifts we can give to other people? Again, I know it's quite a broad question, but

Unknown Speaker  11:16  
there is the concept of the five languages. And so I think, depending on the person, they may have a different idea of what's significant to them, what is beneficial to them. But I think if we were to summarise it, it will, it's basically being responsive to the other person's need. Like it's a great gift, when you can actually know somebody well enough to be responsive to their needs, and give them something that they need. And it's even lovely, if they don't have to ask for it. I'm not saying that people should not things right. Like, I certainly think that you should not expect people to mind read and that it's good to ask for what you want and to be clear and communicate. But I do think that our presence, our time, our attention, caring attention, is a great gift that you can give to anybody. That's really nice there. Yeah. And that's, I don't know. Do you feel that comes from listening? Do you think sometimes we can be so distracted that we don't listen, not just verbally, but just kind of, again, when it comes back to the point of actually being round people that Zoom has its place, but it's kind of there is many ways to listen? And yeah, the ability to listen and then by listening to know or feel what that person wants it? Exactly. That's a big part of it. This is an I've been doing some explorations and some conversations with people around relationships, and enlisted comes up so much. And I've, I've learned myself so many elements of listening that I didn't even think about like, like how listening can really be just about being ready. Like how do you prepare yourself to listen, what frame of mind you need to be in? Like, how external elements to ourselves could actually affect our being not being able to listen. So if I'm tired, I have a different ability to listen than if I'm excited and full of energy. Saving. Yeah, the that whole listening element is so important for building connection and for building understanding. Yeah, very true, very true. And I will put details of your podcast as well, on the link to this because I, I had I had a look before I interview and I'm very excited to listen to some of the conversations about having difficult conversations and all that it looks very exciting. I briefly had a listen, but I'm looking forward to listen to it all the way through. So I know

Unknown Speaker  13:54  
that you came from a teaching background and and most other rich array of knowledge in this but what are your favourite tools for learning? And what would you recommend to help I know everyone learns differently, but just for learning and I'm still

Unknown Speaker  14:16  
big, it will be no surprise to you that one of my favourite tools for learning nowadays is podcasts. Because I find that

Unknown Speaker  14:25  
I find that I could find podcasts on so many different topics and that I can tune in to them in different environments. And

Unknown Speaker  14:36  
one thing that as a learner as a curious person that I've found challenging is the balance between consumption and creation. And I know that I learn more when I can actually create when I can actually do something with that knowledge and not just listen to it. So

Unknown Speaker  14:54  
actually, I think there is different types of no different ways of knowing right like we could know something

Unknown Speaker  15:00  
thing on a very theoretical level, which is very different from knowing it in a way when you can actually apply it to your life, or you can apply it in conversation or in your work. And so

Unknown Speaker  15:13  
I'd say that I think I learn best when I could actually do something with whatever I'm learning. That's my best way of learning. But in terms of resources,

Unknown Speaker  15:27  
podcast, the web.

Unknown Speaker  15:30  
It's so incredible, all of the things that you can learn if you have an interest in them.

Unknown Speaker  15:38  
Yeah, I find it very interesting. And just hearing different people's opinions and different people's views and seeing their ears and I agree, it's, it's a podcast, a great learning tool to

Unknown Speaker  15:53  
it for different environments, you know that so many people working from home and obviously do concentrate on your work listeners not telling

Unknown Speaker  16:01  
you to do work, but it's kind of nice to have in the background. And then if

Unknown Speaker  16:08  
I'm in the house, during my day, during the day, it kind of is nice to have it on in the background, it feels like a friendly friend, and in many ways, a bridge to me between a book and watching something, it's kind of it feels like in between, because you can like listen to it and still concentrate on something else. So I know that you have a daily practice to, I guess, help you navigate through life. And would you like to share that with our listeners and how that's helped you. It's there, the part of my daily practice that case. So there are there is my aspirational daily practice. And then there's my actual daily practice. And so I would say that I aspire to meditate everyday, but I don't necessarily meditate every day. But I noticed the difference the improvements, when I do get a chance to meditate, what I do ensure that I do everyday is move. Because especially working from home, I find that it's so important to move to go for a walk to dancer, Zumba song, to walk downstairs and check the mail for no other reason than I need to leave my chair. I think if you can find ways that help you stay connected with your body, then that's very useful because so many of us really get caught up in our minds get caught up in our brains, but not in the intuition of the body. And so one thing that I'm trying to do is just be more aware of my body. And that can be challenging at times, because there may be things I don't like about my body. But that doesn't negate the fact that there is a body awareness that is helpful to tune in to.

Unknown Speaker  17:54  
Now I think movement is essential for mental health as well because we just, it's so easy because I'm like I'm going to go out after this podcast for what because I had a long sheduled yesterday, I didn't actually get to new the house yesterday. So it's kind of it's so important just to get some, some fresh air and move. So I think that is a it's honouring yourself isn't it by making that part of our daily daily practice and finding ways and it's true that we may not always necessarily get time to meditate or do a full Zumba class. But on the days that we don't, we can maybe just sit for a few moments and and just be a bit more present. And then just go for walk around the block or like you said go down and get the mail, just something to kind of get us get us up and moving. And that way we can feel more.

Unknown Speaker  18:46  
We're able to help ourselves, I think we'll be able to help ourselves. We've also been able to help others more as well. I think the mental health piece is a big is a big one. It's kind of like some Sundays, I remind myself to just take a few breaths even if I'm not going to go I would like to I sometimes fall out of the habit of going for a daily walk like I still make sure I move every day. But I don't always go for like a 30 minute walk every day and that's actually one thing that I just really committed to it this morning like I'm like I really want to go for a walk for 30 days and 30 minutes like for me 30 minutes is not a long walk there's a park nearby I do a loop it's fairly easy. And it's more a matter of getting into routines like that's what helps me if I have a routine then it gets done when I start breaking my routines by stayed up too late by changing my like whatever it is that I allow to disrupt my my routines is when those things fall by by the wayside, but since I've decided that walking is important to me, then I've added it back in in the morning. So what would you say is a good way to access that intuition or not?

Unknown Speaker  20:00  
Any tips and things that you could give people on that on that question?

Unknown Speaker  20:05  
I would say getting quiet. I noticed that I listened to a lot of podcasts. And sometimes I need to pause the podcast, I need to turn it off for a moment. So that I can think that I can even hear my own facts so that I can hear what I what my brain is saying what my body might be saying. So I think

Unknown Speaker  20:29  
getting quiet is the first step like you can't, you won't get any intuition if you don't make space for right. If you're just busy all the time, if you're just surviving, then there's there's really no room for intuition because there are higher order things that are taken up your attention. But if you can slow down, if you can get quiet, that's when there is a chance for you to tune in to your intuition and also to have the intention and attention. Like to decide, oh, I want to know what I think about that. I want to know, like, if there is something that you're that you're not sure about new, debating?

Unknown Speaker  21:11  
Meditate on that question or ask that question to yourself. What do I think about this and sit with it? Give it space?

Unknown Speaker  21:20  
Yes, space. Yeah, that's very true. Video space of stillness was kind of like letting less less and things just settle. And then because I find for myself anyway, I can't make good decisions when my mind's too busy and, and do feel disconnected from my intuition, if I don't kind of allow just that. Just to take a deep, deep breath. Like he says, Ah, just be be be where you are right now, instead of trying to be somewhere somewhere else. So I found it really interesting

Unknown Speaker  21:57  
that you like to travel and have been to so many places, because I feel that's

Unknown Speaker  22:06  
unfortunate. It's not something we can really do so much at the moment. But

Unknown Speaker  22:11  
I think it's nice to hear about the travel because it kind of

Unknown Speaker  22:15  
lifts the lips, people. And so what inspired you to travel so much and, and learn so much, I guess from your travel. First I started travelling because I just wanted to see more of the world. I remember teaching to students about the, you know, the seven great wonders of the world. And thinking, oh, I want to see things like that. I want to see what are the splendid things that people have created. And over time, I've realised that I'm even more interested in the splendid things that nature that are available in nature. And so I've had an evolution in my travel from wanting to see everything, from wanting to see all of the manmade things, to now really having an appreciation for what's natural, and what's what's beautiful that I can find around me, just reconnecting to that sense of wonder and excitement has really been a focus area for me recently.

Unknown Speaker  23:19  
That's wonderful. So you can still kind of like travel without actually physically gone to other countries as well like it. The moment I'm in the context of the moment is finding that wonderment and magic from nature because I don't know it can feel as such a gift right to see beautiful, beautiful things even when I'm like my friend's dog the other day, I was just like, hadn't been around the dog for a while and it is just I don't know, I just I felt so lifted and, and in all the beauty of this creature and, and its companionship because I was looking after it for afternoon and it was so such a lovely, lovely place this morning. And I I went when I did when I went for my walk this morning. It was a very grey sky. But I was like, oh, like look at all the patterns in the sky. It was still beautiful, even though it was grey, and I like sunny days.

Unknown Speaker  24:15  
But even in these that are not sunny, they can be something beautiful. And then I sat in a cafe for some time working this morning. And there were two dogs that had not a care in the world running around the coffee shop in Prague people often bring their dogs to the cafe. So they were just chasing each other and it was quite amusing. One of my reactions could have been to be kind of annoyed, you know that there are these two dogs running around but there was so happy that I was able to tune into that and be excited about the excitement. Oh

Unknown Speaker  24:54  
that sounds lovely, very uplifting and nice to behold. Lovely. So there we are.

Unknown Speaker  25:00  
What are the places that you physically been? What was your favourite place? Or is that too difficult a question? I'm guessing it's probably,

Unknown Speaker  25:09  
maybe your top three though?

Unknown Speaker  25:12  
Oh, yes.

Unknown Speaker  25:15  
I usually say to people that everywhere that I've been there, it's been something exciting, there has been something that I could recommend about the place.

Unknown Speaker  25:25  
I think it really has to do with a mindset of why you travelling, what do you expect when you go to different places. And to me, it's really about being able to enjoy the local flavours, get a feel for the local culture, be able to see what's exciting and different in that place, and have been able to do that everywhere that I've been. So I'd say that all of my trips have been exciting. Probably India has a special place for me. And that's because that's the first place that I travelled on my own outside of living with my family. And I lived there for two years.

Unknown Speaker  26:03  
And I was able to visit a lot of different places in India and there are so many different cultures and natural experiences that you can have and

Unknown Speaker  26:17  
different traditions different food, there is so much there is such a smorgasbord of experiences that I would say I would choose India, and because it will forever hold a special place for me. Oh, amazing. I think India, myself and Naya down which is in Kerala, that's where I did my love. Yeah, I do a lot of yoga training was we spent most of the time in, in the ashram and but it was such a beautiful experience. So the point that I didn't want to leave during your travels, what would you say has taught you the most from travelling?

Unknown Speaker  26:56  
What has touched your heart the most, the other people, of course, people may be more friendly, or more outgoing in one place or another. But everywhere that I've been when I've been stuck, when I've needed help, I've been able to find somebody to help me decode a map or point me in the right direction, or help me with translation. It's exciting as well, I guess, isn't it travelling because it kind of, you have to be in the present mode, because everything's new, and

Unknown Speaker  27:28  
you need to navigate where you're going or kind of pop, there's not much room to kind of to be too much in the head because you've kind of been more in the moment.

Unknown Speaker  27:39  
interesting that you say I because I think one thing that I have expressly told myself sometimes when travelling, even when I'm moving around, practice, sometimes things look up. And what that means to me is sometimes I'm trying to follow a map or nowadays, instructions in on my mobile device. And sometimes just looking at where I am, helps me find a place helps me realise the environment. And so I find myself saying that a lot to myself. Look up. Don't miss where you are right now. Because you're looking at where you're going or thinking about what what's next. Oh, that's totally that's brilliant is because there's quite a lot of things up as well. I found that in cities if you look exactly.

Unknown Speaker  28:31  
Yeah, yeah, that's it. That's very wise and valid point. People remember to look up not just down at your screen or math or whatever it is that you're looking at, what does it mean to you to live a life full of

Unknown Speaker  28:45  
purpose and meaning and how can we do it more?

Unknown Speaker  28:52  
Sum it up to me living a life of purpose means living in alignment with your values. Yeah. And I like that conceptualization, because I think it keeps things quite broad and quite open, that there is not one path to purposefulness. There's not one path to having a good life. It's really what matters to you. Is it being in community with people, which is where our conversation started? Is it volunteering? Is it working with the homeless? Whatever it is, that you've decided is important to you? are you incorporating that in your life in some way? And if you are, you're living a purposeful life. And if you're not, maybe there are some tweaks that you could make that could help you feel aligned and feel like your life has purpose and meaning.

Unknown Speaker  29:45  
Yeah, I think that's to me, that's what being rich is. It's not necessarily a monetary thing. It's about having a life full of purpose and people can start to just do like little things towards that they know sometimes

Unknown Speaker  30:00  
As well we get hung up that we have to be like, someone famous or, or I don't know, to, to have a life full of purpose. And that I was, I would say, possibly the opposite.

Unknown Speaker  30:11  
Whatever you choose, it's in alignment with what one's core values and what they want, what we want to offer. The second part of your question was, if I have any advice for people,

Unknown Speaker  30:25  
how they can live a purposeful life, and I would say,

Unknown Speaker  30:29  
don't make it too big, necessarily. Don't think, oh, everything needs to like I need to give up everything, and go to ashram. Or I need to give up my job that pays the bills, so that I can be ascetic and

Unknown Speaker  30:44  
pour to be able to, I don't know, show up differently in the world. Like, it doesn't have to be all or nothing thinking we can fall into that trap sometimes of thinking, it has to be all one way or another way. But instead, I would say, look for small contributions that you can make on a day to day basis, it could be a friend of yours who needs help in some way, and is a way that you really want to contribute to the world. It could be a local community organisation, maybe you want to help people learn things. And your local community organisation is looking for opportunities in,

Unknown Speaker  31:24  
in a school, and you could teach the children how to, I don't know, make puppets? Like, I'm just making up examples here. But it doesn't need to be grandiose in order for it to be meaningful and purposeful. Yes, absolutely. Just even given a smile, like to someone.

Unknown Speaker  31:42  
I don't know, sometimes you see someone that was a bit sad, I think a smile can be like, offering kindness and purpose to someone you know, is this. I am fixed. As soon as I mean, we underestimate the value of the little things that we can do. Because Little things can move mountains, I feel Damian, and I would love to talk about your your bill podcast, because you have a podcast yourself. Maybe you could share with our listeners about that, and then how they can listen to it, etc. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share that my podcast is changes big and small, and you can visit it

Unknown Speaker  32:22  
to learn more. And the website which is changes big and small.com. You can also find the podcast wherever you're listening to this podcast or any other podcast, it's available on Spotify, on

Unknown Speaker  32:37  
all of the different platforms, whether you're using Android or Apple. And there are links if you go to my website where you that will take you directly to the different platforms that you could use to listen, or you can listen right on the web. i The podcast is about helping people take action in their life so that they can live the life of intention, a life of purpose, which connects to what we've been talking about today. So if you're curious about any of that, like I said the last, the most recent season, the current season is on relationships. So if you have any questions about relationships, or you want to be a guest, please contact me the previous seasons or on finding clarity for yourself in terms of what you want to do. So we had some episodes about purpose, actually. And I've also talked about self acceptance, and about change, what inspires people to make changes in their life and how you could go about making a change in your own life if you want. So there are a variety of different topics that could be interesting to you. You know, we've got everything there notice even from how to deal with a holiday season, which can be challenging relationship wise for people, and all different kinds of things, how to have difficult conversations. So a rich array of information and inspiration there. So also demyan You also run several blogs, and

Unknown Speaker  34:08  
I was looking at this morning and you cover things from book reviews to your travels to other things. Again, would you mind sharing about that for listeners? I think it's beautiful. And the design of it. I found it really lovely to read. Thank you, Jane. I have a variety of blogs because I have a lot of interest.

Unknown Speaker  34:31  
So de Presidente dotnet is my main blog and there you can find links to everything else that I do. I have a blog spoil the ending.com where I spoil the ending of the books that I read because I found that I couldn't remember the endings of books. And it's one of my most popular blog, so I guess I'm not the only one who has that problem. I also blog a journey with technology.com less often than I used to but that's mostly for teachers and education.

Unknown Speaker  35:00  
It says, with resources that they can use in schools also with some resources for parents.

Unknown Speaker  35:06  
These are the main three that are active right now. Well, it's, it sounds like, it's good to have a lot of interests and, and things and things to say. And I would add when about education. My question from earlier that blogs are very good ways to kind of learn things and, and then access information and learning. So I am mindful that I have kept you here on while I'm on this podcast. But I would like to just to ask you, is there anything else that you would like to share with our listeners today?

Unknown Speaker  35:44  
The last thing I would like to say is, thank you so much for having me here. And if people are interested in making a change, as they start a new year, as you start a new year, if you're interested in making a change, my invitation to you is, what's the smallest change, you can start with that you can have some success with, with keeping with the theme of not having to be grandiose, start something small that you can be successful with, then you can celebrate it, and create more excitement for the next action that you want to take.

Unknown Speaker  36:18  
brilliant, absolutely brilliant. So great, great words. It's been an absolute joy to have you on the show today. And look forward to what reading your blog in the future. But just do stay tuned, everyone, we have a meditation inspired by today's podcast. But once again, thank you so much, demyan. President, and thank you for joining us today. Thank you, Jane. And thank you listeners for tuning in. So this is a simple meditation that you can do to help you be a bit more mindful. So I've been a yoga practitioner for many years. And we can do all the yoga which is great, or the asanas which is the the one of the limbs of yoga, and then sometimes we forget to then take the yoga off the mat. So the real gem, I think in all of this is to be able to be mindful. So you're going to sit up super tall, and what a better way to start a new year. And if you're listening to the podcast, and it's not a new year, what a better way to start the next moment. So not just a new year, but the next moment. So when whatever time you're listening to this the next moment, let's make it count. So sitting up tall, if you want to if you're driving, etc, please just press pause and then you can do this meditation a bit later. It only takes a few minutes. So it's not going to take hours out of your day. But start slow the breathing down. So in and out through the nostrils, inhale, you feel the abdomen expand.

Unknown Speaker  38:00  
Exhale, II feel as if the abdomen comes in. So in and out, perhaps you can do an inhalation for count of five and excess exhalation for count of five, do less or more depending on your lung capacity, but never make it so you feel out of breath. That is not the right track. So as you inhale,

Unknown Speaker  38:20  
pause and as you exhale.

Unknown Speaker  38:24  
Pause in and out through the nostrils.

Unknown Speaker  38:32  
And as you sit there, and you're in the moment, can you just listen gently to your breath? Perhaps as I'm recording this, or wherever you are, of course, you may hear some background noise. That's fine. Just come back to the breath. I can hear cars coming past and that's fine. That's they're doing their thing and I'm doing my thing.

Unknown Speaker  38:56  
So inhaling exhaling through the nostrils.

Unknown Speaker  39:01  
Can you just be

Unknown Speaker  39:03  
or rather allow yourself just to be observing the breath.

Unknown Speaker  39:10  
And if the mind wants to entice you somewhere,

Unknown Speaker  39:14  
just think okay, mind you want to entice me, but for this moment, I'm just going to come back to the breath, perhaps or that space just before you inhale and that space just before you exhale. And it's quite a simple process, but sometimes a one that we may want to run away from.

Unknown Speaker  39:32  
But let's just try and do it for the next 60 seconds. So just simply allow yourself to observe the breath and then

Unknown Speaker  39:43  
allow allow allow

Unknown Speaker  39:48  
no matter what noises

Unknown Speaker  39:52  
there may be in the background. Just allow. Allow.

Unknown Speaker  39:59  
Allow

Unknown Speaker  40:35  
Good. I'm just gently come back into the moment back into the room that may have been hard or easy depending

Unknown Speaker  40:44  
on how your mind is feeling at this precise moment. I would suggest or rather entice you to do this regularly where you just listen to the moment before you inhale. And you listen to the moment before you exhale and whatever thoughts that might come into your mind like shopping or what you have to do in the future what you had do in the past.

Unknown Speaker  41:06  
Don't get a nod yourself, but just kind of just be in that moment. And I think this form of mindfulness is one of the greatest gifts that you can give yourself

Transcribed by https://otter.ai