At some point in my life, maybe it was during boarding school, I realized that the truly ‘strong’ people were not those who ran for 24 miles, or made the best grade in math, or looked the most interestingly beautiful, or even yelled with tears in their eyes in just the right way for the teachers to call it good acting.The truly strong people weren’t so ‘strong’ that they got what they wanted all the time.
The truly strong were those who could withstand not performing well, not receiving the pleasure of affection, or perhaps sometimes doing well and sometimes not — they were like a tree with roots, unshakeable. They weren’t being blown around, at the mercy of the whims of others or the whim of the weather or the circumstances of their day which were mostly just results of accidents of nature. The strong person didn’t get their prescription of “good day” or “bad day” from the elements, or from Suzy Q down the hall, or from which way the wind blows at 9:30. The strong person was even, immovable, no matter what happened; and that came from within.
This may be the hardest work of all or it may be the easiest work of all; I’m not sure. It may be both. Because to train in this method — to get yourself to the point where you are the guardian of your brain and no one gets in unless you let them, all of you have to do is lie down and close your eyes and be silent and breathe and think of nothing. And, you have to LIE DOWN AND CLOSE YOUR EYES AND BE SILENT AND BREATHE AND THINK OF NOTHING!
It can be so terrifying to be alone with ourselves, to confront ourselves, to be there with ourselves and our existence. The urge for distraction is unbearable in today’s society. When we are confronted or threatened with a moment that we know is going to feel bad, we whip out our cell phones and look at Twitter. Worse, we have a drink, or a smoke, binge eat, harm ourselves — it can be anything. The impulse is the same. Doing whatever you’ve chosen as your way to escape from reality. However, those ways aren’t sustainable, right? We still feel bad later on. We feel even worse later on. They are no solution.
This method is a solution. Mindfulness, meditation, becoming a Mental Warrior — doesn’t that sound so much better than the other ways you’ve been coping? This turns YOU into the solution. I am going to do this program for the first time, and I’m going to write about it, vlog about it, live stream — every step of the way. So we will be in this together.
Who is the Wharton Monk? Andrew Scheffer — The Wharton Monk is the only person with an MBA who trained for over 10,000 hours with world leading meditation teachers and Buddhist Monks. He can save you years of searching for a method that works in the midst of busy careers and family demands.
Why the Wharton Monk? Usually working with businesses and corporations, Andrew Scheffer and I have had extensive conversations about the family caregiver — specifically, the young family caregiver. We are not prepared for what we are suddenly confronted with. We don’t have the tools, yet we are forced to become a warrior before we may be ready. We don’t have time to seek answers or solutions, but we need them. We need help, desperately. Andrew Scheffer thinks he can help. He wants to pass on the teachings he holds from his real experience studying with Monks, because it is his duty.
Not only will we not be able to study with Buddhist Monks because we are busy being a family caregiver (which is why he is bringing it to us virtually) but also, because we are young, if we can learn these things now, we have a much greater chance of surviving, thriving, recovering; becoming a warrior. We are in the best place to absorb this method so that we can keep going despite the unbelievably high levels of stress we deal with on a daily basis.
Join me in my Virtual Sanctuary for Family Caregivers.
