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Project 10: The Practical Power of Meditation

Introduction: Thank you Mr. Toastmaster, fellow toastmasters and honored guests. I
meditate. Pause. Throughout the centuries, mystics, religions and spirituality have
espoused the benefits of a clear, present and quiet mind for peace, relaxation and
coping with stress. I would like to spin you a story of what your lives would look like
after incorporating this incredibly practical tool into your daily routine. I’ll paint
you three pictures today: the first at work, the second in your relationships, and the
third with your body.

1: Your Career

No matter what kind of jobs we have, at some point or another, we are likely to
encounter stress, to think on our feet and to make tough decisions and come up with
creative solutions to problems. Being centered in yourself, calm under pressure and
knowing you can handle anything that is thrown in your path is a valuable asset.

Imagine this: It’s Monday morning. There is a big presentation at work and your role
is pivotal to successfully pitching your company’s product to investors. The
economy is down and the dollar is falling faster than candidates dropping out of the
US elections. Your boss lets you know how vital this pitch is for your company and
has piled on the pressure.

You wake after a deep, restful sleep. Your mind is clear and focused. All the mental
chatter that usually starts in the morning has been wiped clean because of the
meditation session the night before. The thought of your presentation floats into
your mind – and you break into a smile. You’re ready. You’re feeling good.

You deliver your speech with panache and confidence. You answer all the questions
the investors pose with ease. You know that you have closed the deal and have the
investors in your pocket even before your speech is done. You did good.

Over celebratory drinks, your boss congratulates you for your presentation. And
then he adds, with a hint of envy, that you are lucky to be having a great day – that
the -30 degree weather and snowstorm outside ruined his day before it even began.

Your mind flashes back to the little details of the day that your boss doesn’t know:
You dropped your cell phone this morning and shattered the screen. Your car
wouldn’t start, so you had to Uber to work. The ground was slushy and your shoes
got drenched. You spilt hot coffee and stained your pants 20 minutes before your
meeting. As you return from your little reverie, all you can muster up to say to your
boss is, “Yeah, I guess I’m just having a great day…”
2: Your Relationships

Our relationships, more than anything else, have a huge impact on our lives. The
perfectly timed compliment can leave us feeling sky high and appreciated, while the
half-hearted and disinterested attention of our partner, as we relate a fascinating
story that happened today, can kill our mood instantly. Pause. I’m completely
convinced that the greatest gift you can give, in the realm of relationships, is your
undivided presence, your listening, your empathy. And that requires a quiet, present
mind.

Picture this: it’s your 25th wedding anniversary party. All your friends are at your
house. It’s a joyous occasion. You pause to look around the room and notice that
slowly but steadily, every year, your friends introduce you to their new partners and
spouses. Divorce. Dating. Re-marriage. You muse to yourself that time and
familiarity seem to corrode a lot of initially happy relationships.

Not your relationship, though. Oh no, not yours. As you stroll down memory lane,
you remember all the times you paused to check in with your body, with your innate
intelligence, with your heart. The actions you then took lead to the perfect words
being said with the perfect timing. And this resulted in a strong, passionate and
deeply intimate connection that you still share with your partner to this day, after
25 years of marriage.

You recognized that most fights are a plea for attention, that most arguments are an
invitation to connect, that every comment laced with sarcasm is screaming for you
to call your partner out and re-establish boundaries, and that behind every question
of “How was your day, honey?” and a response of “It was good.”, there is a whole
world of adventures just waiting for your curiosity.

3: Your Body

Animals listen to their bodies. Babies are in sync with their physical needs. Why is it
then, that as we grow, we lose our natural connection to our bodies, instincts, and
the wisdom it innately has? We numb our bodies with habits, thinking and instant
gratification. We look at taking care of our bodies – exercising, eating well and
sleeping deeply - as chores and luxuries that we don’t have time for. We let the
world convince us into hating how we look - that we lack some ideal body type. A
clear mind slices through all this nonsense and empowers us dramatically.

Envisage this: you are loving your body and how it feels. It is 6 months since you’ve
been tuning into your body and what it needs through meditation. Your energy
levels and vitality have shot up. You sleep less, but more efficiently. You don’t get
sick as often. You can feel when your body needs to recharge. You let it rest before it
breaks down with a sickness because you had been ignoring it. You don’t feel guilty
eating anything; no foods are out of bounds. You never enjoyed going to the gym, so
you joined a recreational sports team instead, and ironically the fun and
competitiveness of that sport has naturally lead to you hitting the gym to get an
edge over your teammates.

No longer do you eat out of habit or because the clock strikes a certain hour.
You notice your old patterns and what you do to relive yourself from stress or
boredom, and you pause and consciously change the actions you now take. And this
is all effortless. You listen to your body, and in return, it doesn’t fight you and throw
up resistance, but instead you move together in the same direction, mind and body.

Your body is the ultimate authority, and its wisdom surpasses all advice from other
sources, if only you take the time to listen.

Conclusion:

To end this talk, I would like you to consider the practical benefits of adding
meditation to your daily routine. At work you will be a portrait of cool, calm and
collected. In your relationships, you will notice, address and enjoy all the little
moments that a busy mind misses. With your body, you will develop the intuition to
live with lightness and ease. Your career, relationships and body will thank you for
it, and pay it back a thousand times over. Mr. toastmaster.