SEASON TWO - EPISODE 23: MEDITATION WITH YAEL SHY
The first time I meditated, tears streamed down my face the entire time.
The second time I meditate, tears again streamed down my face the entire time.
The third, fourth, and fifth time, tears continued to flow.
I turned to meditation when I was completely overwhelmed with life, ministry was unbearable, work was so stressful, and I felt like my faith was having little positive effect on my soul.
And so, with noise-canceling headphones on, I sat alone in a basement of a church building and discovered the incredible power of meditation. It was as if all the stress, anxiety, and feelings of being overwhelmed flowed out of my body through those tears.
Meditation taught me how to relax, how to find peace and calm, gave me a tool to handle anxiety, and became a foundational practice in my life.
In this episode, I have the chance to speak with Yael Shy, who I first met and heard speak at the National Association of College and University Chaplains Annual Conference. She spoke on rest as resistance and revolution, and after hearing it, I knew I needed to get her on this podcast.
Yael is the Senior Director of NYU’s Global Spiritual Life Center, Founder and Director of MindfulNYU, which is the largest campus-wide mindfulness initiative in the country, and the author of the book, What Now? Meditation for Your Twenties and Beyond.
Yael shares how meditation has revolutionized her life, rekindled her faith, and allowed her the tools to manage anxiety and stress. For both of us, meditation became a way for us to have a fuller calmer life.
One of her points that struck a deep chord with me was her definition that meditation is ending internal suffering and enhancing love externally.
At the end of the episode, Yael guides us through a short meditation. I hope that as you meditate with her, you become more aware of any suffering within your mind, the way love can heal you, and the Divine all around you.
You can learn more about Yael on her website, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Some books Yael recommends in this episode are: Tea and Cake with Demons and The Way of Tenderness. She also recommends the apps Ten Percent Happier and Journey Live.
As you let life breathe you, seeking to end suffering internally and extend love externally, may you have peace, may you have calm, may you have happiness.