How 500 Days of Meditation Produced a Carefree Trip to Ikea

I posted this on the Dr. Joe Advanced Student Facebook page on September 1, 2016. The full story is in Carefree, It Starts With Open.

Today marks my 500th day of meditating every single day. I thought all day about how I could find the words to share my gratitude for Dr Joe, his team, and all the people in our community.

I am in awe of where I was and where I am now and the magic just continues.

This used to be a Horror Story

I went by myself on a Sunday the week before school starts. Ikea, and stores like it, is an ordinary event for many people (and on a Sunday, make that many, many people!) Ikea used to cause me so much anxiety that past visits saw me wandering around with my heart racing and mind in confusion while weeping my way to the exit!

I had to get furniture and other stuff, so I needed help in the showrooms, help in the warehouse, help to load my car and help to choose all the pieces. One guy messed up my boxes and I had to wait in the checkout area for someone to bring it to me. There was no one to guard my purchases outside so I could get my car. Yet, none of that threw me off balance at all.

Yes, I wanted to get it done and get out of there, but I stayed present. I kept my sense of humour, was polite and kind with the overworked staff, navigated it all and went about the rest of my day.

It wasn't until Tuesday that I even remembered that I used to have panic attacks there!

Permanent and Lasting Change

This isn't the most magical story I could tell you from 500 days of meditation, but I am astounded at how things just leave without me knowing it!

Real, permanent change. 501 days ago, I would NEVER have predicted how light my heart feels, how well I sleep, and how many like-minded people are now in my life.

What is so gone from your life you can barely remember it being there?