Recently, basketball star, Demar DeRozen shared his struggles with depression. Pretty brave for a young Black man to expose himself and tell the world that he struggles with mental health because in our community that’s often a taboo subject. We either don’t talk about it, call it being crazy, try to pray it away or act it out in physical, financial or other destructive ways.
Between the real men don’t cry and the strong Black women syndromes, Black people may feel ashamed or embarrassed to reveal the truth about what’s really going on.
And I believe that too many of us are so accustomed to living a life of feeling “just okay” or full of ups and downs, that we don’t realize that although those feelings may be common, they aren’t normal.
Meaning, just existing or getting by isn’t enough. We can do better. It doesn’t have to be that way.
I get it. Things happen! There’s loss. Heartbreak. Financial problems. Family drama. Work and career issues. Let me ask you, during those times, do you feel solid, optimistic and clear about what’s next or do you feel confused, scared, worried and overwhelmed?
Are you so stressed that you can’t sleep? Do you get irritable and short tempered? Maybe you feel a little down, depressed or feel like you lost your umph; your mojo?
Sometimes it may almost feel like it’s natural to get down when things are doing down, I know. I so get it. It can be so tempting to go with the wave of sadness and get caught up in your problems. You keep thinking about your problems and soon, that’s all you think about. Even when you have the smile on your face, inside–not so much.
You may even start having physical symptoms, anxiety, headaches, lethargy, loss of appetite or compulsive eating. What if there’s another way? What if there’s a way to feel positive, optimistic, hopeful, no matter what’s going on around you?
I believe, no- I know that there is. I know because it’s happened to me, more times that I can count now. But believe me when I tell you that it wasn’t always like that. When things went left, I went left; full of worry, anxiety, short tempered, impatient, depressed, and on and on. I remember there was a period that I called the sleepless years. I had a lot of loss and heartaches and it felt like I could not get a good night’s sleep. It wasn’t cute.
It wasn’t until I started to meditate regularly, consistently and continually, especially when things were off, that things started to change. It was sort of like a domino effect. There were other factors that helped, of course, but meditation definitely played a starring role. I started to see how I could change my own mood. Not just superficially, but genuinely. I mean for real- for real.
And now, I feel genuinely happy and excited and hopeful about life. And even when things appear to be going wrong, it may throw me off a little, but it doesn’t take much for me to get back in my bliss groove. I now know exactly what to do. It’s been a long journey and an amazing blessing to me.
And that’s why I want to share the gift of meditation with you too. Because I know from my own experience it works and I know that the science and research supports the notion that meditation can actually re-wire our brains and cause miraculous changes in our lives. When that happens, life can be what we make it. We just have to know what to do.
Do you know what to do to feel optimistic, blissful and excited about your life?
If not, imagine if you did. Wouldn’t that be amazing? If you aren’t a regular and consistent meditator, have started and stopped countless times, maybe its worth giving a try. Aren’t you and the amazing life waiting for you worth it?
I know you are and that and that’s why I am starting a 5-Week online meditation course this Sunday. Now let me say this. If you feel whatever you’re going through is too big for you to handle alone, don’t go it alone, get help. There are clinic psychologists, psychiatrists and other professionals trained to help serious mental health issues. Get the help you need. What I’m saying is that whether you decide to get clinical treatment or not, meditation will definitely help. It’s not an either or situation. Meditation can be used alone and it can help support you in whatever treatment you seek.
Starting this Sunday for 5 weeks, we will explore 5 different types of meditation, build a solid meditation practice all online from the comfort of your home. The beautiful thing is that its live and will also be recorded so you can watch it any time during the course. And the best part is, it’s only $57—for the entire course.
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