Welcome to the Buddhist Boot Camp Podcast. Our intention is to awaken, enlighten, enrich, and inspire a simple and uncomplicated life. Discover the benefits of mindful living with your host, Timber Hawkeye.

Even though I generally fare better in quiet places with very few people so that I don't get over-stimulated or overwhelmed I do often find myself in loud crowded areas which I can handle in small

increments if I bring a pair of ear plugs and a plan to regain my balance with some solitude later in the day.

But I had a dream the other night where I was trapped in a crowded room with way too many people,

all of whom were very loud, angry, and screaming while I was desperately

trying to remain calm in the midst of it all without noise cancelling headphones or any end in sight.

And with me being somewhere on the spectrum, it wouldn't be a far stretch

to call that a nightmare. I woke up sweating profusely, heart pounding ridiculously fast

in the midst of a full-blown anxiety attack, somehow simultaneously grasping for air and breathing

heavily at the same time. And all of that was from a dream. I wasn't in a loud crowded room. I was in bed comfortably tucked under the covers in blissful quiet solitude. So why was I freaking out? This reminded me of what you've probably heard me mentioned before or read in my books

about a guided meditation exercise in which a group of us was first asked to recall

the saddest moment in our lives in great detail and then the happiest

moment we could recall as we shifted from quietly crying to giggling to ourselves

even though we were just sitting in a quiet room with no external stimuli. The only thing that changed

was what was going on in our heads. So when I woke up from that nightmare,

exhibiting physical symptoms as if I was actually in that uncomfortable situation, I reminded myself of what I already know,

that I can be alone in my room fighting a panic attack or in the middle of Manhattan during

rush hour yet calm as a Hindu cow. It all depends on my state of mind.

Where I am physically and where I am in my mind has nothing to do with one another.

And since where I am in my mind is not only far more important but

also the only thing within my control I guided myself back to where I wanted to be

and actually already were safely in bed with no one around.

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