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.

When I sat down to write my memoir, Faithfully Religionless,

I started feeling sorry for myself every time I was tempted to describe my childhood as difficult traumatic, tragic or unfair.

So I challenged myself to still recount the events and experiences from my past, but to do it without using any adjectives,

and I actually managed to sidestep the slippery slope of victim mentality and to prevent a free fall

into the abyss of depression.

A friend recently compared her pain of grief to discovering a large hole in the ground that she kept falling into at first,

but now, even though the hole is still there, she has learned to walk around it.

This practice doesn't deny, ignore, or even minimize the past.

It still acknowledges everything that happened, but it doesn't sensationalize it, and oh, what a difference that makes.

You can then speak or write about experiences from your past, a breakup, an injustice, or a loss, without any anger, resentment, or even judgment.

Think of it like stepping out of a movie theater and explaining to a friend what happened on the screen.

You would be able to describe each scene, but you would

have no emotional reaction or attachment to it because it is over and done. You are now safe and everything

is okay. As long as and everything is okay.

As long as the narrator in your head keeps calling and recalling what happened in your life devastating or traumatic,

you would continue to be devastated or traumatized. This can wreak

havoc on your present and future. So next time you share a story of a past

experience with someone, try doing it without adjectives to see how the story is still true without needing to be sensationalized.

By tapping into the strength with which you made it through everything in your life so far,

you access the same strength that will carry you through whatever

comes next.

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