Season 1 – MC01: Just Be with Caren Baginski

What this episode covers

Caren Baginski is a certified yoga instructor, writer and creator of You Again Yoga, and a wonderful human being who overcame deep depression through dedicated yoga and meditation practice. In Episode 1 of The Mindful Creator, Caren and I explore presence in the context of creating, why presence is so damn important, and ways we can begin to cultivate presence in our creative processes and our lives. Link Love Why you don’t need closure to start over – Caren Baginski The real reason for coming to your yoga mat – Caren Baginski Russell Simmons: 3 Simple Ways Meditation Will Make You a Better Entrepreneur – Russell Simmons, Entrepreneur. Happiness is Presence – Brett Henley In this episode * Our struggles with being present as writers/artists/creators and understanding that it’s okay to be in this“grey area” between where want to be and where we are. * Caren’s transition into a full-time creator and how she’s coming to terms with the fact that there will always be things to wait on, beginnings and ends. * Caren defines presence as “letting in” rather than letting go. Spending more time in the ease by consciously choosing to be there – i.e. showing up and realizing that life is just easier when you’re present. * Why cultivating presence is like exercising a muscle. It takes patience. * The desire for true connection that we don’t get when we’re not present. * Navigating the duality of creating for recognition and just losing ourselves in the process (i.e. being conscious of where you want to go while also being in the moment and fully aware of what you are doing). * Why we search for healthy creative habits and processes in all the wrong places – productivity hacking, formulas, etc. * How Caren reversed the script on her distracting and debilitating self talk – evolving from victim to being in charge – through yoga and meditation practice. * Why you shouldn’t make “awareness” part of your to-do list. * Russell Simmons, founder of Def Jam, on his mindfulness practice: ” I don’t do shit till I meditate.” * Learning to recognize our “mindlessness” triggers that send us drifting into the recesses of our minds and establishing physical and mental anchors to bring us back. * Admitting that we can’t always measure how our effort will translate to the end product. We may think we have a beat on success, but we don’t always know what the end will look like. * In the age of noise and opportunity walking hand in hand, we are our own gatekeepers. Our minds are the only things holding us back. * How examining our priorities to shave away what doesn’t serve us or our creations can help us focus more on right now. * Having the willingness to start, no matter how small of a practice, to pave that path to presence.   Thanks for listening! If you can please take a moment to subscribe and leave an honest rating and review of the show on iTunes, it will help improve our ranking and discoverability so that we can reach more people. Subscribe on iTunes   To subscribe/leave a review: Click the “View in iTunes” bu...

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