As we approach the one year anniversary of this pandemic and our isolated lives, I wanted to share a conversation that’s near and dear to my heart. I recently sat down with a friend of mine, Ceasar F. Barajas. Caesar and I connected through lululemon and I think you’ll understand why we’ve kept in touch all these years by listening to this episode of the podcast.
There’s a lot of important things we discuss in this episode and it feels really different from the conversations I’ve had previously here. I hope you’ll take many things away from this podcast episode but first and foremost is compassion. As Ceasar states, “Take a second, take a deep breath, and realize we have no clue what anyone else is going through”.
Here are some of the things we talked about in our conversation that I hope will be of a helpful resource to you:
As a navy veteran who has started to take an interest in yoga, it was just happenstance that he would run into Deb Jeannette at a 2015 Wanderlust Yoga Festival which has helped him become what he describes as “a conscious veteran”.
Ceasar helps to break the stigma surrounding issues we all face, such as what’s commonly known as PTSD. He helps to normalize these issues and as you’ll hear on the podcast, humanize them as well. As he says, “post-traumatic stress is the body’s normal reaction to stress”. I really appreciate the way Ceasar challenges calling it a “disorder” and would like us to move away from the negative connotation associated with it.
To many, the ideas of meditation and mindfulness can be challenging concepts to connect with. I really appreciate the conversation we have about this. As he puts it, “mindfulness is overcomplicated by so many people in its simplest form it’s just pausing, reflecting, noticing, feeling. Meditation is nothing but mindful thinking.” Mindfulness doesn’t necessarily mean sitting in stillness but it can be as simple as taking on a moving meditation practice as he learned more about by studying Thích Nhất Hạnh. It may seem trivial but something as simple as washing dishes can be meditative. As Caesar puts so well, “you don’t need time, you need a moment.”
I hope this conversation changes your views on the aforementioned topics and also helps you reflect on where you’re at in this present moment. If you’re not OK, that’s OK. We mention Brene Brown in this episode and I firmly believe what she says is true: “Courage is born out of vulnerability, not strength.” Caesar had the courage to be vulnerable here on this podcast and I want to thank him for that and of course his friendship.
If you’re looking to connect with Caesar you can check him out at: https://thejourneywithceasar.com/.
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