After I graduated from college, I spent five years in bed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and another five years not far from it. I saw therapists; I read books. I felt sorry for myself. And for a long time, I thought I was unhappy because I was sick. It felt like everyone else had a “normal life,” and I’d been dealt a bad hand.
Gradually my health improved. The turning point was spending a year being silent, “doing nothing”—a meditation technique—while having weekly conversations with retired psychologist and human nature guru Don Morrison.
Nothing has been the same since. In a good way.
I’d meditated before. I knew about mindfulness. I’d had all the therapy. It has helped, but nothing gave me as significant a shift as actively doing nothing.
I came to have a clear understanding of the mind’s agenda. And even better than that, I got to tap into the wise, calm, loving bit of me beneath my mind.
From then on, the world looked different: It was easier to make decisions and take leaps, I wasn’t as affected by what others thought, and I felt better about myself, regardless of what was happening in my life.
Learning how doing nothing helps you tap into your powerful and wise inner guidance system was like discovering a new limb. As if I’d been walking around with one arm my whole life, which was doable but tricky. Then someone said, “Hey, you’ve got another arm!”
Now life was manageable. Exhilarating.
At first, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life, but gradually, clarity came (it always does).
Since then, I’ve been helping people apply these insights to their life. The big beautiful truth is that you don’t need to spend a year being silent as I did. By understanding the true nature of your mind, plus adding more space and doing nothing to your life, things shift. Big things!
I’d love to show you how.
It is easy to over-intellectualize and miss the point when dealing with being human. My teachings are simple, accessible for any age, and have far-reaching benefits.
I am the co-author/illustrator of Whose Mind is It Anyway, I have a master’s degree in science, I regularly guest blog on Tinybuddha.com, and my first e-book was downloaded over 12,000 times. I grew up in New Zealand and now live in the U.S. with my daughter and husband, Franco (co-author of Whose Mind Is It Anyway?).
You can contact me by emailing: lisa at lisaesile dot com.