Dusty’s Story, Part 1

the U. S. Army for twenty years. The last fourteen of those years were spent as a U. S. Army Airborne Ranger in the Airborne Division, which meant he was a member of an elite infantry fighting force that specialized in raids deep inside enemy territory. He was doing what he was trained to do, doing what he believed in, and he did it well, but it came at a massive price. When he left the military, he suffered from what doctors at the local v A hospital would call

PTSD post traumatic stress disorder. Twice divorced, battling alcoholism, depressed, with no family and no real job, Dusty was hurtling across Florida on his motorcycle one day, headed nowhere when he stopped at a bar for something to eat and drink. It was then that something miraculous happened. He went to put a quarter in a jukebox, but without his glasses, he couldn't read the tiny text of the music offerings. He looked across the barroom floor and spotted a woman

sitting by herself. Mustering up some courage, he walked over to her and asked for her assistance. There was something special about her, something genuine. She wasn't like anyone Dusty had ever met. They ended up exchanging phone numbers. Dusty opened up a bit about his experiences growing up with an Alcoho Hallock father, his experiences in the army. They went on a few dates. Then Charlone said something Dusty

never in a million years expected to hear. I'm going to give you a gift, she said, and it's totally your choice if you want to accept it. But if you don't, I can't continue to see you. You've got some serious issues you need to address, and I can't do it for you. The gift Charlyne was offering Dusty was the opportunity to learn to meditate. Now, I'm going to interrupt my story here to say that when Dusty told me this, even I thought it was a bit much. Army ranger with PTSD meets a woman in a bar

who tells him he needs to learn to meditate. Come on, I mean, I know meditation is going mainstream, but this was a little much. Charlton said she'd been meditating since she was four years old. It had changed her life. Dusty pushed back. At least inside alcohol was his choice of meditation, not some mantra. But he was really drawn

to Charlyne, really loved her. He mustered up all the courage he could and rode two hours on his motorcycle to the nearest teacher of transcendental meditation in Florida, doubting his decision all the way, but he did it. His first meditation was so profoundly relaxing, so incredibly peaceful, that he went home and slept for twelve straight hours. Now this was a guy who only managed to sleep a

few hours total in a week. Dusty meditated regularly twenty minutes twice a day every day, sometimes with Charlyne, but often on his own. His life began to turn around. He slept better, stopped abusing alcohol and drugs, started exercising, started connecting with old friends. He thought about the future for the first time, and who knows how long and something else happened that would change his life again. He attended a reunion of his eighty second Airborne Ranger Division.

He saw some of his old buddies for the first time in years. It mainly saw how many of his old buddies were not there, how many had taken their own lives, mustered up some more courage, got up and spoke about his new life, about meditation, about his future. Afterwards, many of his buddies said, can you teach me to meditate?

Dusty wasn't trained as a transcendental meditation teacher, but he vowed to himself that that's what he would do with his life, trained to be a meditation teacher and bring it to his fellow vets men and women who were suffering so much. But we're falling hard to the cracks. He knew meditation was not the only tool of vet would need to heal the hidden wounds of war, but it was a necessary one, and he wanted to be

the one to lead the charge. Now I'm going to have to pause here, but in my next podcast, I'm going to tell you the rest of my story about Dusty, former U. S. Army Airborne ranger and now TM teacher, and how he's bringing meditation and other healing tools to thousands and thousands of veterans and their families. It's one of the most inspiring stories I've ever heard. But for now, I want to share with you my health tip of

the day. It's something I learned from Dusty. If you're going through a challenging time something we're all facing during this coronavirus, and if you feel things are spinning out of control, then one piece of advice from all the experts, including Dusty himself, is to hold on to something you can control. In this case, hold onto your routine. Yes, it's as simple but as profound as that. Set a bedtime and hold to it, and set a time to get out of bed in the morning, and hold to it.

Eat at a set time, follow the clock. They call it self regulation. All right, let's end this time together doing something that I think should be a feature of our everyday life, and that's appreciation and gratitude. So let's take thirty seconds of quiet, thirty seconds to take a break, Just take a moment. It turns out when we do that, it's good for our else as well. I'll be right back all right. Thank you for joining. This is Bob Roth.

Keep calm, Thanks for listening today. I hope you heard something that inspires, that uplifts you and that you can incorporate into your own life. Until next time, remember, meditate, be kind, and be true to yourself. Hey, all of you out there, I'd love to hear from you. You can send me your stories, your questions, or anything else on your mind. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram at meditation Bob. You can also send me an email at meditation Bob Roth at gmail dot com.

I look forward to hearing from you.