What is ZenSmarts? - Meredith Hooke

“What is wrong with me?”

I was anxious, overwhelmed and stressed out of my mind.

I went to therapists on and off for years and was prescribed anti-depressants.

I read self-help book after self-help book. “Maybe this one will do it.”

For a while they did help, but I’d always fall back into the same old patterns.

“What is wrong with me?”

I was anxious, overwhelmed and stressed out of my mind.

I went to therapists on and off for years and was prescribed anti-depressants.

I read self-help book after self-help book. “Maybe this one will do it.”

For a while they did help, but I’d always fall back into the same old patterns.

I was anxious, overwhelmed and stressed out of my mind.

I went to therapists on and off for years and was prescribed anti-depressants.

I read self-help book after self-help book. “Maybe this one will do it.”

For a while they did help, but I’d always fall back into the same old patterns.

I just couldn’t turn the negative thoughts off.

When I’d be driving to work I would think about an upcoming meeting I had that morning, worrying over the outcome.

When I was in the meeting I’d be thinking about all the emails I had to return. When I was returning emails my mind would then pull me back to the meeting. It would go on and on like this all day!

I was never where I was supposed to be.

There was always this tension inside where I felt like things just weren’t quite right.

So off my mind would go, endlessly searching for problems, never allowing me to be comfortable with where I was at that moment.

Often after a long day at work in the financial industry, I’d turn to self-medicating just to get some relief from constantly feeling anxious.

Maybe you’re familiar with this story?

From the outside your life looks pretty good. But inside, you just feel miserable.

The demands of highly-stressful jobs can take a terrible toll on our mental and overall health.

Something had to change. I had to change.

Out of sheer desperation and a gut instinct, I tried meditation in the late 90’s.

Even though it was completely foreign to me and there was little mainstream information about meditation at the time – I just had this feeling that maybe this could help.

And it changed my life.

There was nothing wrong with me other than the fact that I didn’t know how to control my thoughts.

I did have a stressful job and I let that stress take over every part of my life.

Through the practice of meditation, I learned a framework to understand my mind, my thoughts, my emotions, and how to respond to situations in a way that kept me balanced.

It wasn’t long after I began to meditate that I gave up the therapist and anti-depressants for good.

I stayed in the financial industry another 13 years, and my career reached the pinnacle of stress as a partner and trader at a hedge fund.

In 2008, as the financial markets were in free fall, I could see the fear and panic wanting to arise in me.

These were crazy times and no one had seen anything like it.

But instead of panicking, I remained calm and focused.

I could never have done that without my meditation practice.

It wasn’t long after I began to meditate that I gave up the therapist and anti-depressants for good.

I stayed in the financial industry another 15 years, and my career reached the pinnacle of stress as a partner and trader at a hedge fund.

In 2008, as the financial markets were in free fall, I could see the fear and panic wanting to arise in me.

These were crazy times and no one had seen anything like it.

But instead of panicking, I remained calm and focused.

I could never have done that without my meditation practice.

A few years later, our hedge fund became the lead plaintiff in 2 class action lawsuits. I worked very closely with the lead attorney on our case.

After working together for about 6 months, she flew down to our offices to interview us. She remarked to me that out of the many people in the financial industry that she had worked with, I was the calmest person she’d ever seen – what was my secret?!

I told her it was meditation, at which point she mentioned she had tried it but it never stuck.

Her job was demanding, often overwhelming, and she was stressed most of the time.

I had taught meditation in the past, so I offered to help her and see if we could make it stick.

Her name is Pamela Markert. She was one of my first clients and you can read her testimonial here!

Yes, her job is still demanding, but she isn’t overwhelmed by it and now handles her workload more easily.

My practice was and is my rock.

Since I started over two decades ago, I have done many intensive silent meditation retreats in India, Nepal, Australia, and many parts of the US.

There was even a period of time I was sure I wanted to become a Buddhist nun. I left my long-term boyfriend, packed everything up and moved to a monastery.

In the end I didn’t stay very long but looking back it was a necessary step for me to come back to a more balanced approach and create a life that truly works for me.

After the monastery I bought an RV and traveled, keeping my spiritual practice at the center of my life. I still live a simple, contemplative life, but am more firmly planted now in my home in Baja Mexico.

I enjoy living on my own, immersing myself in my practice, and helping others to find their way on this path.

While I may have left the professional world and traditional ways of the West, I have a deep understanding of the stress those worlds bring and an arsenal of tools to combat it.

If you had told me 25 years ago that I was going to transform my anxiety to peace, separation to connection, fear to love, I would have thought you were crazy. I teach this path not because I think it’s possible, but because I know it is.

Life doesn’t have to be a struggle.

The wisdom teachings and practices I’ve learned over the years are so powerful that they can really carry you through any situation helping you to remain peaceful and calm no matter what is going on.

Peace of mind is what everyone wants. You don’t have to give up your successful life to be peaceful but you do need to learn a new skillset. One you weren’t taught in school.

Learn to take back control of your mind. It’s the secret to a happy life.

You can begin instantly.

Click the button below to get my FREE 8-Week eCourse, Peaceful Minds for Busy Lives. I’ll walk you through the processes of immediately taking back control of your mind whenever you’re feeling stressed out.