Attending Your First #BlogHer’12 Conference? Above All Else, Remember to Breathe!

Editor’s Note: Last summer I attended my first blogging conference at BlogHer’11 in sunny San Diego. This was the post I wrote prior to attending. For all the pomp and circumstance that builds prior to a BlogHer conference, for those that are attending for the first time – all I can offer is this – leave worry at the door, smile, extend your hand and be open to the possibilities (and people!) that await.

I have chosen not to attend BlogHer’12 and will rely on your blog posts to keep me up to date. And when all else fails – BREATHE!!

I have a confession to make.

I am in recovery.

Recovery from worry.

By nature, I’ve always been a worrier. I know, it’s not one of my better features, and worrying aimlessly has certainly shaped how I formerly viewed the world. I’m not exactly sure how or when I learned that “worried energy is wasted energy” but I am forever glad I did.

Worry begets worry and doesn’t resolve the issue – worry – at hand. Worry focuses on the “what if’s” not the moment at hand. Worry is a slippery slope and once you allow it under your feet, regaining your balance is akin to getting silly-string back into the can.

Even though I have learned to place worry on its own lonely shelf, all the forward progress in the world can be thrown out the window when crossed with an annual conference of 3,000+ high-caliber, intelligent, world-changing bloggers.

Then, all “worry-hell” breaks loose.

Immediately, I am back on the 4th grade playground watching all the other kids having fun on the merry-go-round.

I love the merry-go-round.

I want to ride on the merry-go-ground, but am too terrified to ask. Too worried about the answer.

What if they say no?

What if they laugh and keep spinning faster and faster and faster, taunting, “Ha, ha stupid blogger. You cannot join our merry-go-round party.”

Deep breath.

Stop the worry madness. Stop the merry-go-round.

Worry takes control only when I allow it the power.

Which brings me to my savior. Words that keep my feet planted firmly on the ground, and stops my head from spinning round like the out-of-control merry-go-round in my imagination.

The words belong to Eckhart Tolle from his world-renowned book, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose, and his discussion of how to “create space and be present.” Here’s an excerpt from Tolle:

Being aware of your breath forces you into the present moment – the key to all inner transformation. Whenever you are conscious of the breath, you are absolutely present. 

You may also notice than you cannot think and be aware of your breathing. Conscious breath stops your mind. You are not falling below thinking, but rising above it. And if you look more closely, you will find that those two things-coming fully into the present moment and ceasing thinking without loss of consciousness-are actually one and the same: the arising of space consciousness. 

If I were to meet Eckart Tolle, I’d kiss him square on the mouth. He has eased my need for worry by simply helping me focus on the moment that counts. This one.

So, don’t worry if you see a gal taking deep cleansing breaths in the halls of BlogHer. She is not thinking, but she is present. {And she is presently not worrying! Go ahead, interrupt and say hello! I’ll welcome the break from my non-worrying “being present” breathing exercises to meet a fellow high-caliber, intelligent, world-changing blogger.}