Tim Ryan – The Art of Mindfulness in Politics

One World with Deepak Chopra – Congressman Tim Ryan

Congressman Tim Ryan: The Art of Mindfulness in Politics

Congressman Tim Ryan of Ohio has been serving in the House of Representatives since 2003, has run six successful reelection campaigns and serves on a number of different House Committees including the Committee on Armed Services and the Budget Committee. So it is no surprise that he has some experience with stress. In his new book, “A Mindful Nation,” Congressman Tim Ryan explores the ways that mindfulness and quiet contemplation can help give Americans back the American dream.

Congressman Ryan attributes much of his interest in mindfulness to his Catholic upbringing but throughout his life he continued to explore mindfulness in its various forms. “When I got to Congress, things got really hectic. I knew the days that I practiced meditation that I was better,” he explained to Deepak Chopra in their One World interview. “I was more focused, I could concentrate, I was more creative, I was a better listener, all of the benefits you normally hear about but I couldn’t get myself to do it every day.”

It wasn’t until 2008, on a mindfulness retreat that Tim Ryan was able to fully immerse himself in this personal reflection. Ryan compares the feeling that he was finally able to achieve when his mind and body were in the same place at the same time as being much like an athlete who is “in the zone.” It was this realization that made him certain that every American could benefit from spending time focused on the health of their minds.

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Congressman Tim Ryan Deepak Chopra mindfulness One World Tim Ryan

Deepak Chopra

DEEPAK CHOPRA MD, FACP, is the author of more than 80 books translated into over 43 languages, including numerous New York Times bestsellers. Chopra is the co-author with Rudolph Tanzi of the New York Times bestseller, Super Brain. He serves as an Adjunct Professor at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, Adjunct Professor at Columbia Business School, Columbia University, Assistant Clinical Professor, in the Family and Preventive Medicine Department at the University of California, San Diego, Health Sciences, and Senior Scientist with The Gallup Organization.