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My 40 Days Diary: Week 1

The 40 Days Diaries: Week One

By: Megan Donnelly

This week marked my immersion in the 40 Days to Personal Revolution program at Evolution. 40 Days is a program designed by Baron Baptiste that has the power to bring you to your personal revolution via daily practice, meditation, and nutritional wellness. Participants go on a journey of self-inquiry to build a balanced lifestyle. We meet collectively as a group once a week to foster a community and offer accountability to each other. I am documenting and sharing my reflections, as I complete the program, in this blog series: The 40 Days Diaries.

This week focused on presence. At our group meeting, our practice served as an awakening to bring us into our bodies and our breath. We completed a short twenty-minute practice towards the beginning of the group meeting. Afterward, I really felt a sense of clarity. The lights were starting to turn on! I was starting to see habits I engage in that prohibit me from being fully present. A eureka moment for me was when our group leader started a conversation about presence as showing vulnerability. She asked us: Why be vulnerable? I tried to look for the answer to this question in myself and came to the realization that for me, I want to show my vulnerability to build meaningful connections with others and ultimately practice radical empathy. I think that I need to be willing to come apart, in this specific way, to be fully present.

We also discussed being present while eating. Our group leader encouraged us to taste every bite and think about why we are eating what we are eating. This week we took notice of the processed food, alcohol, and refined sugar we were eating. We also took notice of what food works for us. I already eat pretty healthily. I am a vegetarian, cook at home a majority of the time and practice eating intuitively. However, one big takeaway for me is that I tend to reach for processed snacks like chips and popcorn if I stay awake past 10:30 pm. I also noticed that I reach for coffee when I have to produce something such as a piece of writing, a project or a craft. I also want caffeine around 2 pm when I start to hit a wall of fatigue at work. I was able to figure out that whole grains like 12-grain bread, brown rice and pasta really work for me, as well as free range poached eggs, vegan Caesar salads, and homemade vegan soups. Eating out, in any capacity, was not working for me. I felt bloated and fatigued the one time this week that I ate out.

After the group session, I responded to the week’s journal prompt. The journal prompt brought forward both limiting and expanding beliefs I had to my conscious mind. These beliefs fit into the categories of my body, my relationships, my work, spirituality, sex, and money. It was thought-provoking to write these beliefs down, as they are usually buried somewhere deep in my thoughts. Taking notice of these beliefs allowed me to see where they were coming up in areas of my daily interactions with others and my self-talk. The prompt also gave me the opportunity to identify times in my life when I am fully present, as well as areas where I am hiding under a lack of presence. I discovered that being present can provide opportunities for self-inquiry that ultimately bring you into your power by illuminating the road map to your highest self. 

My biggest take away from this week is that there is beauty in the surrender. I am learning to surrender the habits which are not serving my highest self. I can see which habits these are when I am awake, present and seek the truth. Overall, I think that my first week was a success and I’m looking forward to what next week holds. I already feel so much more in alignment with my truth after one week, it’s exciting to think about where I will be after the program is finished. Stay tuned for 40 Days Diaries: Week 2!

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