The Art of Organizing; Nicole Gabai

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Thursday Sep 21, 2023

The Art of Organizing; Nicole Gabai

Thursday Sep 21, 2023

Nicole Gabai is the author of the best-selling book The Art of Organizing: An Artful Guide to an Organized Life. She also founded ‘B. Organized' in 1999 and is a Golden Circle member of NAPO – National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals.
Nicole's unique 6-step organizing system, The Gabai Principles, helps people move from feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or afraid of change to feeling happier and more productive so they can move on with their life!
In 1989, Nicole received a BFA in Textile Design from the Fashion Institute of Technology, worked as a textile designer in NYC, and attended Parsons School of Design.

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Contact Info

Website: www.B-Organized.net
Book: The Art of Organizing: An Artful Guide to an Organized Life by Nicole Gabai

Most Influential Person

Pema Chodron (Buddhist teacher, author, nun and mother)

Effect on Emotions

Well, I've learned that thoughts create a feeling.
So if I'm feeling this way, anxious, angry, sad, whichever, I look at my thoughts. Like, what am I thinking about? What's making my feelings this?
And then I realize I am in charge. I can change the thought. And then I change my feeling. And that changes the emotion around it.
So that is all from meditation that I've learned this.

Thoughts on Breathing

I've always known that breathing is important, but I had a brain tumor six years ago, and I needed to go in for surgery, and it just shattered my world.
It was incredibly scary. And I had a friend who was studying mindfulness, and she said she'd come over three times a week for a couple of months before the surgery, and she was going to help me with breathing.
And I was like, how are we going to do that many hours about breathing? Like you go in, you go out. And she said no, you're going to see.
So she taught me a lot about breathing. And one of the exercises is called Sweet 16. I use it whenever I'm getting anxious, I just take that pause. So basically it's. You take a deep breath in and a deep breath out, and then you hold your breath for four seconds, or the count of four beats.
Then you inhale for four beats, hold it for four beats, and then you let the air out for four beats, and hold it for four. So you hold for four, inhale for four, hold it for four, exhale for four. And you start again.
And that was incredibly important. Even though I'm an artist, I do enjoy structure.
So the breathing is what gives me the focus when I'm meditating so that when I do have a fleeting thought, I can be like, Oh, look, there was a thought, or if I have a feeling that comes up, Oh, look at that feeling; okay, let's keep breathing.

Suggested Resources

Book: When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron
Book: The Artists Way by Julia Cameron
Book: The Art of Organizing: An Artful Guide to an Organized Life by Nicole Gabai
App: Insight Timer

Bullying Story

I am currently in a situation where I've been dealing with a lot of bullying.
And in the beginning it was painful because I took it personally and thought, Oh my gosh, what is wrong with me? And it definitely has shifted for me with my meditations because I'm learning in meditation that my thoughts do not define me. My feelings do not define me. Those are all passing things. And my being stays intact no matter what.
And that's where the non-judgment comes in. That's where the self-acceptance comes in. And then the bullying doesn't hurt so much anymore. It's not pleasant. But you know what? I have a distance from it now. I can put distance between myself and that person.
And what I've learned is, The bullying that's happening is really about that person. It's how they feel about themselves. It's how they talk to themselves. That's really what it is.
It's not about me. And that is through meditation. I've been able to learn that with experiencing when I'm in meditation, now I can bring it to my life and say, wow, that person really has a hard time because look at what they're saying and doing.

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