For the fourth installment of the Mayor’s Mental Wellness Series, American writer and poet Brianna Wiest joined Mayor Lili Bosse in conversation outside of Beverly Hills City Hall on Nov. 4. Known for her writing on mindfulness, spirituality, and emotional intelligence, Wiest is the author of the international bestselling book “101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think,” as well as “The Mountain Is You,” “Ceremony,” and more. Her books have sold over 1 million copies around the world and have been translated into over 20 languages. Her most recent book, “When You’re Ready, This Is How You Heal,” published in January, is a collection of meditations on the concept of healing, and conscious inner growth in the wake of sudden loss.
At age 30, Wiest told the audience that, “wisdom is a product of self-inquiry, not time, not age.” Wiest draws on lived experience in her books, noting “everything that I write about is something that I once profoundly struggled with.”
She offered up a piece of advice to remember: practice the pause. “When we take a pause between what we feel and what we think and how we react, we actually come into an ability to more consciously create our lives,” Wiest said. “And that’s what the choice is. The choice is, am I going to react on autopilot to numb, avoid, resist, move away from this feeling? Or am I just going to pause, sit with it for just a moment and listen, let it pass, bring myself back to neutral and then with awareness, decide how I want to move forward.”
Bosse’s Mental Wellness Series made its debut in July with Dr. Edith Eger, a world-renowned trauma expert, international bestselling author, and Holocaust survivor. She was joined by her daughter, Dr. Marianne Engle, a respected and accomplished licensed clinical psychologist and sports psychologist. One of the central themes of the evening was the importance of freeing oneself from destructive thoughts and patterns.
The second installment of the series took on a totally different form, that of a community dance party. Residents came together, set aside inhibitions, and danced their cares away to an array of DJ-led tunes outside the steps of City Hall.
The most recent event in the series was a conversation with the legendary Dr. Deepak Chopra. The bestselling author, alternative medicine expert, and pioneer in the mindfulness movement discussed what he called a “happiness formula,” focusing on overall wellness and a pandemic of joy.
Bosse presented Chopra with a resolution from the city of Beverly Hills pronouncing each Sept. 23 “Deepak Chopra Day.”
