 On Tuesday, May 29th, Starbucks is closing thousands of stores to train their employees on unconscious bias because two black men were arrested about a month ago in Philadelphia for sitting and waiting for a business meeting and not buying anything yet. So in this video, we're going to talk about what is unconscious bias? Is this training actually going to benefit the employees and what you can do to overcome your unconscious bias? So make sure that you stay tuned. What is up, everybody? This is Chris from the Rewired Soul, where we talk about the problem, but focus on the solution. And today's problem is unconscious bias. So those of you who haven't kept up with the news, basically two African American gentlemen were waiting at Starbucks for a business meeting and they hadn't bought anything yet. And they asked for the code to go to the bathroom. They were told no, even though a white man was able to go in there without buying anything. So they sat waiting for their meeting. And without warning, one of the employees called the police. These two men were arrested. The CEO felt terrible about this. He made a few statements. And the men, rather than like suing the city or suing Starbucks, they asked for $1, $1. And then the rest was donated to inner city kids in Philadelphia, like class act. That's amazing. So anyways, they're closing down all these stores to do unconscious bias training. And like, I want to talk about this because I don't think it's going to be very beneficial to the employees in the long run. And I'll explain why, but do me a favor and share this video, because all of us, all of us have unconscious bias. And it is awful for our society in a variety of different ways. Okay. So I hope this video benefits you, but I hope it helps other people as well. All right. So anyways, Starbucks released what they're going to be doing. And they sent out some information to the employees, but they're having some speakers do like an online kind of training about unconscious bias. The rapper common is going to share some of his experience. So, okay, it's cool. It's cool that they're being made aware of what African American men go through, as well as other people go through, right? And when we have this unconscious bias, we don't even know that we're doing it. Some of you might have heard that some people, they are hurt. They're hurt when they see people when they're walking past them on the street, like clutch their purse or like hold their wallet and things like that. And these are all unconscious. They're happening right underneath the surface. We don't even realize that they're happening. So the first step to solving any problem is acknowledging that there is a problem and becoming aware of the problem. But unconscious bias is just that it's unconscious and you need to train your brain to do it. So this video is actually about mindfulness meditation. Being more mindful is training your brain to understand what's happening to you on a moment to moment basis. Okay. So I've been training my mind and mindfulness for years now. And since I'm constantly paying attention to how I'm feeling, what thoughts are going through my head, what my body is doing in different situations. I notice when I'm being biased myself. So for example, the neighborhood I live in, I notice that I do certain things when different people are around. If it's dark and someone's walking, you know, towards me, I might hurry up and get in my car or I might drive around the block once if somebody's like sitting outside of my apartment for some weird reason. Like I would live in a weird neighborhood, by the way, in case you think this YouTube lifestyle is extremely glamorous, which is not yet. But I notice myself doing these things. Okay. And part of it is, is that I notice like, do I do this differently around African American people than I do white people? And it's even weirder because I'm actually half African American, but to the naked eye, I don't really look it, you know. So I ask myself, and there's great news. I'm actually just as cautious around white people as I am black people. So you go, Chris. But where else does this affect you? Do you happen to think without even realizing it that men are better than women, right? Do you have unconscious bias towards gay people or lesbians or transgender people? A lot of these things are happening and you don't even realize it. So in case you're not following me here, let's do a quick experiment. Do me a favor, pause this video, go somewhere where you can just sit down for just a second. We're going to do a one minute meditation experiment. Okay. All right. You back. Okay. So do me a favor and just get comfortable real quick. Okay. Now let's go ahead and close our eyes and take a few deep inhales in and out and just kind of get a sense of what your body feels like right now. Maybe your feet touching the floor or the way your body is rested on the chair, the way your stomach or chest rises and falls. All right. Now I'm going to say a series of words and just notice your experience. When I say these words, just notice if any thoughts come to mind or if your body does anything. Just try to fully be aware of your experience. Let's begin. No. No. No. No. No. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. I go ahead and take a deep inhale in and gently open your eyes as you exhale. All right. So this is actually something that I learned from a neuroscientist by the name of Dr. Dan Siegel and I want you to just kind of notice and like maybe leave comments down below. What happened? What did you notice the difference between no and yes? Like I do this with my clients all the time and a lot of them notice that maybe their fists clenched or maybe thoughts came through their head or they noticed just a little a little jerk like they were being yelled at. Now think about that for a second. Think about how crazy that is. I don't even know you. I don't even know the people watching this video. So why would I be mad at you? Why would I be angry with you? You know what I mean? But notice how your body reacts just by doing that, right? Now what was your body like when I said yes? A lot of people respond like it felt relaxing. It felt a little bit more open. Right. So think about how many times, how many times do you think that happens to you during the day without you even realizing it because it's unconscious. All right. So through a regular mindfulness meditation practice, you start to be more aware and noticing when you have this unconscious bias. So if I was a CEO of Starbucks, you know what I would do? Every employee when they come to work, they show up five, 10 minutes early or, you know, they clock in and it's part of their routine. They go in the back room and they do some kind of meditation because what this does is it actually trains the prefrontal cortex of your brain, which is also responsible for self-awareness as well as a bunch of other things. All right. So be sure to leave comments down below. Let me know what you noticed between me saying no and me saying yes. All right. But anyways, if you liked this video, please give it a thumbs up. If you think this video can help people go out and share it, spread it around to the world. Let's try to diminish unconscious bias. Okay. But anyways, if you are new here, I'd really appreciate it. If you hit that little round subscribe button because I'm always making videos to help you out with your mental health. And if you want to check out some other content on this channel, you can click or tap right there. All right. So thank you so, so much again for watching. Try to get rid of your unconscious bias today and I will see you next time.