| rōt zen | habitual repetition leads to peace of mind and meaningful, lasting change.
rōtezen is…
- A daily commitment.
- A new kind of calm.
- A path forward.
rōtezen represents the future of you.
Ok, but what does that mean?
We have a book coming out in December. For now, we wanted to provide a little backstory so you could understand where it came from, what it is, what’s inside, and why we created it.
Rotezen is a guided journal, a 3-month planner, and a source of inspiration designed to deliver peace of mind and meaningful change by helping you make micro-adjustments to your routine.
The Shift was born from a desire to breathe better, in the hopes that it would help us think better and ultimately, feel better by reducing everyday stress and anxiety.
Rotezen is the next step in this process as we start to think better.
The Shift is our tool to reduce anxiety and stress, first in the moment, then as a habit, then as a consistent routine, like brushing our teeth.
Rotezen is a tool to help us rethink our present situation and mindset, and reimagine what the future might look like.
Ok, but what does Rotezen mean?
I had been working on this guided journal for months, before I really knew what it was, before it was a guided journal. I had a draft of the maxims, I had implemented daily sprints and writing prompts into my routine, I had been journaling nearly every day since the beginning of 2020.
I didn’t really know what it was. Then I had a dream and the name came to me. All of these pieces came together.
Where did the name Rotezen come from?
Learn by rote + zen = rotezen.
Or rotezen = I wrote zen.
As in, once you finish this three-month process, we hope you will achieve a deeper understanding of your current situation, how to improve that situation, and how to maintain peace of mind.
Ultimately, Rotezen is a moving meditation.
So much more than a guided journal.
Yes, this is a guided journal in that we have a three-month calendar and daily templates and with sprints and prompts to help you make progress, make micro-adjustments, and make change a reality.
But, this really only speaks to the structure of the book. Each week, we share a maxim to help focus your personal exploration, and an exploration of that maxim
Rotezen is the off-the-grid approach that allows you to unplug from the noise, and reinvigorate the transformation you are undergoing. It is designed to help you reconnect to and reclaim your story.
Plus, this book was guided by our resident psychotherapist and Komuso cofounder, Daniel Epstein, LPC, LMHC.
What’s inside? Daily templates.
For every day over this three-month period, we created a daily template defined by five daily sprints to help you organize each day around this Rotezen routine.
We hope to take the heavy lifting of organizing off your plate, so you can focus on getting the work done and save time and energy for the PM prompts.
What’s inside? Weekly maxims.
Call them maxims, lessons, values, principles, whatever you like. We hope to provide a theme and some focus for your exploration within each weekly interval to inspire micro-adjustments and growth each week.
Sample maxim: What is your #1 rule for life?
What’s inside? Daily prompts.
Within each daily template, every day of this three-month process, we provide a unique prompt to help you start writing and explore your areas for growth within each interval. The goal is to center your day and focus your growth on one specific prompt or question.
Sample prompts:
- Is the world friendly or hostile today?
- What are your favorite questions to ask someone you’ve just met?
- What is one thing you did today for someone else?
- What are some thoughts you had today that you would like to let go?
What’s inside? Guided conversations.
Once I had the framework for Rotezen, and throughout the process as this book took shape, I consulted with our resident psychotherapist to provide some greater context around the weekly maxims.
Each maxim is followed by a therapist-led thought-starter to inspire a deeper dive into the prompts.
Sample thought-starter: Name one thing you wouldn't give up for $50 million.
What’s inside? Breathing techniques.
Because our breathing directly impacts our thoughts, we wanted to provide some basic techniques to enhance the calm and focus we hope you’ll experience through this process.
Every day, we take 23,000 breaths. Every day, we have more than 50,000 thoughts racing through our minds. These breaths, these thoughts, these are opportunities to make small changes.
If you can change one breath today, slow down one exhale, you will have taken the first step.
Follow the journey to your doorstep: 11/10/21
Right now, we’ve completed the writing and design phase.
We’re currently in prepress review and awaiting final approval to head to print.
We’ll be heading to the facility in Orange County, CA to watch Rotezen print.
Stay tuned: we’ll share pictures and updates from this trip to the press.