Actress Judy Greer has been in the press a lot lately for her new book, I Don't Know Where You Know Me From: Confessions of a Co-Star, but that's not what this interview is about. In fact, it's about a new passion project of Greer's that she hasn't spoken much about, and it's all part of AOL's new short film series called In Short. With celebs like Katie Holmes and Jeff Garlin also involved, Greer is adding director to her resume as she showcases why Transcendental Meditation has become such a huge part of her life. Here, she shares with us her best tips for stressing less and engaging more.
Glamour: How did the opportunity to direct this AOL short come about?
Judy Greer: I had never directed anything before, but I really wanted to. So I got on the phone with [AOL] and pitched them a couple different ideas, and they realized how passionate I was about Transcendental Meditation. I was like, "Oh, OK, cool!" What I was able to do with my director of photography, David Wolf, was so cool and so beautiful.
Glamour: Was there a moment in your life where you thought, I need to calm down! Oh, I know, I'll try this!
Judy: I had been wanting to try and learn how to meditate, and I did research on the different types of meditation. TM seemed the easiest, and I liked that it wasn't religious in any way. So, I did a little research of how to do it, and in the middle of it, I'm traveling for work, and I get to this location, and I meet this girl, and she says, "Oh, I had the best day off, I meditated,' and I was like, "Wait, what do you do to meditate?" She said, "I do Transcendental Meditation." It was one of those things that I had already been hearing a lot about.
Glamour: What do you tell yourself when things aren't going your way?
Judy: Sometimes when you're given hurdles, it makes you more creative in the end. I found that situations like that ended up making it more fun for me.
Glamour: We all have stressful lives. What's your most important tip for dealing with anxiety?
Judy: Obviously, my tip first is to incorporate meditation into your schedule. It sounds like a lot—"Twenty minutes twice a day, how can I ever do that?!"—but creating that time to meditate ends up creating so much more time for you. My second tip is to get more sleep. Everything is so much more overwhelming when you're so tired.
Glamour: Don't I know it! What do you think of when you meditate?
Judy: The technique for Transcendental Meditation…they teach you the mantra specific to everyone, and the only person that can tell you what your mantra is is a trained meditation teacher, so that's why every other kind of meditation that I tried...I would try downloading apps, different tapes, different podcasts, and nothing worked to quiet my mind quite like TM.
Glamour: Switching gears, you just released the hilarious I Don't Know Where You Know Me From: Confessions of a Co-Star. So, have more people told you they know you now?
Judy: [Laughs] Well, I've been in a little work bubble since my book came out, so I haven't been out much, but I've been reading my Twitter feed during downtime at work, and people will say, "I know you! I know you!" It's so cute!
Glamour: So the title of your next book would be....
Judy: There was a joke that, Know That You Know What You Know Me From... but it could be funny! I'd just have to maybe use a shorter title.
Have you ever tried Transcendental Meditation? Click here to watch Judy's new short on AOL!