Shadowing Practice: Why I chose to Not Panic - Learn English Speaking with Video

Me personally, why am I here?

Oh, genade.

Ik weet het niet.

Ik weet het nog niet.

I still don't know.

Oh man.

Maybe I'm just here to live my life.

I don't know.

Maybe I'm here to...

Maybe I'm here to spray joy, I don't know.

I would like to be here to spray joy, I'd like to be here to share.

Oh gosh.

I would really just want to share,

if I can, in any way, way, most how people touch their own beauty, magnificence.

Why does it make me so emotional, feel so emotional?

It feels like such a privilege.

and you know that little who do you think you are

you know I'm nobody really and truly but I have but I do,

I have experienced the glory of being alive.

And I want everyone to have that feeling.

I have just moved into this house and I'm still unpacking my boxes and fitting myself into this new home.

When I left the last house, my sister came to help me pack, and she packed that cabinet.

And she was like, what are you doing with all this shit?

Why do you keep all of this?

What is the meaning?

Is there meaning?

Does it have to have meaning?

Is it the stuff that defines us or is it the story that defines us?

Perhaps the stuff is a gateway to the story.

For instance, Tigger and Poobo were given to me by a young friend who travelled to America

and she brought them back for me.

and I was really touched that she had thought of me and remembered me.

And we've actually fallen out and our relationship is not as healthy and vibrant as it was at that time.

So they're a reminder for me of that time and of the connection I had with her that has been lost, that has frayed on the edges.

Behind all of those things is love, actually.

It's that simple really.

And that's the attachment.

So perhaps that's what they do for me.

They transport me to places that I love, or places and times I've felt alive.

There's such a sweetness in being alive.

We have so much.

We have words, we have language, we have touch, we have so much to experience life with.

And I think that's what it means to be human, is to experience life as fully as we possibly can.

And that means the not-such-easy times as well as the soft, beautiful times.

Experiencing pain is the human condition.

But so is experiencing joy.

And if we're really lucky, they come in equal measure.

I think maybe it's not just if we're lucky, I think the truth is they come in equal measure.

If we're lucky, we feel them.

We give ourselves permission to really feel them.

There have been times when I have really, really, really been at the bottom of the barrel, dragging myself through the mud.

And I suppose I feel like I didn't have a choice to wallow for most of my life.

And I was a parent, I am a parent, and when you're a parent you've got to dust yourself up, or rather pick yourself up and do what needs to be done for your child.

And I guess, gosh, I just got the most beautiful image, as I said that, of my own inner child.

And that's also, I guess, why I did it, you know, for that little me.

And we only get this one life.

and there's just too much to enjoy and celebrate and experience and revel in and delight in and to waste time.

I have the most beautiful daughter

and for a good part of our life it was just the two of us

and things were often really tough and within

that time the statement don't panic was something I used to say to her as a child.

And she embroidered it for me on this little piece of cloth just to constantly remind me

that the universe is telling me not to panic.

There were two things.

Don't panic and remember who you are.

The remember who you are, I used to say when she'd go out clubbing, have a fantastic time, remember who you are.

And remembering who we are, I think, is the life's work.

And remembering that we are part, an integral, essential part of all of the beauty and the magnificence and the splendor that is life.

So liberating to inhabit myself more and more every day, which is the kind of thing what I'm doing.

And you know, like my body, which I am so quick to judge.

And I've just recently had the gift of an exquisite lover who just loves this body and And so,

it made me look at myself differently.

I said, really?

This body?

This one?

This one I've been carrying around and hiding and covering up and decorating and masking.

This naked body?

Yes, that naked body.

And so, yeah, the more and the more and the more at home I become in myself without pretenses,

the more liberated and the more fun it is.

Vulnerability is the most beautiful, beautiful, beautiful place.

It's actually just essential to share, you know what I mean, and to touch, to find,

to experience in yourself that moment where you let go all of the defenses because you can't hold them up any longer.

And somebody's there to say, I see you, I see you, I see you, I see you, it's okay, it's okay.

The gift of being seen by another human being is, that's the treasure.

because that's what makes us feel truly alive.

The times that I've made the biggest advances or the biggest shifts in my emotional state have been when people have witnessed,

have just heard, just seen, heard, held.

And I think that's the key.

I think we just need to hear each other.

We just need to listen.

The art of listening, of getting out of your own way,

in a way so that you can be present for somebody else and not want to interfere,

you know, want to come with your opinions, you know, what I think you should do is this.

It's hard, it's hard work actually.

And it takes practice, constant practice to just like keep moving yourself out of the foreground in relationship to other people.

When I felt most seen is when I have most seen.

It's a reciprocal moment.

When you see someone and there's just this...

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and you know that actually as you're seeing them, you're reflecting back to them who they are.

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And it's like that is, that is, that is real, real magic.

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MUSIC PLAYS

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40-odd years ago, I and a very good friend made a film about the healing power of crystals.

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We were way before our time.

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But the essence of a crystal is that it is a perfect cellular structure.

106

The crystalline structure is absolutely perfect.

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This is why we are attracted to stones, you know, shiny stones, diamonds, amethysts, quartz.

108

And it's partly because our cellular structure wants to be that perfect, that beautiful, that shiny.

109

Surround yourself with people who shine, and you will shine and there is absolutely no question about it.

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Seek out people who make you feel good and you will be inspired to be good and to be,

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to, you know, to be that. Does that make sense?

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Sometimes I'm just overwhelmed with gratitude.

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It's like, oh my God.

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And that is, oh man, words sometimes are just so limiting, you know.

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But it's like it's one of the greatest gifts of all,

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actually, is appreciation and seeing something or being able to embrace something,

117

a thing of beauty, a gesture, another him being a gift, whatever it might be.

118

I'm so grateful to be where I am right now.

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Right here, you know?

120

And it was a long and winding ride.

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But every step and every twist and every turn and every fall and every dive and every whack brought me here.

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And I don't want to be anywhere else than here.

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What's up, sir, your status?

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My status is here is where I am.

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Wherever that may be.

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Thank you so much for watching this story all the way to the end

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and a special thank you to all of you on Patreon

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who help us to make these films you want to join

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us on the journey please click the link over here I think it just wouldn't be possible without you thank you

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 129 sentences and 1446 words to shadow. The speech runs for 15:52. The speaker talks slowly, about 91 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. 86% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
panic noun	/ˈpænɪk/	Overwhelming fear or fright, often affecting groups of people or animals; (countable) an instance of this; a fright, a scare.
naked adjective	/ˈneɪkɪd/	Bare, not covered by clothing.
crystal noun	/ˈkɹɪstəl/	A solid composed of an array of atoms or molecules possessing long-range order and arranged in a pattern which is periodic in three dimensions.
define verb	/dɪˈfaɪn/	To determine with precision; to mark out with distinctness; to ascertain or exhibit clearly.
spray noun	/spɹeɪ/	A fine, gentle, dispersed mist of liquid.
shine verb	/ʃaɪn/	To emit or reflect light so as to glow.
gosh	/ɡɑːʃ/	A mild expression of surprise or enthusiasm.
cellular adjective	/ˈsɛl.ju.lə/	Of, relating to, consisting of, or resembling a cell or cells.
reveal verb	/ɹɪˈviːl/	To uncover; to show and display that which was hidden.
diamond noun	/ˈdaɪ.ə.mənd/	A glimmering glass-like mineral that is an allotrope of carbon in which each atom is surrounded by four others in the form of a tetrahedron.
dust noun	/dʌst/	Fine, dry particles of matter found in the air and covering the surface of objects, typically consisting of soil lifted up by the wind, pollen, hair, fiber…
reflect verb	/ɹɪˈflɛkt/	To bend back (light, etc.) from a surface.
remind verb	/ɹəˈmaɪnd/	To cause one to experience a memory (of someone or something); to bring to the notice or consideration (of a person).
glory noun	/ˈɡlɔːɹi/	Great beauty and splendor.
grateful adjective	/ˈɡɹeɪtf(ə)l/	Of a person or their actions, feelings, etc.: expressing gratitude or appreciation; appreciative, thankful.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
cover up verb	To conceal or disguise.
fall out verb	To come out of something by falling.
get out of verb	To leave, exit or escape from; to become free of.
go out verb	To leave, especially a building.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
“Used to” used to + verb — a past habit or state that is no longer true	used to say
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	have experienced · have just moved · we've actually fallen
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	were given · was really touched · has been lost
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	friend who travelled · day, which is · people who shine

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 32 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, I've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shine /ʃaɪn/, gosh /ɡɑːʃ/, treasure /ˈtɹɛʒəɹ/, appreciation /əˌpɹiː.ʃiˈeɪ.ʃən/
Long words — get the stress right: differently /ˈdɪf.ə.ɹənt.li/, appreciation /əˌpɹiː.ʃiˈeɪ.ʃən/, vulnerability /ˌvʌln(ə)ɹəˈbɪlɪti/, magnificence /mæɡˈnɪfɪsəns/, reciprocal /ɹɪˈsɪpɹək(ə)l/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like panic, naked, crystal.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?