Hello and welcome my friend.
This practice is for moments when you feel a strong urge.
The pull to check something,
Figure something out,
Seek reassurance,
Analyze,
Or make a feeling go away.
You might feel a need to be certain,
To get an answer,
To get rid of a sensation,
Or to resolve something right now.
And this urgency can feel very real.
But in this practice,
We're not going to solve the problem.
We're not going to chase certainty.
We're going to practice something different,
Allowing the urge,
Allowing the uncertainty without acting on it.
Like learning to ride a wave instead of trying to control the ocean.
So let's settle in.
Find a comfortable position,
Either sitting or lying down.
And you can gently close your eyes or soften your gaze.
And just take a moment to arrive.
It's nothing to fix,
Nothing to figure out.
Just being here.
Bring your attention to your breath.
Just noticing the inhale and the exhale.
And just let the breath be natural.
Now gently bring your awareness to whatever is present for you right now.
Maybe it's a thought that feels sticky or unresolved.
A question your mind wants answered.
A sensation that feels uncomfortable.
Or a strong urge to do something.
To check,
Google,
Ask,
Review something,
Or fix something.
And see if you can name it.
Simply,
Oh,
Here is an urge.
Or here is uncertainty.
Or oh hey,
Here is the need to know.
No judgment,
Just noticing.
Now imagine this urge as a wave in the ocean.
You're on a surfboard,
Floating just beyond the break.
You can feel the swell beginning to rise beneath you.
Waves naturally build.
They gather energy.
They rise and crest.
And then,
Without our help,
They fall.
The mind might tell you this wave is different.
That you need to jump off,
To swim away,
Or to do something quickly.
But this is just what the mind does.
Your job is not to stop the wave.
Your job is to stay on your surfboard.
So let's bring your attention into your body.
Where do you feel this energy most strongly?
Maybe it's a tightness in the chest,
A drop in the stomach,
Pressure in the head,
Or restlessness in the body.
Just notice.
And now,
Instead of bracing or resisting,
See if you can soften around it.
Like,
Loosen your grip,
Letting your body stay balanced on the surfboard.
You might say to yourself,
This is allowed,
Or this can be here.
Take a slow breath in,
And soften just a little more on the exhale.
Now,
Notice the mind's pull toward certainty.
The urge to answer the question,
To get reassurance,
To feel settled,
Comfortable,
Or resolved.
And gently,
Kindly,
Let the question remain unanswered.
This is like riding a wave without any direction.
You're needing to control where it goes.
You don't have to solve this right now.
You don't have to know for sure.
You might say to yourself,
Maybe I'll never know.
Maybe this will stay uncertain,
And that's okay.
We're just keeping your balance on your surfboard as the water moves below you.
And if thoughts come in,
Trying to pull you into analysis or mental review,
Gently label them thinking,
Or trying to solve,
Or seeking certainty.
And then come back to your body,
Back to the sensation,
Back to the feeling of surfing.
You don't have to follow the thoughts,
You don't have to answer them,
And you don't have to figure them out either.
Right now,
You are just practicing teaching your brain that uncertainty is safe,
That urges don't require action.
So we'll stay here,
Breathing,
Allowing,
Balancing.
The wave may rise higher,
It may feel more intense for a moment.
See if you can stay with it.
Shoulders soft,
Body loose,
Riding it out.
You are not white knuckling this,
Trying to get to the end of the wave.
You are just riding it,
Moment by moment.
If it helps,
You can say to yourself,
This is just a wave,
Or I can ride this out.
I don't have to act,
Or I can allow uncertainty.
And if fear shows up,
Let that be part of the ocean too.
You're still on your surfboard.
Now gently bring your awareness back to your breath.
Inhaling,
And exhaling.
Feel your body again,
Supported,
Grounded.
Let your awareness widen to the space around you,
Or the room you're in.
And when you're ready,
Can gently open your eyes.
Take a moment to acknowledge yourself.
You stayed on the surfboard.
You rode the wave without reacting,
Or at least practiced how to do that.
And this is how new patterns are built.
This is how freedom grows.
So thank you so much for joining me today.
Thank you so much for practicing with me.
And come back any time.
The more you do this,
The more skilled a surfer you will become.
