Feel yourself settling in,
Letting go,
Becoming aware of your physical body,
And beginning to notice your breath.
Become aware of any tension,
Any tightness,
And breathing into those spaces,
Relaxing your whole body,
Your jaw,
Your eyes,
Your hands,
Fingers,
Toes,
Shoulders,
And beginning to leave behind your thinking mind just for now,
And coming into your physical body,
Noticing the contact points where your body is resting on the surface that's supporting you,
Becoming aware of any sounds around you,
Noticing the feeling of the air on your skin,
And beginning to notice the feeling of your breath in your own body,
Feeling the breath as it comes into your body,
And feeling the breath as it leaves your body,
And recognizing that all of these sensations,
These feelings in your physical body,
Are happening in this moment right now,
Not in the past,
Not in the future,
But right now,
And recognizing that the only things that we know for sure are the experiences that we're having in this moment right now.
Anything in the past is simply a construct of the mind,
A memory,
A story that we've told ourselves based on our experience,
And anything in the future is just something we're hoping for or hoping against,
Worried about,
Wishing for.
So even when we think we know,
We don't really know.
Our challenge is to find comfort and peace in not knowing.
So as you begin to practice and sensing your body here and now in this space,
Getting out of your thinking mind for a moment and into your physical body,
Letting go of the past and the future,
And giving yourself permission in this time to not have to solve a problem,
Not have to figure anything out,
Perhaps even imagining yourself as a young child that doesn't really know much yet,
And getting curious about what is actually known.
Right now,
It's the sounds around you,
And the air on your skin,
And feeling the physical sensations of your body in this space,
And notice what it feels like to not have to do anything right now,
Just to be here in this space,
A sense of just being alive here and now,
The body breathing in,
The body breathing out,
Nothing to fix or figure out,
Just being,
Sitting and knowing that you're sitting,
Breathing and knowing that you're breathing,
And that's enough,
Nothing else.
Maybe notice the tendency of the mind to be content here doing nothing,
Or maybe there's a tendency to start to lean ahead to what's next in your day,
In your week,
Maybe a meeting or errands or a to-do list.
Just notice,
And notice that tendency of the mind without any judgment.
The mind doesn't like uncertainty,
It wants to solve problems.
When the mind feels certain,
It feels safe and prepared and secure,
And so notice the pull of the mind to begin to solve a problem,
And notice the satisfaction that comes with thinking about a problem.
Notice how worry and concern feel productive,
How thinking about a problem feels like you're more prepared,
More in control,
And then leave the mind for a moment and come back to your physical body,
And recognize that this physical body is here now.
Notice that the thinking mind and the problem solving is just a simulation to make us feel more safe and more in control.
It's simply a construct of our mind and tells us that we're in control,
Tells us that we know,
But really all we know is what's right here and right now.
As we practice sitting with not knowing,
We can begin to ask ourselves questions that we may or may not know the answers to.
Just for today,
Practice answering these questions with,
I don't know.
Without any judgment,
Simply a curious,
I don't know.
Sit with a not knowing,
Notice what it feels like to not know,
And notice the tendency of the mind to want to solve the problem,
To find the answer,
And instead practice sitting with not knowing,
Answering these questions with,
I don't know.
Who am I?
Is this job,
Career,
School right for me?
How can I provide enough for myself and my family?
Is this relationship right for me?
What is my purpose in this life?
Am I on the right path?
Why did this happen to me?
What is life trying to teach me?
What should I do next?
Notice how it feels to sit with not knowing the answers to these questions,
To be curious about the answers,
But to not know,
And noticing if there is a pull of the mind to try and answer the questions,
To think it knows,
To try and solve them.
And if you notice that tendency of the mind to try and solve the problem or answer a question,
Just come back to the physical body,
And notice how when you come back to the body,
You see that the thinking is just a simulation of the mind to make you feel more safe and more in control.
And practice letting go of controlling the future and sitting with just saying,
I don't know what will happen here.
What if you let go of the simulation of the mind?
What does that feel like in your body?
What does sitting with not knowing feel like in your body?
Does it feel like fear?
Anxiety?
Where do you feel it physically in your body?
What does it feel like to practice sitting with this discomfort?
Do you feel it in your chest,
In your throat,
In your shoulders?
And notice if the mind begins to pull you into the future to get you out of this discomfort.
And if it does,
Then just recognize that it's just a mind event.
It's simply trying to make you feel more prepared and more secure.
The mind has good intentions,
But when you notice this tendency of the mind,
And then you come back to the body and see how it feels sitting with a not knowing,
Notice the sensations linked to uncertainty,
To not knowing.
And recognizing the trust and the patience required to sit with not knowing,
To sit with this discomfort.
Noticing the courage it takes to sit with this discomfort,
And maybe even noticing the humility required to recognize that I can't be in control of the future.
I can't be in control of everything.
And that there's peace in knowing that you don't have to.
Recognize the discomfort of not knowing and know that it's okay to have that feeling.
And notice each time the mind pulls you into the future with the good intention of keeping you safe.
We don't know what will happen.
We don't know why things happen.
We don't know the way they're going to happen.
This is a frightening situation for our minds.
When we practice not knowing,
We recognize that we never really knew,
And that we don't need to know,
That we can trust in the goodness of life,
In the universe,
In our creator,
And know that they're looking out for us,
That there's a greater plan for our lives even if we don't know it yet.
And when we have that thought,
Notice the feeling in your body when you sense that everything is going to be okay.
Maybe it's a lightness,
A sense of peace,
A comfort.
Maybe feelings of calm and ease.
Our minds try to create worry,
But there's comfort in not knowing and not needing to know.
Revisit for a moment any concerns or worries that you have,
And then let the inner knowing come back and cover anxiety and worry and fear with this lightness,
Trusting that the universe is working with you and for you,
Trusting that you have already within you the peace and light to let go of whatever doesn't serve you.
You have within you the peace that you seek.
There is nothing outside of yourself that can give you that peace.
Stay with this lightness,
This feeling of peace and light,
Not looking for any solutions.
Simply allowing for whatever might be.
And notice how this lightness of presence feels in your body.
And notice any shift in perspective,
Any intuitive knowing or insight that may come to you now or possibly later.
Just being open to whatever comes to you.
And even if there's no insight that comes to you now,
Trusting that every experience that you have,
Including this practice,
Changes you.
If not in this moment in time,
It will come.
Finding happiness in not knowing how life will unfold.
There's beauty in the mystery of life.
We can embrace not knowing because the essence of knowing is in the not knowing,
In the willingness to not know,
A willingness to be open to the goodness of life,
A willingness to be open to all of the limitless possibilities that we can't even have planned for.
Embracing not knowing opens us up to possibility.
We can trust that all is well and always has been well and it will always be well.
All is going to be just as it's meant to be.
