We can't always control the circumstances of our lives.
We can't always control how we feel.
But the one thing that is always within our control is the attitude with which we meet our experience.
Our attitude is so ingrained that we often don't recognize how deeply it colors our experience.
Cultivating a better attitude can fundamentally transform how we experience ourselves and the world.
We can see flavors of our attitude and our posture.
A collapsed posture may signify a sense of avoidance or even feeling defeated.
A tight closed chest may be a sign of protecting ourselves and our heart from a chaotic world.
What we want to cultivate in this practice is a willingness to meet our experience fully.
A willingness to meet the world as it is.
So let's start by finding a strong,
Open posture.
Sit up with your head tall,
Back straight while still being relaxed.
We often make ourselves small as a form of self-protection,
But now we are making ourselves big.
Feel the expansiveness in your body with each inhale.
Gently allowing yourself to feel larger and take up more space while still staying relaxed.
We are trying to feel larger and more expansive so we are relaxing as much as possible without compromising our posture.
Stay tall.
Feel your spine long.
Your chest open.
Feel a sense of dignity.
Embody a tender courage.
Find the courage to meet your experience fully.
The courage to simply exist in a difficult world.
Release the stress of snipers supporting each other,
Written by several dodgers on Feel it in your body.
Listen to your present moment experience.
Notice what you're feeling.
What sensations are present in your body.
Cultivate the willingness to be here with the feelings.
To accept them as they are.
Not trying to change how we feel,
But meeting our experience as it is.
Not trying to change how we feel,
But meeting our experience as it is.
Not trying to change how we feel,
But meeting our experience as it is.
Not trying to change how we feel,
But meeting our experience as it is.
Become your experience fully,
Whatever it is.
Become your experience fully,
Whatever it is.
Become your experience fully,
Whatever it is.
Breathing gently,
But intentionally.
Breathing gently,
But intentionally.
Breathing gently,
But intentionally.
See if you can find a subtle sense of power in the relaxed and steady breath.
See if you can find a subtle sense of power in the relaxed and steady breath.
See if you can find a subtle sense of power in the relaxed and steady breath.
How does this feel?
How does this feel?
How is this different from how you usually feel?
Do you feel vulnerable?
That's good.
Own your vulnerability.
I feel the courage in being vulnerable and recognizing our innate sensitivity and being willing to feel.
What would it be like to embody this attitude in more aspects of your life?
To bring this into every activity,
To your work,
Your relationships.
What would it be like to embody this way of being not for anyone else,
But for yourself?
To simply feel worthy and deserving of being or existing in this moment in a more expansive way.
To meet your experience with courage and dignity.
We've had countless experiences in our lives that have led us to feeling small,
That have instilled a fear or avoidance of experience,
That have ingrained a sense of defensiveness and closed us down to ourselves and the world.
Here,
We are simply practicing opening,
Bit by bit,
To a more full and expansive experience of ourselves and the world.
As we go into further practices,
We will work through layer after layer of subtle resistances,
Helping us to face the pain and discomforts of life and allowing us to feel even more open and free.
But for now,
Keep embodying this attitude,
This openness,
Whenever you can,
Whenever you remember.
Thank you for your practice.
