Just Another Brick In The Wall

Exploring the idea of being overwhelmed and seeing that when we're overwhelmed we have built up internal and external stressors, brick by brick, until we have this huge wall in front of us, blocking our vision and our path.

Join me in this meditation to slow down and attend to each brick, so that, perhaps, the wall never gets built.

Transcript

Hola,

Fellow meditators.

So continuing on the theme of being overwhelmed,

I'd like to slow things down and just ask what exactly are we overwhelmed by?

I can often feel like a never-ending to-do list or a lack of some resource,

Like not enough sleep or money or love or a vague sense that something is not right with the world,

With our country,

In our own lives,

And it's probably all of that.

One way I have worked with this feeling of overwhelm with myself and with my clients has been to first listen.

Listen to this brick wall of frustrations and complaints.

Begin to list what each brick has written on it,

And then see how we place a brick on top of brick until we are staring at this monolith and all we can do is hit our head against it,

And it hurts.

So in this meditation,

You are invited to look at one brick at a time,

And then set it aside,

Then allowing yourself to see what's written on the next block,

And then set it aside.

Our aim here is to allow space and a view,

And not build up our wall all day long,

Making it feel claustrophobic and without options.

So I'll ring the gong now,

Settling into a moment here of meditation.

Allow the sound to be your invitation to take your seat,

And that means sitting up straight,

Noticing your posture,

Your head and shoulders,

Allowing for a flexible spine,

A strong back,

And an open front,

Meaning an open heart that you're willing to settle for a few minutes,

And just see what's there for you.

And then let's take a few deep breaths,

The full cycle of breathing.

When I breathe in,

It feels good.

When I breathe out,

It feels good.

It might seem simple,

But just allowing this simple act of breathing to feel good in your system,

Because it does feel good.

In this meditation,

We're actually allowing our thoughts to be present,

Front and center,

But we're allowing one topic at a time.

We're entangling the knot of thoughts and emotions,

And just picking one to begin.

So taking another deep breath and releasing it,

See what you notice first.

Pick up one brick and see what's written on it.

So for me,

I notice it's about my son beginning college soon.

Now I could write so many things on this one brick.

I could write about love,

Concern,

Fear,

Health,

Money,

Change.

So I don't want to overwhelm myself with just this meditation and this exercise.

I'm going to pick one thing.

I'm going to slow down and let it be one thing.

What does this brick have written on it?

I am worried how he'll navigate college.

Okay.

I'm going to take a breath and just let myself sit with that one thought.

And of course,

Many associated feelings come up with that one thought.

And then many other thoughts pile onto that one thought.

So I just want to create some space around the initial thought by letting it be there.

And breathing,

Giving it a lot of room.

It's just one brick sitting in a huge green park.

Within seconds,

I begin to see all the ways that my son has navigated not only school specifically,

But also so many other challenges in his life.

I'm not trying to force this.

I'm just seeing what bubbles up with that initial thought or that initial emotion.

My next few breaths seem less shallow.

I now ask if anything actually needs to be done by me with whatever's on this one brick.

Do I need to have a conversation with my son about anything regarding college?

I sit quietly to see if my brain,

My body,

Or my spirit has anything to say about it.

In this case,

No.

Today,

In this moment,

There's nothing to do or say about this.

So I'm now putting my hand on my own heart and seeing that I just needed to be heard and acknowledged for this transitional time in my life that's happening to him and having a ripple effect on me.

So be it.

It's just what it is.

Okay.

So I now take that one brick and in my imagination,

I'm setting it to the back or just letting it pop,

Disappear into space.

These are magical bricks.

And I want to now clear the space in front of me.

So take a deep breath and now pick up another brick to see what's written on that one.

It could be something that happened in the past that you still have a lot of feelings about or it could be a concern about something you need to get done.

It could be a wish that you'd like to see come true,

But you have no idea how to make it come true.

So whether this is the past,

The current circumstances of the future,

Allow it to be.

Just see what bubbles up.

Slow down and be within sensation until you can come up with what might be written on this particular brick.

It might be an overreaching or a deep emotion,

Maybe not even a thought.

The brick might say loneliness or disconnection.

For now,

Just pick that one thing that feels like it resonates with what your body is feeling or your brain is saying or what feels heavy on your heart.

Sit with this thought or image or feeling for a minute.

Give it your kind attention.

Adopt an attitude of curiosity and breathe.

Maybe something arises,

Oh,

I see now.

I'm worried that X,

Y,

Z might happen.

And then I'll take it to mean that I'm not okay somehow.

I see.

Or maybe you can't piece it together that way,

But you might just allow it to be there.

Be a friend to yourself as you see the rabbit hole as you go down with each thought.

And let yourself have a sense of humor at how silly all this can be.

Wow,

That one thought led me to believe I'm somehow unworthy,

Unlovable,

And I'm the only person on the planet who shouldn't have dreams.

That's kind of hilarious.

My ego is a riot.

Again,

Allowing for a few breaths here.

A big open space for this one brick to sit in.

Then in your mind's eye,

Pick up that one brick and place it behind you or let it just disappear.

See the open space before you,

Fresh and open in this moment.

Knowing full well another brick is about to appear.

Twenty bricks might come in all at once,

Threatening to get together and form a wall to block your path.

No problem,

We expected this.

Bricks like to form walls,

It makes them feel useful.

And walls are very useful,

But not on our spiritual path and not in our park.

In this park,

We'd prefer a more open space so we can run and play.

So we try to stay vigilant when we see piles of bricks converging.

And should a small wall begin to form,

Let's just breathe and take stock of it.

You may be able to easily knock it down,

Or climb over it,

Or simply walk around it.

Just know that it is workable.

It is infinitely workable.

You are infinitely workable.

We just need to slow down,

Notice the one brick before us,

Allow it to be there,

And see if it has anything useful to say.

Once it's done,

We clear the space,

Even for just a moment.

This allows for a wider view of your amazing park and the trees,

And look up the big blue sky above.

Breathing in gratitude for your ability and your willingness to attend to yourself in this way.

You can now let go of this imagery,

And I'll ring the gong as we end this meditation.

Open your eyes if they were closed,

And return to this meditation,

Or even just this metaphor,

Whenever the bricks start accumulating,

And a seemingly solid wall threatens your view and causes you to feel overwhelmed.

Feel your own aliveness,

Knowing you are safe in this moment,

And trusting in your ability to work with what is coming up each and every time.

Thank you for your attention to yourself,

Your willingness to slow down,

And just be here,

Attending to your mind,

Your body,

Your spirit,

One moment at a time,

Knowing you have your own back.

Thank you.

See you next time.