Hello beautiful,
Welcome.
Thank you for being here today.
This practice is a gift to yourself and to our world.
Today's practice is an exploration into courage,
Leaning into fear that might arise,
And how practicing courage strengthens our service to our greater humanity.
Remember,
You are supported.
I invite you to find a position that is comfortable for you.
This might be lying down,
Sitting casually or with your back straight,
Standing,
Moving,
Even dancing.
However your body and soul calls you to experience this practice is where I invite you to be.
Remember,
There is no right or wrong way.
As we begin to settle in,
Begin to notice your breath.
Inhaling,
Exhaling.
Invite you to count your breath when you inhale to a count of four.
Continue inhaling and exhaling,
Lengthening your breath to the capacity that is comfortable for you.
As we continue to inhale and exhale,
I invite you to check in with how your body feels.
Notice if there are any areas where you might be holding tension.
Can you breathe into those areas with ease to soften them gently?
So often,
Our shoulders,
Our face,
Our neck holds tension without realizing it.
Continue inhaling and exhaling.
Inhaling and exhaling.
Inhaling and exhaling.
Remembering that you have nowhere else to go,
Nowhere to be,
Nothing to do except to be right here,
Right now,
In this present moment to build your heart of courage,
Of love,
Of presence.
A book titled The Courage Quotient by Robert Biswas Diener notes that courage contains two primary internal elements,
The willingness to act and the ability to control fear.
Courage is a quality of spirit or mind.
Courage is the willingness to act toward a moral or worthwhile goal despite the presence of risk,
Uncertainty,
And fear.
Breathe in,
Breathe out.
Breathe in,
Breathe out.
Does the fear of failure hold you back at times?
Perhaps a fear of judgment,
Social embarrassment,
Your heart beats at the risk?
With practice,
You can make your way through all of this with grace and ease.
What might happen if you viewed failure as growth and opportunity necessary for success?
We do not have to accept that failure feels good,
Just that it is inevitable and often beneficial.
Dr.
Biswas Diener notes,
Reassure yourself by saying,
This is also a growth opportunity for me.
I will learn from this temporary experience and move on.
Consider failure being a positive.
It means you're trying.
If you're trying,
You're learning.
When you're learning,
You are growing.
Growing is the most critical aspect that you can continue to nurture in life.
Grow,
Learn,
Live,
Try.
What might seem a setback is actually a set up for something more wonderful.
Please don't believe in failing.
Believe in trying and living and learning and ultimately growing.
You can then smile authentically and love and express,
I survived,
I tried.
That is the best that we can do.
Breathe in and breathe out.
The opposite is procrastination and that allows us to avoid failure by not even trying to succeed or by delaying the attempt for as long as possible.
As Was Diener suggests,
A way to boost your courage quotient is by eagerly embracing failure.
Build failure into your performance.
Fail on purpose.
In this way,
You're actively including failure in your performance,
Similar to advice given to aspiring jugglers who are told to get used to dropping the balls on the ground and picking them up.
As we continue inhaling and exhaling,
Consider how you will build your courage,
Accepting failure as part of the growth.
A quote by Narya Waheed reads,
Fail splendidly.
Fail comfortably.
Use failure as a redirect,
Not as a measure of your worth or value.
Fail beautifully.
We'll continue inhaling,
Exhaling,
Tuning in again to the physical body.
Are there areas that you can ease into more with gentleness,
Relaxation,
With presence?
Noticing where your thoughts might be returning to your breath,
This present moment,
This moment,
This moment,
This moment,
This moment.
This medieval shave.
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As this practice soon comes to a close,
Remember that it never ends as we seamlessly continue in life,
Breath by breath,
Moment by moment,
Day by day.
May your practice bring you great peace,
Love,
And awareness as you focus on progress and not perfection.
As you exercise courage and service to the greater humanity and this gift that you have to share with the world.
I believe in you.
I know life believes in you.
Know that you are supported,
You are held,
And you are deeply loved.
Go forth and practice courage.
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