Reduce Suffering With Just One Question

An incredibly simple question to ask yourself, that can have a significant impact on suffering, when asked regularly. Join Dali for this short meditation and guidance on how we can reduce suffering by bringing mindful presence to the cause of our suffering with daily, regular practice.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to this short meditation intended to help you reduce suffering.

The feeling of suffering will look different for everyone.

It might be stress or anxiety,

For example,

Or anger,

Frustration or even fear.

But you don't have to identify or label the feeling.

If you're suffering,

Then this meditation could help you.

In a few minutes,

I'll share with you just one question that you can take away and ask yourself whenever you feel suffering is present.

There are many things that can cause suffering,

And the suffering can manifest in a number of ways,

In the form of thoughts,

Feelings or physical sensations in the body.

It could be thoughts about the past,

The future,

Or worries about a conversation you've had or that you're going to have.

It could be feelings of nervousness,

Unease or jealousy.

Or you could experience it physically,

With tension in the neck,

Shoulders or even your jaw.

These are just some of the ways that suffering can present itself.

The root cause of suffering can also be categorised in various ways.

It could be a strong desire to achieve something that always seems just out of reach,

Or the desire to obtain or own something not already in your possession.

It could be a judgement you've made about someone,

Or simply the desire to be right in an ongoing argument or debate.

It may be that we're comparing our lifestyle,

Home or job to that of someone we've seen on social media.

A lot of suffering comes from comparison,

Thinking that others have it better than us,

And that can leave us feeling inadequate.

Whatever the cause of our suffering,

We continue to suffer because we ruminate on the causes.

The more we ruminate,

The more we embellish the stories that we're telling ourselves.

The stories we've attached to the suffering.

All of these possible stories involve attachment.

Whether it's attachment to an idea or a feeling or even a person,

That is where the suffering lies,

With the attachment.

Freedom from suffering starts with letting go.

The question that I'm about to share will hopefully help you to reduce suffering.

It's a simple question,

But it can be incredibly effective when asked regularly.

The tricky part is remembering to ask it,

But with time,

Patience and practice,

You'll find it comes to you easier and more frequently.

If you're not already in a comfortable position,

Please make yourself as comfortable as possible now.

Whatever that means to you is absolutely fine.

And let your eyelids gently close.

Let's start with just bringing the attention to the breath,

Without trying to change anything,

Force anything different.

Just watch the inhale.

Watch the exhale.

Check in with your jaw.

Is your jaw relaxed?

If not,

Let your jaw be nice and loose.

And back to the breath.

Now I want you to bring something to mind that's been causing you to suffer,

However small it may seem.

And I want you to ask yourself this one question.

What am I attached to?

What am I attached to?

And just watch with curiosity what comes up,

What answers appear.

There's no right or wrong.

There's nothing else to do in this moment.

Just ask yourself,

What am I attached to?

This simple question can help you pinpoint the cause of your suffering.

So let's just spend a minute or two with that question,

What am I attached to?

What am I attached to?

If we acknowledge that attachment is a great cause of suffering,

Then to let it go is to set ourselves free.

For the next minute or two,

On each exhale,

Each out breath,

Let go of that attachment.

You don't need it.

It's not serving you.

Letting go will set you free.

Now just a few more breaths.

And when you're ready,

You can open your eyes,

Come back to the room that you're in,

Taking your surroundings.

Please take this question with you,

Or come back to this meditation as often as you need to,

To remind yourself of the practice.

Asking yourself,

What am I attached to?

Identifying it,

And then letting it go.

I'd love to know how you get on with this.

Please let me know by leaving a review,

Or sending me a message from my profile.

I hope you have a wonderful day.

I'll see you soon.

Thanks.

Reviews

Love this meditation and the question which is inviting you to look deep within and seriously contemplate on it .
I realise I need to take my time to find an honest answer .
Much love and gratitude for this meditation . ❤️❤️❤️🙏🙏🙏

Hi Dali. I really thought the question was going to be 'what is my breath doing' 🤣

I'll give this approach a go and see how I get on 🤗

Thank you 🙏

Really useful, brings more awareness to why I am really doing things. Thank you 🙏

🙏just listened to this a second time with my husband. Feeling very peaceful.

Thank you. I will come back to this meditation and question often. It opened my mind to a different way to think about attachment.

Very good question. After the what, I continued and asked why am I attavhed to this, then ask again until I got to the root cause and memory out of an experience that created this suffering. Many million thanks for this 🙏

What a lovely simple question that is so profound, I will certainly have this on repeat as I found it very helpful Thank you 🙏

Thank you for this simple yet profoundly effective practice. Namaste 🙏💗

While striving to be less stressed I know that I must release bad memories. Let go of disappointment, betrayal and fear. This meditation brought a different perspective. Allowing me to see once again that I must let go of things in my past. I liked understanding that I’m attaching myself to these past experiences and that I need to let them go. Thanks for ideas.

Very powerful! I loved meditating on my attachments and then letting them go! It was so helpful! Thank you!!

Probably attached to fear and uncertainty. Which are deeper subjects and more questions. ✌🏽🩵🙏🏽

Powerful question to ask yourself. Gave immediate insights. 🙏

"What am I attached to?" is a good question to ask whenever I am suffering. Thank you.

Dali, thank you. What came to me was that I am too caring. I have always been caring & sensitive. I was a nurse in my working days and loved it. Your words made me shed tears. I do have fibromyalgia which means I do suffer and stress has a big effect on it. So I don't know how to change this.
🙏💖🕊

Excellent, thank you. I’ve been a bit too attached to frustration, self pity etc lately. I appreciate your words & guidance on the concept.

Good question! The situation I chose was probably too big to use for my first time with this meditation. I got agitated and irritated.
This is a meditation that needs to be returned to again and again. I’m glad i have this question in mind to start this day.
Thank you 🙏

Thank you. I appreciated the space to contemplate the question. 🙏

Just what I needed today! Thank you for the perfect question and lovely way to “release” my own suffering.

This was the perfect way to begin the day! Thank you for this amazing meditation!

During my first time listening, several areas of suffering came to mind. Some involve betrayal. One involves a deep loss.

What fascinated me is I never realized some individual situations share “root attachments.” It’s as if I can trace several things back to one root falsehood.

This was deeply enlightening and I’ve been working on my trauma healing for many years.

Thank you for this impactful session. It’s already helped me to grow. I’ll share it with others and return to it often.

Exactly what I needed to get to the bottom of my emotional suffering, which has continued for two years after a devastating crisis. I went back to therapy and I meditate extensively but could not find a way to let go of wanting the person who hurt me to be sorry and reverse what was done. Today I am beginning to understand that my own attachment to the events, what was said and done, and to the individual's judgment and slander of me are what are causing me to suffer. Yes, there is loss involved and I have been hurt, but I cannot control that person who wishes to control me. Humbly, I must learn from Jesus, who said, Loose him and let him go. This goes for me as well as for the one who shattered me. And so now perhaps I can begin to mend.
Thank you for your good work. 🙏🏻💞