Sitting quietly,
Close your eyes and take a few full breaths.
Now as best you can,
I want you to bring to mind a current situation that elicits a reaction of anger or maybe fear,
Disappointment.
It may be a fight or an argument you had with your spouse,
The loss of someone close to you,
A recent power struggle with your child.
Maybe it's a chronic illness or hurtful behavior that you now regret.
The more fully you are able to get in touch with the charged essence of the story,
The more readily you can access the feelings in your heart and throughout your body.
What is it about this situation that provokes the strongest feelings?
You might see a particular scene in your mind,
Hear words that were spoken,
Recognize a belief you hold about how this situation either reflects on you or what it might mean for your future.
As best you can,
Be especially aware of the feelings in your stomach,
Chest,
And your throat.
Now in order to see firsthand what happens when you resist experience,
Begin by experimenting by saying no.
As you connect with the pain you feel in the situation you have chosen,
Mentally direct a stream of no at the feelings.
No to the unpleasantness of fear,
No to the anger,
No to the shame,
No to the guilt,
No to the grief.
Let the word carry the energy of no,
Rejecting,
Pushing away what you are experiencing.
Now as you say no,
Notice what this resistance feels like in your body.
Perhaps you feel tightness or pressure.
And what happens to the painful feelings as you say no?
What happens to your heart?
Imagine what your life would be like if,
For the next hours,
Weeks,
And months,
You just continued to move through the world with the thoughts and feelings of no,
No.
Now once again we're going to take a few deep breaths and let go by relaxing through the body.
Perhaps you want to open your eyes for a moment,
Shift your posture for a bit.
Gently close your eyes and take a few moments to call to mind once again the same painful situation you've previously chosen,
Remembering the images,
Words,
Beliefs,
And all the feelings connected to that painful situation.
However,
This time allow yourself to be the most loving and caring friend that you know,
The most compassionate teacher that you can imagine,
The most caring partner.
Embodying this personality as best you can,
Direct a stream of the word yes at your experience.
Agree to the experience with yes.
Let all of the feelings float,
Held in the environment of yes.
Even as you're doing this,
Even if you're feeling the waves of no,
The fear or anger,
Frustration that may arise with the painful situation,
Or even from doing this exercise,
That's okay.
Let all of these natural reactions be received in a larger field of yes.
Yes to the pain.
And yes to the parts of us that want the pain to go away.
Yes to whatever thoughts or feelings arise.
And notice your experience as you say yes.
Perhaps there's a softening or an opening movement in your body.
Is there more space and openness in your mind?
Can you see what happens to the unpleasantness as you say yes?
Does it get more intense?
Does it become more diffuse?
What happens to your heart as you say yes?
And imagine what your experience could be in the hours,
Weeks,
And months to come if you could bring the spirit of yes to the inevitable challenges and trials of life.
Yes.
Yes.
Just continuing to sit now,
Releasing your thoughts and resting in an alert,
Relaxed awareness.
Letting your intention be to say a gentle yes to whatever sensations,
Emotions,
Sounds,
Or images that may arise in your awareness.
Yes.
Yes.
