Interdependence

An exploration and meditation on interdependence — or how we exist in relation to other beings. This practice is brought to you by the Flourish Foundation, a social profit dedicated to inspiring systemic change through heart-mind cultivation, promoting personal well-being, benevolent social action, and environmental stewardship.

Transcript

Yesterday at a staff meeting that we had here with our facilitators who go into the schools to work in our educational programs,

We were talking about interdependence.

And I reflected on this later if I spoke in hyperbole.

But yesterday when we were talking about it,

It really dawned on me that if,

Especially us as human beings,

And I can't presume to know what our non-human friends experience in this world,

But I suspect that they've got a pretty embodied sense of interdependence.

But especially for us human beings,

It was really clear to me that if we not only understood but really felt interdependence in a way that it shifted how we view ourselves and the world around us,

That in my humble opinion,

And I hold my ground that I stood on yesterday,

This would really change the world very quickly in terms of how we think of responding to other people,

How we imagine our relationship or we actualize our relationship with the environment around us,

How we even understand ourselves,

Our own identity.

And the idea with interdependence is really seeing can we bring to heart and mind a sense that our life essence is not encased in a body that's somehow fundamentally separate from everything else around it.

And as I say it,

It sounds so intuitively obvious that of course the people around me are having enormous influence,

You know,

And thinking just about my own existence sitting here.

Impossible had I not had parents that got together.

And then of course my experience in being here is very much conditioned by the food,

The water,

The air,

All these elements coming together to support the health and vitality of my body and so many other things,

Let alone the building that we have here.

And it seems so obvious.

And yet I just know from my own experience how easy it is to get lost in my own story or narration of me and my own,

You know,

Like,

Is this going to happen?

Is this going to work?

Oh,

I've got to focus on this.

I've got this project and I've got to do this.

And all of a sudden my,

My world becomes very,

Very small.

And in my own experience,

Again,

I can't say this is true for everybody,

But I noticed that it leads to a number of different things.

There's,

There's certainly on one extreme,

It can lead to this,

This heightened sense of,

Of self importance or self cherishing,

Or we could just call it narcissism where we were just thinking,

You know,

About me and mine being the most important,

Forgetting that we're actually,

We're existing in a vast network of relationships,

Not only with people,

But everything around us.

And so if it benefits me,

But it harms everybody else,

If I lose that sense of interdependence,

Then it's just okay.

And it seems like a lot of that is going on in this world.

You know,

That it's,

It's very easy with the rhetoric that we get geopolitically with,

You know,

America first and these other ways of conceiving of ourselves of if we could just encapsulate ourselves and keep,

Keep everything out,

We would be okay.

And yet we forget we don't exist that way though.

We exist in this,

This vast network of relationships and by encapsulating ourselves,

We cut ourselves off and then our very livelihood is compromised because we're no longer living in resonance with reality.

And so I really feel that specifically this,

This monthly value,

This interdependence is one of enormous importance.

And I can't believe that particularly when we do a lot of the work that we do in the schools that we're not educating ourselves to become more familiar with it.

When even we just bring up the concept of interdependence interconnectivity,

It's,

It's a very new concept.

And yet if we step back,

It's like,

Whoa,

This is really describing how the world actually works.

That everything is working in these,

These,

These relationships and a relationship of causality.

As I said earlier,

I arise because of this moment of conception of a sperm and an egg coming together.

So there's this causal network that we can follow and it's very precise and we can see that if I have a tomato seed and I go to my garden and I say,

Oh great,

I'm going to plant a tomato seed and I can't wait for my kale to come up.

It doesn't happen like that.

There's very precise.

And yet even though there's this incredible precision,

It's also very fragile and it needs to be protected and cared for.

And so in this system,

We not only have this kind of precise,

Fragile network of cause and effect,

But we also have this interdependent relationship of things existing as a whole because of the parts that make it up.

So I was thinking of my electric bike and I was thinking if I went out there after,

After our class and someone just as a thought experiment,

They took my tires,

They took,

They took,

You know,

My bike frame and they took it apart in pieces and then maybe they just walked away with my frame and I saw the pieces there.

When would that stop being an electric bike?

Does electric bike need a frame or if I just,

If someone took all the tires and all the components and just left the frame?

Would someone come by and say,

God,

What's that bike frame doing there?

Or what's that electric bike doing there?

Or what's Ryan's electric bike doing there?

And so there's this relationship of everything existing as,

As a whole,

But contingent upon its parts.

So this more intimately not focusing about focusing on an object,

But there's an interdependent relationship of a whole and parts with a family.

And I've thought about this in relationship with my,

With my own kids.

The moment my first son was born,

I became a father.

And when I married my wife,

I became a husband.

But it's dependent upon that relationship.

So if my,

My wife were to leave or my kids were to leave,

Then what would be of me?

So I'm always existing in relationship wherever I go.

And if my dad was here tonight,

He would be saying,

You know,

You mentioned him earlier.

Oh,

There's my son.

And for some of you,

I'm a friend.

And for others,

You know,

Some big,

Tall,

Nice guy that cruises around Haley.

So there's all these relationships that are in play.

And I think the challenge in front of us is again,

Intellectually,

I think it,

It makes sense.

It's easy to understand.

But how do we bring this from the head to the heart to a place where we actually feel our interdependence as we're walking around?

And what would the impact of that be if we really start to feel this interdependence?

And I'm not going to presume to have an answer for that question.

I hope that in doing a practice tonight,

And if you feel inspired continuing to reflect on this both formally in practice,

And then the ideas as we get familiar with this in a,

In a space where there's not a lot coming at us and we're not thinking about a lot of the other responsibilities that we may have.

We get this embodied sense of,

Of inter interdependence or interconnectedness,

And then we're able to kind of bring that out into the world.

And just a great example of this was the other morning meditating on this myself and then going for a walk down by the river and really having this,

This incredible moment of seeing a sunrise.

And not only resting in the beauty,

But,

But appreciating all the things that came together for that moment of beauty to arise and seeing,

You know,

There,

The sky had to be a certain way.

The sun had to come up without any obstruction.

Of course,

My visual faculty,

I,

I,

I didn't have any impairment.

There were so many things that came together and having this familiarity or this feeling of interdependence,

As I came to that moment,

My immediate response was just deep appreciation and humility of just all the things that are coming together in every moment to give rise to that,

Which we call our experience.

And most importantly,

And this is,

And this will be the last thing that I'll say,

And then we'll really get into the meditation is the hypothesis here is that if we fathom and feel this interdependence,

Then without any persuasion,

A natural sense of care will arise,

A real feeling of,

I love the word stewardship.

When we really fathom all the connections that are coming together to not only support our own life experience,

But to support our collective experience,

The one we share with,

With so many others,

Humans and non-humans alike.

And if we really fathom that a deep sense of care will arise.

So I'm suggesting that we can work with that as a hypothesis.

You know,

Again,

I'm not presuming to have some like kind of privileged access of knowledge and say,

Oh yeah,

This is,

This is true.

But it really does feel that there,

There's great value.

And especially in the place that we are,

I often think of the,

The Shoshone and from my understanding,

The bits that I've read and from the historical accounts of the Wood River Valley,

There was a natural migration into the Valley,

Particularly in the summer when they would meet up on the Sun Valley golf course and,

And reading some of the accounts about the,

The native Americans and how they,

They saw the land and they saw the sky and the stars that they were,

Again,

It was not this,

This thing out there,

But it was all part of a process of a system in which they were all a part of.

So the,

The,

The feeling of us and them was,

It was,

It was porous.

And I just have this,

This real appreciation that that stewardship arose from this,

This felt sense of interdependence before it became even a concept.

And it was something that was very much a part of the wisdom tradition that is inherent in this landscape.

And so I like to think of it as this is not something new that we're trying to discover or impose on our experience,

But it's really just coming back to really our ancestral DNA of what we know to be true and resting in that.

And so the felt sense I,

I believe really lives in us and it just,

You know,

It's just like a little,

Like a little breath coming in and like blowing the dust off and coming back to this,

This deep felt sense of connectivity.

So that's really the theme for tonight,

The meditation practice.

I won't say much else about the practice itself as I always suggest and invite folks to explore,

Be as comfortable as you can.

So that could mean,

You know,

Even if these,

These,

These chairs,

These backjacks are,

Are not comfortable,

You can always grab a mat and lie flat on the floor.

And I'm anticipating the practice will be about 25,

30 minutes.

So somewhere in there.

All right.

Okay.

So let's give it a shot.

And we can begin the practice by first relaxing into the eyes.

And experiencing firsthand how an intention or a thought,

Although immaterial can influence the experience of the body.

And we see this interdependent relationship occurring with the body and mind.

And with the relaxation of the eyes,

Let's expand this quality of ease throughout the entire body.

Again,

Continuing to build upon this interdependent relationship,

The body and mind.

And more specifically,

Bring awareness to the area of the body below the head.

Give yourself a moment to drop below the head,

Breaking free from this location and the skull and coming into a more spacious and expansive sense of knowing.

Okay.

And as you activate a more embodied sense of awareness,

Notice the sensations and feelings that are present in the body this evening.

And as you touch more deeply into this lived experience of the body,

Consider the vast network of relationships that nurtures this experience of the body.

And for now we could focus simply on the food that we eat,

The nourishment that gives us a sense of vitality in which we can move freely,

Experience our sense faculties,

Invigorated and vital.

And recognizing how the food we eat is related to the rivers,

The air,

The sunshine,

The water,

Those who cultivated the food with their hands,

Tools.

And given this vast network of relationships that come together,

We can conclude that the body is not fixed in any particular way.

It rises in relationship to the causes and conditions that come together,

Supporting our experience in the here and now.

And to deepen this condition of relaxation as you rest in the immediate experience of the body,

If you notice any tight areas this evening,

Let your awareness come to rest in any one of these areas.

It could be somewhere around the neck,

The shoulders,

The face,

The hands,

The torso,

Wherever it may be.

Let your awareness rest there.

Feel this area of tension from the inside,

Not looking out or down to it somehow separate from it,

But feeling an immediate connection,

The felt experience of tightening.

And upon resting in an area of contraction or tightness,

Explore what would it be like to breathe directly into this area,

Not down into this area,

But directly in as if you could breathe through the pores of your skin.

And notice,

Is there room for an expansion as you breathe in?

And is there an opportunity for release as you breathe out?

Feeling this expansion and release,

Breathing in and out,

Softening,

Relaxing.

And in this same way,

Freely shift your awareness.

To any other area of tightness that you experience in the body.

Again,

Becoming aware from the inside.

And with a heightened sensitivity,

Explore what it would be like to breathe directly in and out of this area.

Beginning to restore a natural quality of spaciousness in the body.

And in this way,

Let's give ourselves another minute or so to relax and release,

Revealing this network of ease from the feet to the crown of the head.

Let's give ourselves another minute or so to release.

And along with developing this quality of ease throughout the space of the body,

Let's say,

Can you reveal the same quality of ease within the space of the mind?

Becoming so relaxed,

Mentally loose,

That for now what comes to mind has room to come and go.

To deepen this exploration of releasing in the mind,

Notice what is it like to rest in this space of knowing?

Knowing thoughts as they arise,

Knowing thoughts as they dissolve and pass away,

But not getting caught up and carried away or holding tight to anything.

Simply being present.

Let's give ourselves another minute or so to release.

And now within this context of relaxation,

Relaxation in the body and relaxation in the mind,

Open awareness to the natural rhythm of the breath.

And for a little while,

Preserving this simple knowing of when the breath flows in and when the breath flows out.

And if the mind shifts away,

Celebrate the recognition of that,

A powerful moment of self-awareness in which we have choice.

For now,

See if you can make the choice to come back to your intention of resting with the gentle rhythm of the breath,

Giving the mind a well-deserved break.

And now,

Let's give ourselves another minute or so to release.

And now more through a felt sense.

And less with the thinking mind.

Consider as the breath comes in that the air we breathe,

We draw into the body,

Nourishing the cells initiating this process of respiration.

This air emerges from a cycle of interdependence,

From a process of transformation through the plants and the trees,

Photosynthesis.

This air is released into the atmosphere and do something we breathe here and now,

Feeling the vitality of the body.

And again,

With a felt sense,

Experience the breath coming in as part of a relationship.

And of course,

This exchange is not one-sided as we breathe out.

We breathe out carbon dioxide,

Which is then recycled in this system,

This process again,

Recycled back to the plants and the trees,

Into the atmosphere.

And feeling this reciprocal exchange,

Breathing in and out.

Something that's larger than just one individual.

And especially with this reliance upon the breath to sustain the body,

We can bring forth a sense of appreciation as we breathe in and out.

And for all that sustains this process of breathing.

And although there's a reliability in this relationship as we breathe in and out,

Feel the fragility of this system when conditions change,

The balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide so easily fluctuating as we've seen changes the atmospheric breath of the climate.

And if we can lean into this feeling of fragility,

The delicate nature of this interdependence that we experience firsthand with our breath.

We may be moved to a sense of care.

A care to preserve this fragile network,

The system that supports our breath and the breath of so many.

And so as you breathe in,

You may breathe in a sense of appreciation on the reliance that we share with this experience of the breath.

As we breathe out,

We may breathe out a sense of care,

Compassion,

A willingness to handle this reality of interdependence with tenderness,

Love.

And so as we breathe in,

We may breathe out a sense of gratitude.

And breathing in and out,

Feeling the interdependence,

Perhaps arousing or discovering a sense of appreciation and care.

And along with experiencing and feeling the fragility of the system,

We can acknowledge there's a great precision,

Certain causes give rise to certain results.

And how can we complement our sense of care with wisdom and discernment?

The attentiveness to care in ways that are life sustaining.

So again,

As we breathe in,

We can breathe in a sense of appreciation and breathe out care complemented by wisdom.

Accessing not only our best intentions,

But our wisest intentions to nurture the system we're all a part of.

And again,

All of this felt the breath coming in and down.

And I want to give you one more time to think about what that is like for you.

Any other questions?

And in this breathing,

Through a lens of interdependence,

Maybe something begins to stir in the heart,

Kind of clear intention.

As we bring the practice to a close,

Momentarily consider what would your intention be moving forward in this web of interdependence,

Which what we say,

Think,

And do impacts the world around us.

Is there an intention for the evening as we go back maybe to meet with loved ones or we move back into the quietness of our own home?

Is there something that we're inspired to bring with us?

To inform our way of viewing and interacting with the world in which we are all a part of,

Not separate from.

Today,

Today,

Today,

This And let's bring our meditation to a close.

Reviews

Very good intro and idea followed by a wonderful guided meditation.