In this session,
We'll focus on vulnerability,
Which is a really profound human value for us all to explore.
The ability to be open to risk,
To emotional exposure,
To uncertainty is something that strongly governs the quality of our life.
I know for myself,
When I reflect upon my own way of inhabiting my body,
I can feel that so much tension in my body is a result of not allowing myself to be vulnerable.
It's helpful to consider what are the things that we so desperately protect ourselves against?
What are the core features of our life that we try to hold intact as human beings,
Inhabiting a body that is mortal,
That is vulnerable to aging,
To illness,
To death.
One thing that many of us hold on to is the innate desire to survive.
And on a social level,
Being a species that is dependent upon the connections that we have with others,
Something we've learned from infancy,
Being nurtured by our parents or a primary care provider.
We learn at a very young age,
We rely upon one another.
And so along with promoting our sense of safety,
We need to feel a sense that we belong.
We're a part of a community.
For me personally,
This is one of the areas where I feel least vulnerable in community.
There are so many moments throughout the day where I put on a smiley face and find myself moving through the world with the pretense that everything is okay.
And consequently,
I hold the difficult feelings,
The fear,
The uncertainty,
The doubt.
I hold that by tightening my body,
Pushing it down,
Not allowing it to be seen.
In addition to preserving a sense of belonging.
Some of us may feel the vulnerability around being respected,
Being acknowledged quite naturally.
I think we all want to make a difference.
We all want to know that our life matters.
And so we experience great vulnerability in our families,
Professional lives,
Our community,
Where we may not feel like we're being seen for who we are,
For what we value,
For what we're trying to accomplish with our life.
And to protect ourselves again,
We can hold on.
We can tighten resisting the judgment,
The dismissal of others.
And so if we dig into vulnerability,
We can see here's an opportunity to allow ourselves to let go,
To relinquish control,
To let our life unfold.
To know that despite our best intentions,
We're not going to remain youthful forever.
We can't protect ourselves all the time from becoming sick.
And we have limited control as to when we will face our mortality.
Likewise,
We have limited control in how we'll be received by our loved ones,
How other people may acknowledge our work,
Our purpose and being in the world.
And yet it's through vulnerability that we can show up wholeheartedly with the lightness and acceptance that there's risk associated with everything we do.
So in this practice,
Let's focus on relinquishing control,
Being open to our momentary experience and embracing the reality of vulnerability that is woven into the very fabric of our daily life.
To begin our practice today,
Find a comfortable position looks deeply into the eyes,
Softening your gaze,
But the energy of your senses begin to draw inward.
And for a moment consider in your life,
Would you like to lean more into vulnerability,
Embracing the risk,
The uncertainty,
The emotional exposure of daily life.
Take a bubbles with this in your body.
To support the actualization of this intention to become more vulnerable.
Begin by cultivating a sense of openness and respect to the lived experience of the body.
Become fully aware of the inner experience of the body,
The arising and passing of sensation and feeling.
And explore what is it like to relate to the momentary experience of the body with complete and utter openness.
And despite our best intentions,
We may find that there are parts of the body that are reluctant to let go,
These artifacts of protection that we hold onto.
If you find such a place,
Bring your attention there and with the gentleness of the breath,
A sense of openness,
Spaciousness as you breathe in and inspire a willingness to release and let go as you breathe out.
Breathing in,
Opening,
Breathing out,
Releasing.
And from the momentum of our past,
We may find that this tension that we hold in the body is reluctant to let go,
In which case,
Sow the seed of intention to continue coming back with the gentleness of the breath and like any seed,
If it's nurtured,
It will germinate and grow.
Continue scanning throughout the body and for the next minute or two,
Pause wherever you'd like,
Dropping the armor of protection,
Breathing in a sense of openness,
Breathing out the experience of releasing.
Thank you.
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