Resting In Restlessness

An ill-defined feeling of uneasiness is behind so much of what we do.

Look for yourself and see: is there a subtle energy you might label “restlessness” in the background?

So much unconscious effort goes into distracting from the background hum of restlessness, but why? What if you can lean into the sensations and thoughts of restlessness with curiosity?

And what if you discover they are actually nothing to run from?

This course is an opportunity to explore the sensation called “restlessness”.

We’ll explore:
*What is restlessness? What are the sensations and thoughts that often make up this experience?
*Is restless energy covering something else up? Is it a problem?
*Is it actually uncomfortable?
*Can we approach, rather than avoid, it? How? What happens when we do?
*Can we be in stillness and silence as a way to feel what wants to be felt?

After this course:
*Your desire for coping mechanisms and habits should be less. You should feel able to be in habitual impulses to distract without acting on them more easily.
*Your ability to simply be should be far greater. You should begin to feel less need for distraction such as being on your phone, having background noise, or being busy or productive.
*You should feel far more able to rest in any sensation or thought. You will begin to approach rather than avoid all energies that arise.

Simply put, you should feel more naturally at ease, more of the time.

Leçon 1: Why Rest In Restlessness?

In this lesson, we’ll begin to look at why it’s so hard for us to simply be. We distract and run from feelings, which is what’s behind all habits, compulsions, seeking and anxiety.

But what if what we’re running from isn’t what we think it is? What if it’s not restlessness or discomfort that hurts, it’s trying to avoid these feelings that causes suffering?

Leçon 2: Preparation And Tips

This lesson will discuss how to feel – rather than think– your way through this course for best results. We can’t think our way through this in an intellectual way. Rather, we feel into what’s present in each and every moment.

Leçon 3: Change Nothing And Everything Changes

I share my personal experience with restlessness, from anxiety, habits and rarely feeling deep peace, to feeling deeply settled in silence and stillness. This is not about working toward improvement we might experience “someday”. That is purely conceptual. It’s about meeting This, Here, Now.

Leçon 4: Sensations Plus Thoughts

“Restlessness” or “Agitation” or “Discomfort” are labels. Those are words – pointers – used to describe a feeling. But what actually is the feeling? What is it made of? We’ll explore feeling in this deepest of ways in this lesson.

Leçon 5: Thought Interprets Sensation (But Not Accurately)

Lesson 5 explores the way that thought – more specifically, what’s sometimes called the “left brain interpreter” – functions to interpret and tell stories about sensory experience. Those interpretations have survival value in the big picture, but their focus is a sense of predictability, not accuracy. This has huge implications for our resistance to feeling.

Leçon 6: Nothing Wrong

What is, is. Life isn’t getting it wrong. Everything that arises is safe to feel. Our capacity to feel is infinite and in fact, there is no other valid option. The only other option is to run from, fight against and try to manipulate life. We’ve all tried that thus far, and it’s only ever caused all of our suffering.

Leçon 7: Power Up

In Lesson 7, we look at how leaning into what’s right here, right now, leaves us “powered up”. It’s the exact opposite of wanting things to be different, which is powerful in a way we rarely recognize until we experience it.

Leçon 8: Experiment 1: Feeling Your Way Through Life

In our first experiment, you’ll be guided to spend some time feeling your way through your day – as opposed to thinking your way through your day. As you feel, you’ll notice thought as thought as much as possible.

Leçon 9: Experiment 1 Check-in

In this lesson we’ll check in on your experience with your first experiment. We will take note of what was difficult, what was easy, and offer tips for making this experiment a regular part of your day.

Leçon 10: Experiment 2: Do Nothing

Doing nothing is ultimately about letting everything be as it is. Thoughts are what they are – they can come and go freely. Feelings, sensations, desires, and urges are free to be what they are. There is no interfering with any of it. It’s all free to come and go.

Leçon 11: Experiment 2 Check-in

In this lesson we’ll check in on your experience with your second experiment. We will take note of what was difficult, what was easy, and offer tips for making this experiment a regular part of your day.

Leçon 12: Common Issues

As we shift to feeling our way through life more and more, the mind might sense our disinterest and fight for its survival a bit. This can look like boredom, feeling as if we no longer struggle with restlessness, fear, or any number of other ways. We explore this, and other common issues that arise, in this lesson.

Leçon 13: Guided Meditation

The following guided meditation can be used to ease you into the experiments of feeling your way through life and doing nothing. I recommend revisiting this guidance regularly as it can help set the stage for your (non) practice.

Leçon 14: Final Thoughts

In this final lesson, I summarize what we’ve explored and offer some takeaways and suggestions for moving forward. As you lean in, feel, be in life as it is, not trying to make it what we think it should be, it becomes obvious that life itself is the teacher. It’s a beautiful, honest, courageous way of living. Thank you so much for being on this journey with me!

Reviews

Wonderful and helpfull in it's simpleness, yet def not easy (except it kind of is). Highly recommend! Will come Back. Thank you! 🩷🙌✨

Some fabulous insights, thank you for sharing

This has been the best course on Insight Timer Bold statement but true. Nothing to fix. No feelings or thoughts to change, we couldn't even if we wanted to. Just being with what is as it shows up and knowing that nothing stays the same is incredibly liberating. My hope is to integrate it into my whole being so it becomes my default by gently practicing the experiments. Thank you Amy ❤️