Hi,
I'm Joni of Insight with Joni and today I want to talk to you about the Eastern concept of impermanence.
In the past,
When I've led workshops around Eastern philosophy and I get to the point where I talk about impermanence,
A lot of people have this expression on their face like,
Oh no,
This is going to be heavy and depressing.
I don't want to talk about impermanence.
Because impermanence means that nothing lasts.
Just like it sounds.
This can be a heavy concept when you look at it like that,
But if you look at the concept of impermanence framed as Your troubles are impermanent as well.
Then it starts to feel like,
Oh,
Maybe I can buy into this concept.
The concept of impermanence is actually to remind us that everything cycles.
And our emotions and our circumstances.
Come and go like waves.
This is really beneficial to remember when we're in a deep,
Dark place.
When we're grieving.
When we're upset,
When we're angry,
When we're sad.
If we can.
Catch ourselves in that emotion.
And say to ourselves,
Okay.
This is what I'm feeling,
Because it's important to feel those feelings and call them out for yourself.
This is what I'm feeling.
And I feel it in my body.
I feel this sadness in my heart center,
In my eyes.
In my belly.
But I know it won't last.
So beneficial when you're in that deep dark place to remember the concept of impermanence because it will help to lift you up.
It will help you to feel your feelings and know that you won't stay stuck there.
Because everything passes.
The other side to impermanence and the part that I think we sometimes miss.
Is that those positive emotions.
And some of those positive circumstances are also fleeting.
I feel like we live in a culture that.
.
.
Encourages us to always be seeking out the next thing.
Seeking out that next job promotion.
Seeking out the perfect partner.
Seeking out the perfect home or the perfect car or whatever it might be.
And we think,
If only I get that thing.
Then I'll be happy.
As if we could get that thing,
That circumstance,
And it's going to cause the sustaining emotion forever from there on out.
But the thing is,
Those kinds of.
.
.
Circumstances that bring us some happiness Those are impermanent as well.
We might meet the right partner and we feel exuberantly joyful,
Like,
Wow,
This is the right person for me.
And that might be wonderful.
But that level of exuberance is going to pass.
There's a phrase about impermanence that a lot of people are a little more familiar with as opposed to Eastern philosophy concepts.
The concept from the Bible,
The quote,
This too shall pass.
This too shall pass is to remind you in those difficult times that they're not going to last forever.
But we also need to remember them in the good times as well.
Not so that we can drag ourselves down,
But so we can fully be present when we do get that job we always wanted.
When we finally do meet the right partner.
When we finally find ourselves in that circumstance that we've been working hard for,
That we wanted so much.
Sometimes I feel like when we reach that place,
We are so conditioned to just move on to the next thing that we don't pause to savor.
The experience.
So impermanence is there to remind us that tough times will pass,
But also the good times will pass so that when you find yourself in one of those good times and you are hooked into one of those beautiful,
Pleasant emotional circumstances.
See you for it.
Call it out for yourself in the same way you would call out grief.
Call out for yourself.
Wow!
This is excitement.
This is gratitude.
Where do I feel it in my body?
I feel lightness in my whole body.
I feel this joy in my face.
In my heart.
To fully give yourself permission to enjoy it.
Because this too shall pass.
The tough times will pass.
And the good times will pass.
And so the kind of deep inner peace that we're seeking when we meditate.
It is a kind of peace,
A kind of equanimity.
That is present underneath our circumstances.
Underneath our fleeting emotions.
That's what we want to cultivate when we meditate.
The kind of inner peace and joy that circumstances and fleeting emotions can't touch.
The kind of inner peace.
That is part of you deeply.
I believe it was there when you were born.
But our circumstances and our lives and our traumas cover it up.
But we can find that again.
And learn to plug into that.
To connect with that.
And you still have the surface emotions and circumstances that are like a wave and you can remind yourself of impermanence and ride that wave a little,
But underneath it,
You can still feel the deep joy and equanimity.
That you are.
Here.
You are experiencing this unique life.
Buddhist meditation teacher Pema Chodron says,
All of our emotions,
All of our circumstances.
They're like the weather.
They're moving weather patterns.
But you?
You're the sky.
You're the sky behind the weather.
Remember that metaphor.
The next time you're in one of those really low lows.
Or in one of those really high highs.
Remember that the deepest part of you,
That part of you that you want to remember and connect with,
That peaceful equanimity.
Is the sky and it's deeply inside you.
Impermanence.
Is the passing weather of emotion and circumstance.
And you can recognize that.
Allow yourself a moment to feel it and experience it.
And remind yourself.
This too shall pass.
I hope this brief little discussion on the concept of impermanence was helpful for you.
I hope it offers a framework,
Something for you to think about when you are experiencing those different life circumstances that come at us in waves.
And I hope that you come back here and listen to more programming from me on Insight Timer at Insight with Joni,
And come back and enjoy all that Insight Timer has to offer.
Again,
I'm Joanie with Insight with Joanie,
And I hope to see you again soon.
