Your Prescription For Positivity #2: Thought Experiments

Are you having difficulty with something or someone and feeling stuck? To get the very best out of life, all you need to do is rethink your mindset and tweak your outlook. To help you on your way to resolving whatever difficulty that you believe you are currently facing here are four practices to help you find your solution. 

Transcript

Today we will be doing an exercise on cultivating positivity.

In this exercise,

I will walk you through a number of role-playing exercises.

I want you to drop in first into your body by observing your breath.

Taking in deep,

Comfortable breaths into your belly,

Not into your chest.

You should be having a rise and collapse of the abdomen,

Just like when a baby is sleeping very peacefully.

You'll see its stomach area is what rises and falls.

And with each passing breath,

I want you to turn your attention inwards.

Starting with the immediate surroundings around your physical body.

And gradually going into the body through the skin,

Through the flesh,

Through the bones,

To the core of the body.

At the core of the body,

There is a life force.

A life force that keeps this body alive.

And the command center of this life force seems to be somewhere in the region of the third eye,

Which is just behind where your eyebrows meet,

Somewhere below the brain.

This is the seat of awareness.

It is from here that you look through these eyes.

You listen through these ears.

You smell through this nose.

You taste through this nose.

You taste through this tongue.

And you experience a sensation of touch through the vast surface of the skin.

Being seated here at this command center,

Each of us plays many roles in any day,

Whether we realize it or not.

In playing each of these roles,

There are certain skills that are needed.

There are certain benefits that are endowed upon us as we play these roles.

And also with the benefits comes responsibility.

So there are certain responsibilities that are trust upon us in each of these roles that we play.

So in this first scenario,

Seated right here in the center of the forehead,

Visualize yourself as a guest.

This world is like a guest house,

Where we only are here temporarily as we seek shelter.

Visualize that in your eyes,

Mind,

That we are here as a guest.

A guest is well received.

A guest is given comforts.

And the guest does not need to own anything.

The facilities are there for one to use.

And when it's time,

One hands them over and moves on,

Returns to their home.

Thank you.

Now the responsibility of being a good guest is being respectful of the privileges and the resources that we are given for our disposal.

A guest does not seek to possess any of these resources or facilities that are granted upon us.

He uses them knowing that they are just temporarily facilities.

So there needs to be certain care as we use these facilities.

There comes a time when the guest knows it's their time to move on,

Be grateful for what they have been treated,

And then very respectfully bids goodbye.

The next role is seeing oneself as an observer,

A watcher.

A watcher or an observer witnesses without getting involved,

Just observing.

Observe the drama going on all around without judgment.

The excitable observer will pass judgment first and then make knowledge conform to judgment.

Whereas the prudent observer will first learn to know and then judge according to knowledge.

As an observer,

You're not expected to react.

You're not expected to come up with solutions.

You're not expected to do anything.

You're just witnessing.

Witness your world as an observer.

In this state of being a detached observer,

You will draw insights from the everyday ordinary to realize something extraordinary,

To see the situations that are mundane with depth and respond to them with wisdom.

This response from a place of wisdom will not happen if you're caught up in the weeds of the drama going on around you.

Now moving on to the next role.

See yourself as a traveler.

We travel not to escape life,

But for life not to escape us.

As a traveler,

I get to explore.

As a traveler,

I get to see new scenes and scenery every day.

As a traveler,

I'm not bogged down or locked into a particular place or situation because I have the freedom to keep moving.

Now the responsibility of a good traveler is that one does not leave any trace behind.

One leaves a particular place with nothing but memories.

A good traveler is one who seeks not to do anything that will get one stuck.

A traveler continues one's journey with fond memories and loving friendships.

The next role that we will play is one of an actor.

See yourself as an actor.

Acting is behaving truthfully under imaginary circumstances.

Use what you know and don't worry about what you don't know.

As an actor,

I know that this part is only temporary.

I do the best of my ability and when the time comes and the curtains are drawn,

I will shed my costume and go back home.

An actor knows that the more he is in character,

The more entertaining it is both for him and the audience.

As long as you are playing your part,

You are completely in integrity with the role and responsibility.

Knowing fully well,

It is only for a certain period to fulfill a specific role.

And any good actor,

When it moves on to the next role,

Will not carry any traces or the burden of the previous role.

An actor knows fully well that all other actors are simply playing their parts in this imaginary drama and thereby will not take anything that they say or do personally.

The responsibility of an actor is to stay calm and collected and not to get lost in any scene of the drama.

Not to get carried away by the emotions,

But just enjoying oneself in what they have to do and playing their role to the best of their ability.

The next role is that of a trustee.

We are only the trustees for those who come after us.

See yourself as merely a trustee in this world,

In everything that you do.

As a trustee,

I am entrusted with the powers to execute upon people roles and responsibilities.

But then a trustee knows fully well that it is only a role I am playing and nothing is truly mine.

A trustee therefore has certain powers,

But also a responsibility not to misuse those powers.

A trustee knows fully well that with the powers and the responsibility that are entrusted on oneself,

You have the ability to make a difference to those around you,

To those who come after you.

And will never seek that for self-aggrandizing.

Now notice for yourself how you feel right now.

These roles that we walk through today are just a few of the many roles that each one of us plays on a daily basis.

And when you begin to observe them from this lens as just being a role player,

There is lightness,

There is clarity,

And you don't get bogged down.

You make it easy upon yourself to glide through the different roles so that there is no lingering taste of one role as you move on to play the next.

Thereby keeping it authentic and natural.

I hope you enjoyed this exercise and I invite you to come back tomorrow again to join me in another exercise.

Until then,

Be well.

Reviews

Deep...
Thank you 🧡

This meditation in particular felt really deep for me, a powerful meditation! Thank you Jay 🙏❣

Excellent way to gain perspective. Loved this!

Lovely! Thank you!

Thank you for this meditation! What resonated with me, and perhaps what I needed to hear, is the fact that we are all guests in this world. As guests, we visit, and when it is time, we return home, leaving behind all the material things for those that come after. Going forward, starting with just today, I am going to try my best to assume this role in the world.

I absolutely love this meditation! It puts a whole new light on living life. Thank you 🙏🥰💞🌹🕊✨

Thank you so much for sharing your important insights. It is unique and helpful to observe ourselves in different roles… Objectivity seems to be one of the outcomes for me. I look forward to hearing more of your teachings and I have much gratitude for this insightful time😊

To me this lesson was a very welcome revelation! One metaphor that stands out is the actor taking nothing personally. Wonderful! And I wish there were more trustees in this world...🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

This was challenging, comforting and absolutely beautiful. I am so grateful. Thank you for this!!!

Jay, I’ve listened 3 times now. Initially it made me uneasy. I think because I have a hard time “letting go”/ surrendering. I like and understand it/ these roles we have better now. I appreciate these daily lessons you’re giving. Thank you, Mary

I very much enjoyed this. Your insights of considering our human experience through roles is very helpful. I look forward to listening again.

Jay that was fun and informative, I liked it very much , It helped to roll play for better understanding. Thank you 🙏 sending gratitude and blessings 🙏🙏