There is something about the anxiety and the election anxiety that is rooted in this uncertainty and this change and this loss of control that makes it hard to see clearly.
And insight is all about embracing uncertainty.
And I find that really,
Really helps to deal with change.
And insight in particular of the four pillars for me is a skill that really helps me deal with change.
And so we can think of insight as examining our assumptions and expectations and beliefs with curiosity.
And it's really important to understand that we're not trying to change the way we think or change our assumptions or change our beliefs.
We're just trying to stay with the big picture for a second,
Stay open and stay curious.
And the skill is kind of like poking holes in our own stories.
That's kind of how I think about it.
Got all these stories running through my head.
So I'm going to guide a short little practice and we're going to pay attention to some of those stories.
If you're used to meditation,
Of course,
You can practice.
Oh,
Sit in a very nice way with your eyes closed.
But this practice also really works well with journaling.
If you want to pull out a pen and paper or a digital notepad,
That can also be a really,
Really great way to practice.
So let's just start by getting ready for a second.
No rush.
You can find your posture,
Take a deep breath,
Or you can go grab that notepad.
I'll give you a moment to just relax into the moment.
If you want,
You can close your eyes,
Or if you've got a pen and paper,
You can just start doodling a little bit,
If that helps you stay aware.
And before we get into anything,
Let's do nothing for a little bit and just let the.
.
.
Hourglass settle.
There's so much doing in our lives.
Sometimes it can be very nice to just let that momentum dissipate.
Feels uncomfortable for a moment,
But then we sort of settle into a slower pace.
Now,
If this feels really,
Really good,
You can ignore everything else I'm about to say and just stay here and do nothing and let whatever happens happen.
If you're interested in a little bit of guidance,
What I'll ask you to do is bring a bit of curiosity to that little inner voice in your head.
That likes to chat.
And see if you can listen to it as opposed to trying to do anything.
Just kind of ease back and listen like you're listening to a podcast.
It's not you.
It's just this voice in your head.
It's not your voice.
It's a voice.
You might notice the sound of the voice that seems to be within you.
You might notice the silence between moments where the voice is talking,
Thinking.
You might notice the timbre of the voice.
Is it speaking loudly,
Quietly,
Quickly,
Slowly?
And again,
We're not trying,
We're just listening to what arises,
Noticing what comes up automatically.
These strange inner words that we use the simple word thinking,
But really it's kind of a mysterious phenomenon that's difficult to explain,
But you can just listen to it.
And it's okay if one of these thoughts takes you away,
As they often do.
No self-criticism or judgment required.
Just come back and see if you can listen to the next one.
Okay,
Great.
So let's transition out of that.
Take a moment to let go,
Unwind,
No rush.
I'll give you a minute,
Have a stretch,
Have a sip,
Whatever you need.
I'm gonna debrief a little bit and say that like one way the brain handles uncertainty is that it latches on to any glimmer of certainty it can find.
And the research shows that when there's missing information,
I.
E.
There isn't a certainty,
The brain makes stuff up,
Right?
If you've ever looked at an optical illusion,
Your brain is just trying to complete the picture.
And it does the same thing larger situations like elections and stressful transitions and personal arguments and all the fun stuff that is part of being a human being.
The stories that we tell ourself are sometimes made up.
And so when you listen to those stories,
You can actually learn a lot about yourself and about the mind.
And it's interesting because we feel safe when things make sense.
And so sometimes we just pretend things make sense even when they don't.
So if you think back to the practice we did and you think about like what kind of thoughts were coming up for you,
With insight,
You can kind of inquire,
Why did my brain go there?
You can say,
What beliefs,
What prior knowledge,
What assumptions am I making?
And yes,
Given our theme for today,
What emotions and what emotional needs am I trying to satisfy?
Or is my brain trying to satisfy for me with these thoughts?
It's kind of like recently I had some back pain,
And I could tell that the pain was in my glute.
And so I was stretching and strengthening my glute,
Just doing the leg lifts And then when I actually got to a specialist and figured it out,
It turned out there was actually nothing up with my glute other than it was exhausted because it was compensating for another injury.
And that's similar to what the brain often does with thoughts.
If you think about the election,
If you're like me,
You might always think like,
Oh,
My candidate is definitely going to win,
Definitely,
Because my brain wants me to feel safe in that certainty and doesn't even want to confront the idea that that could not be true.
But I know also there are people who think,
Oh my God,
The other candidate is definitely going to win.
What are we going to do?
And that's like also the brain trying to mitigate that fear by setting you up to prepare for that situation so that you're all prepared again,
Trying to feel safe.
And so with insight,
You can get really curious about these inner movements,
Step out of the stream and study the currents and realize that the stories are not capital T truth.
They're just currents of the mind.
There's nothing to fix.
No need to judge yourself.
You just have to watch.
And sometimes that gives you distance and space to breathe.
And I think,
You know,
Not only do you learn your own patterns,
You learn society's patterns,
Like all these headlines and ads that trigger you.
And as you train an insight,
You sort of gain this essential skill for well-being,
Which is to embrace uncertainty,
Which is key because uncertainty is constant,
Right?
Things are always changing.
Yes,
Tomorrow is the election,
But it's not the end of anything.
Things are going to keep happening.
But with these skills of well-being that my colleagues and I are talking about today,
It just doesn't have to be scary.
It can be just another current to watch in this river of experience.
So if you stay open,
Curiosity is the key and it can really help.
It doesn't solve the problems,
But it allows you to get some and kind of act effectively in your own life and also act effectively in society.
