Hey friends,
Today I want to share with you a practice.
A lot of times we step into an experience with an agenda,
With expectations on how things might go.
Whatever that experience ends up being,
It ends up colored by that agenda.
We see things a little bit how we want to see them,
Rather than how they naturally should come to us.
For a lot of us,
The mind will do this automatically.
Can you imagine how exhausting it would be if every time we experienced anything it was the first time,
And we had to figure that thing out over and over and over again.
To keep us from spending that huge amount of energy,
The mind stores those expectations.
It says,
I've experienced this before,
I think this is how it's going to go.
But some of the most beautiful experiences happen when we're very patient,
And allow that experience to happen naturally the way it's meant to be happening.
So today I want to explore with you what it could be like to approach an experience without an agenda.
To pretend like you don't know what's going to happen next,
Or acknowledge that you don't know what's going to happen next.
Doing this with an aspect of curiosity and extreme patience.
Being curious about that experience and what's going to happen,
But being patient and allowing it to come to us.
So I invite you to join me in a comfortable seat.
I'll give you a moment to get there.
We'll start this one like we often do,
Just some deep breathing.
Some big inhales filling up the lungs to their capacity.
And a slow,
Slow exhale.
Just continue breathing very deeply like this as we settle in.
Notice off the top your attitude going into this practice.
Notice any judgments on whether something or some experience is good or bad.
Those are obstacles to finding any sort of balance.
Anything that is here with us now is meant to be with us.
Annoying sounds,
Uncomfortable sensations,
Clingy thoughts.
If you notice any of that,
Welcome them to the party.
They're already here so let's welcome them.
That equanimity is a powerful state to cultivate this practice.
Just saying to yourself,
Oh,
That's here with me.
And just allowing it to exist.
No judging,
No bracing.
There shouldn't be any effort here,
Right?
You're just allowing something to be.
It's already being.
And this can be your practice today.
Just this right here.
If you like you can turn me off now or tune me out and just be here for however long you like.
This right here is a great practice.
No need to tack more onto it.
But if you would like to explore a different avenue,
Feel free to follow along with me.
Now if you feel like maybe you need a little structure,
Now is a great time to set up a home base.
Something for the mind to focus on.
Maybe for you that's focusing on the sensation of breathing.
A lot of us do that.
Or the sensation of the hands touching your thighs or wherever they're resting.
Maybe focusing on your feet on the ground.
That sensation of them touching the ground.
Maybe you notice the sounds around you.
You can choose something like that if you like and settle in with it.
So imagine how it might be if you were born just now,
Right this moment.
You have no agenda,
No expectations for how anything works.
Everything is new to you.
We approach this experience with curiosity and patience.
Just let the world reveal itself to you.
Each sound,
Each sensation,
Each thought,
Each emotion.
What if it were the first time you experienced that thing?
Get curious about it.
Each new thing that pops up,
Get very still in the body as you explore this brand new experience for you.
There can be an extreme amount of imagination to this.
Just pretending like you've never taken a breath before.
Just being like,
Oh,
So this is what a breath feels like.
Just getting really curious and diving into that sensation.
Or imagine,
You know,
This is your first time experiencing having hands,
So just you don't have to move them around and touch anything.
But you can if you like.
But it's enough just to notice the sensation of having hands.
You can just play with this idea a little bit.
Have some fun with it.
See what comes up.
So even now we aren't building an agenda.
We aren't seeking these things out right.
Just patiently sitting,
Allowing them to reveal themselves to us when they please.
Everything is more natural that way.
The world is happening as it's supposed to,
Not as we would like it to happen.
As will almost always happen,
You might find yourself pulled away.
Maybe a thought derailed you a bit.
So when that happens,
Just say,
Okay,
That happened,
And then come back here.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Right now we're just being.
And being curious what just being means,
What it feels like.
Again,
If you're pulled away by a thought,
Just passionately pull yourself back to the body.
Continue with this experience you are in right now,
If you like,
And just ignore me.
But if you would like to weave in a little bit of gratitude practice,
Feel free to follow me for this next bit.
These sensations and emotions and thoughts that we have been curious about as they pop up.
Try thanking them for coming.
If you notice your breath,
Say thank you to the breath.
If you hear a sound nearby,
Just say thank you to the sound.
Maybe a thought tries to pull you sideways and you just say thank you.
Come back to the body.
You don't have to know why you're saying it.
You don't need a reason to be thankful for everything in your experience.
Maybe just that extra little bit of gratitude being shared now raises your capacity for gratitude other times.
Makes it easier to be thankful for something when it happens.
If you can be thankful for a sound entering your experience,
When someone does something for you that deserves gratitude,
It'll come a lot easier,
Won't it?
.
.
I really appreciate you joining me for this practice and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I always do when I sit with it.
