Compassionately relating to resistance,
Let's begin by finding a comfortable position,
Noticing what's happening in the body,
In the mind,
The emotional atmosphere,
And letting a soothing breathing rhythm to emerge,
And now allowing the situation to come up,
Preferably something you recently experienced,
Which caused a sense of fear,
Aversion,
Or resistance.
It doesn't need to be the most difficult situation,
Just choose something that has been troublesome,
But you also feel space to work with right now.
It can be around a physical or emotional difficulty,
Around the difficulty in relating to another person.
If you found something,
Just allowing your imagination to reconnect with the situation,
And let it come alive as if you're experiencing this difficulty right now.
What is there to see,
To hear,
To feel?
Exploring the inner landscape of this sense of threat,
And your reaction to it.
What bodily sensations,
What emotions,
What thoughts arise?
Exploring all of this experience with gentle curiosity,
And now I invite you to meet the situation and your experience of it with the attitude of no,
I don't want this,
And really embody this no.
Whatever you encounter,
Meet it with the energy of resistance,
No,
No to the situation,
No to physical sensations,
No to emotions,
No to thoughts,
No,
No,
No.
Embodying the attitude of not wanting whatever shows up.
Even if you have difficulty connecting with the situation,
Or feel reactions against the exercise itself,
You can respond with no,
I don't want this,
No to whatever sound,
Thought,
Or feeling that shows itself right now.
Even no to the breath,
And just notice what effect does this no have on you?
What effect does no have on your body,
Its felt state,
Its temperature?
What are you noticing in your face,
Jaws,
Throat,
Chest,
Belly,
The muscles of your arms and legs,
Hands and feet?
What effect does no have on your mood state and on your mind?
What does it do to the imagined situation,
And what would it be like if you would persist in the state of no for a longer period?
And now letting go of no,
And allowing for a shift towards a neutral attitude,
Perhaps even readjusting your position,
And if you like you can even open your eyes for a while,
Take a few deep breaths,
And allow the body to move and to relax.
And now connecting again with the same difficult situation as before,
Allowing it to come alive in your imagination once more,
Allowing the landscape to reveal itself again in every detail,
Bodily,
Emotionally,
Mentally,
But now experimenting with another attitude to meet the situation and your experience of it.
The attitude of yes,
I welcome this,
Or it's okay,
Embody this yes with your whole being,
Meeting every experience with a yes,
Welcome,
Or okay,
Yes to the situation,
To images,
Emotions,
Physical sensations,
Yes to sounds,
Thoughts and feelings,
Yes to the breath,
And while embodying yes,
Explore what effect it has on you,
What effects do you notice in your body,
Your face,
Chest,
Belly,
Arms and legs,
What effect does yes have on your state of mind,
And your emotional state,
What does it do to the imagined situation,
And your experience of it,
And what would it be like if you would embody this yes for a longer period.
And now allowing yourself to return to a neutral attitude,
In open awareness,
Allowing the breath to flow freely with whatever arises,
And you may wish to reflect on the following question.
What would be the most compassionate and wise attitude in this given situation?
The no,
Or the yes,
Or perhaps something in between.
This exercise is meant to be an open exploration of possible attitudes,
A mindful investigation.
There is no underlying judgment that one is better than the other.
It may well depend on the situation you have chosen,
What the most compassionate response would be,
And there may be more than one level to explore.
Yes or no to the situation,
To your experience of the situation,
Or to what the exercise brought up.
There may also be a difference between yes and okay,
Or there may be different types of no,
Like a fearful resisting no,
Or a wise limit-setting no.
So gently reflecting on whatever arises,
And you may wish to end by allowing a kind wish to flow through you.
