Sitting with Not-Knowing

In this meditation, Dr. Julien Lacaille gently guides you in cultivating patience and trust, as you practice mindfully sitting with uncertainty.

Transcript

Bell Okay,

Allowing the body to settle into a stable posture.

And seeing if we can kind of switch from a conceptual mode or a thinking mode to more of a feeling mode.

Getting out of our heads and into our body.

Out of the past or the future and into the present moment.

And in some way kind of letting go of trying to control things in the future.

Just for now as an experiment.

Allowing ourselves to not have to troubleshoot,

Problem solve,

Figure anything out.

Allowing ourselves the permission to just be here,

To just sit here.

And seeing if we can kind of adopt a certain attitude of a beginner's mind.

Like a child that doesn't know much about the world yet.

A lot is still unknown.

And it's almost not that much of a problem.

Seeing if we can adopt this not knowing attitude.

And rather get curious about what is known just right here right now.

Like for example,

The feeling of the body sitting right now.

Seeing the contact points,

The position of each part of the body.

The sensation of the weight of the body.

Having a sense of what it feels like to not have to go anywhere,

To do anything.

We're not leaning forward into the future.

We're not leaning back into the past.

We are centered.

Nothing to do.

Just sitting here.

Getting a sense of what it feels like to just be alive right now as the body keeps breathing in and breathes out.

And again,

There's nothing to figure out.

If the breath is shallow,

It's shallow.

If it's deep,

It's deep.

We're not fixing anything.

So for now,

Just sitting and knowing that we're sitting,

Breathing and knowing that we're breathing.

And that's it.

Nothing else.

You're maybe starting to notice if the mind is rebelling.

Whether the mind is content with just being here,

Doing nothing.

Whether there's kind of a little bit of a pull to figuring something out.

Leaning forward into the next moments of the day or the week.

The to-do list.

The event,

The meeting.

The weather.

Just any kind of unresolved issues that are upcoming.

Maybe just bringing some awareness to the mind's rebellious nature to being just right here,

Right now.

Nothing to do.

The mind may be saying,

Yeah,

There are tons of things to do.

And just starting to be aware of what those things are.

What problems need to be addressed or fixed.

The mind doesn't like that things in the future are uncertain.

So it wants to make it certain.

Prepare.

Be safe.

So just get curious for a few moments how the mind works in this way.

How it tries to make uncertainty more certain by planning,

Problem solving.

Notice that pull.

And also notice the gratification that comes with worrying or planning.

Feels like you're getting something done by thinking about it.

By rehearsing a situation,

Scenario.

What am I going to say?

What am I going to do?

It feels like you're getting something done.

It feels like you're increasing the level of preparation and certainty.

And then see if you can temporarily just come back to this body sitting here,

Breathing.

And from the perspective of this solid body that's in the present moment,

Centered,

Notice that this is a simulation of the mind.

It's a little mental movie.

And notice the function of the little mental movie to make me feel safer,

Less anxious,

More prepared,

More in control.

And I'll invite you to come back into the body and to start noticing if we abandon this attempt to control the future and we just have the humility of saying,

I don't know.

Who knows?

Maybe some discomfort will show up in the body.

So dropping that simulation,

Dropping that planning,

That problem solving,

Coming back to this body sitting here,

Just breathing.

As we abandon this need to control,

What's showing up in the body?

Maybe it's anxiety.

Maybe it's fear.

Where is that showing up in the body?

The throat,

The chest,

The belly,

An urge to move.

And seeing if we can open ourselves up to the feeling these sensations in the body,

Sitting with them,

Sitting with them.

Noticing if the mind pulls you still into the future and every time you notice that pull,

Just notice it as a mental event that has a function maybe to make you feel more prepared.

And just experimenting,

Dropping that storyline,

Coming back to the body.

How does that feel in the body?

Can I breathe into it?

Can I just sit with it?

Make room for it.

Sitting with not knowing,

Sitting with uncertainty.

Maybe getting a sense of the body as a whole,

The weight of the body,

The posture,

The breath going in and out,

And the sensations linked to uncertainty,

To not knowing.

Recognizing this stands to be just a radical act of trust.

And a radical act of patience.

Maybe even a radical act of humility.

I can't control everything.

I can't predict the future.

Can I acknowledge that?

Can I learn to get comfortable with the discomfort of not knowing?

Perhaps noticing a smile forming in your mind or in your body or on your face.

A smile that indicates that it's okay to not know.

And it's okay to feel the way I'm feeling.

Practicing every time the mind pulls us into the future.

Acknowledging it as a mental movie with a good intention to keep us safe.

And then practicing coming out of our heads,

Back into our body with perhaps the discomfort of not knowing.

Practicing with it with a half smile.

And really getting familiar with this posture of patience and trust and humility.

Fear enough so that we can bring it into our daily life in moments where we have a tendency to worry and to frantically problem solve.

And from time to time,

Just sitting with not knowing.

Reviews

Sitting and not knowing is a really good idea to let go and feel.

Sitting in this meditation I was amazed by how at first I constantly tried to solve some future situation. It seems to be the default mode. It’s very liberating to let that go even for a few moments 🙏🏼

Not what I expected. I felt much more at ease afterwards. Thank you very much

Excellent meditation for taking time to show compassion towards the part of me that always tries to problem-solve. This meditation provides space for that fix-it muscle to relax and rest in presence.

This was a simple,clear meditation. I will return to it

I get so much out of this meditation every time I do it. Thank you

Excellent. Just what I needed to slow a frenetic "stuck record" mind and bring me back to "just being". Thank you 😊

Kind of scary actually, in a helpful way. Thank you.

Exactly what I need to let go of all my constant planning!

Excellent teaching and guidance. After an anxious week of worry, this helped me surrender and accept that I just don’t know! And that’s ok. Thank you 🙏🏻.

Self inquiry at its best. Eye opener. Instigator to train amplitud of consciousness. Thank you! 🙏🏼💫🌼

I appreciate the encouragement to feel and allow not knowing. Such an important place to practice

Fantastic! You really kept me present in the moment 🙏🏽💫

Clarity, insightfulness and so helpful. Thank you!
🌷✨🙏🏽🌟💖🌟🙏🏽✨🌷

Love it- and at the end it really feels different! My mind was invited to relax, trust and surrender into the not-knowing. Thanks so much!

Such a great meditation, wonderfully guided. At the end I realized that I felt in very good hands throughout. This teacher knows what he is doing.

What a lovely gentle practice. Thank you so much 😊🙏

thank you all of your meditations help me enormously.

Incredibly helpful in this moment- thank you!

Important message and useful guidance. Thanks!