SRS Session 19 | Attachment

In session 19 we see that even our good habits and practices are limiting if the freedom to choose them is lost in compulsion. Instead, we can be empowered to choose from love. This meditation incudes a guided visualization - the path of choice. The Spiritual Recalibration Series is designed to help you expand your awareness into a new, more open, curious and expansive way of being in daily life. This impactful series comprises 33 sessions, each with a short topic (the recalibration) followed by guided meditation. Meditations include affirmations, visualizations, and brief periods of quiet, musical stillness.

Transcript

Okay,

Welcome back to the Spiritual Recalibration Series.

Thank you for embarking on this series and opening yourself to a new way of being.

My name is David,

And this is Session 19,

Attachments and Freedom.

Find a comfortable seat in a space where you can allow yourself 20 minutes or so,

Undistracted,

To focus just on you.

A quick reminder,

To get the most out of this series,

Please be sure you've listened to the Welcome Session,

Session Zero.

Here we go.

So the idea of attachment came up.

This is,

I'm really excited about this one,

Because there's so much potential there.

It's also,

It's also,

It's also,

Oh,

It's also,

It's also challenging and a little bit scary it can be.

So I think the way that I want to chat with you for just a few minutes is the idea of attachments and the idea of freedom on the other side of those.

So some of you may,

I imagine I've probably shared in the past,

So some of you may know that when I first started,

So I was 39 years old,

I'm no longer 39.

But when I was 39 years old,

I remember when it was,

I was having quite a lot of anxiety up in my head all the time,

Churning,

Churning,

Churning.

And I,

And so I had reached out to my older sister who is a meditation yoga teacher and talked to her about it.

And she got me started on the path of meditation.

I started a meditation practice at that time,

Because certainly when you're feeling uncomfortable that way,

If any of you have experience with that,

You feel like there's something wrong.

That's something that there's something that needs to be fixed.

So it was really wonderful about the way that my sister engaged me was that it was in that was that it was an invitation,

An invitation to start working with my mind,

Start training the mind is another way to think of it.

And so,

And so I,

So I started on that path and eventually studied meditation to be able to teach it and then,

And then,

And then yoga as well.

And so that's,

You know,

That's great.

And certainly there,

There are many benefits of meditation and yoga.

And but what I noticed,

What I have noticed recently,

Or I guess what I like to speak about is when a good habit,

Right.

And you could,

This could just as easily be exercise some,

You know,

I was,

I still run,

But I used to run and,

You know,

Do like,

You know,

I don't know,

Five Ks,

10 Ks,

Half marathon,

That sort of thing.

So running exercise,

Anything that you do,

Swimming,

Triathlons,

There are all kinds of good habits that can actually,

That we can actually develop an attachment to.

And when we develop those attachments in one way to,

To avoid,

To avoid something,

Maybe to avoid feeling a certain way to avoid feeling our feelings is the way that comes up for me to say it.

So that good habit of waking up every morning to practice yoga and meditation became an attachment,

Has become an attachment.

So it's kind of that line when now I'm a big fan of when you are,

Of when you are trying to establish a habit,

Doing it every day,

And,

You know,

Giving yourself having compassion for yourself if you miss a day,

But spending the time to establish that habit.

That's I think that's good,

Or necessary when you're trying to establish that.

But at some point,

Once it's established,

You kind of get to this thing.

Now,

Certainly there are,

We can,

There are not so,

Not so good for you things that you can become attached to,

Right?

You can go to,

It can be,

It can be food or alcohol,

You know,

Various,

Various other things.

So that was really interesting that this has come up recently.

So I was thinking,

Okay,

So how can,

How can it become more playful?

Where is the freedom?

My daughter said the other day,

My daughter is 15 and she's quite athletic and she does lots of exercise.

And she said the other day,

Dad,

I'm a,

I'm going to,

I'm,

I was going to do an ab workout,

But I'm going to resist the compulsion.

So,

Wow,

That's really insightful.

It's like,

Like you're,

You're,

It's like when the thing about it is,

So I'm still going to practice yoga and I'm still going to meditate.

You may go for that run.

You may go for that swim.

You may do that training.

You may eat that piece of chocolate.

And to me,

The question is from where do you make that choice?

So am I,

Am I choosing the yoga practice or is the yoga practice choosing me because I'd like to choose from a place of freedom,

The freedom to not choose it,

The freedom to choose something else.

So that's an intentional thing that I've been up to lately is whenever I'm either in a practice or choosing to do a practice to,

If it feels compulsive or habitual,

Then maybe I choose something else.

If it feels like it's coming from a place of choice and freedom in this morning,

Incidentally,

The thought came up in my choosing this from a place of love,

And that seems like the one I'm going to choose.

And then you go back to your stuff,

You have compassion for yourself.

I have compassion for myself when I fall back into it.

It's just this idea of play and freedom.

Freedom is a big deal.

Yeah.

Okay.

So let's let that be all.

Let's wrap up with a short,

We're going to do a little visualization here with this practice about attachments and freedom.

So let's close down the eyes,

If that's comfortable for you gently,

Just as before,

Eyes closed softly behind the eyelids,

Sit nice and upright,

Straighten out that spine.

You want to draw your shoulder blades together gently,

No tension,

Nothing forced.

If you're sitting in a chair,

See if you can get your feet flat on the ground.

Sometimes also if you're in a chair or if you're sitting against a wall or something like that,

Having a bolster or something in your lower back can be a way to help you be comfortable.

You want to be comfortable when you sit for any period of time.

So you don't end up just thinking about your body being uncomfortable.

You can place your hands on your thighs at the juncture of thighs and abdomen.

Or a little bit further forward if your arms are a bit longer,

That's more comfortable for you.

Place your palms up or facing down,

Your choice.

Palms up is kind of an open and receptive posture for your hands.

Palms down is kind of a grounding posture.

So you choose today.

See,

Let your breath come naturally.

In and out through the nose.

And see if you can begin to notice it.

See if you can feel it.

The edges of the nostrils,

The outer edges,

Sometimes the easiest place to start feeling it if you've never looked for it before.

If you have,

Then you may be able to notice it higher up in the nose.

See how high up in the nostrils you can notice the air passing.

Cool on the inhale and warm on the exhale.

Cool on the inhale and warm on the exhale.

Now,

Oftentimes,

When you first start watching the breath,

It will take only a second or two before the mind starts thinking about something.

It could be anything.

A random thought or thought about something that's been on your mind lately.

A task that's coming up today.

The task you were into before you chose to sit down for this meditation.

It's natural.

It is the nature of the mind.

What is awesome is that you notice.

You notice the mind wander gently but firmly.

Come back to noticing your breath.

This is an ancient meditation technique using the breath to focus.

The breath as a focal point.

Training the mind in presence so that you can be here.

Be here to experience your life in this moment and in each moment.

With your family,

With your friends,

Your loved ones.

With all whom you encounter to be present.

It takes practice,

But it's good practice.

Notice in your thinking,

Come back to your breath.

Notice in your thinking,

Come back to your breath for just another few moments.

It's said that the,

And it is certainly a real experience,

That the more you practice meditation,

The more you want to practice meditation.

And the less frequently you do,

The more challenging it is.

Good.

Take an intentional inhale through your nose and then exhale through your mouth.

You can let go of watching the breath.

Draw your gaze gently behind your closed eyelids,

Upward toward the point between your eyebrows.

Gently,

No straining.

So you just have this gentle upward gaze.

Just a short visualization here as you're gazing upward.

Walking on a path outside,

Pleasant day with a blue sky.

A dirt path,

Going through the grass,

Just you walking along.

And above you,

There's a light,

Light of the sun,

It's a warm light,

A welcoming light,

Light of freedom,

And love.

As you walk along the path,

The path forks,

A path off to the right,

One off to the left,

One straight ahead.

You take a breath and you choose one.

And the light is still there with you as you walk.

And as you walk,

The path forks,

A path off to the right,

One off to the left,

One straight ahead.

And this becomes your path now.

And a few more turns in the path.

And you choose,

And the light is there,

A light of freedom,

Of love,

Of curiosity,

Of ease.

And soon you come to the ocean,

Standing at the edge of a small cliff there.

Allow the ocean,

Expansive,

See if you can hear it.

The seagulls,

The waves,

Feel the breeze,

Allow yourself to feel this freedom,

This expansive ocean,

That light that's still there.

Now let this visualization go,

But for just a few more moments,

Stay with this feeling of freedom,

Of light,

Of love,

Of ease,

And curiosity.

Now,

Take a normal inhale and exhale,

Prepare to come back to the space where you are.

And you can stay like this for as long as you like.

And when you're ready,

You can flutter open your eyelids.