Hi everyone,
Welcome to day one of our course together.
I'm Lane Holbert and I'll be guiding you through this course.
Together we'll explore our suffering,
Our trials,
Our frustrations and challenges.
That other half of life which we so often do not come in touch with,
That is often ignored and that we're unwilling to grow closer to and accept as part of ourselves and our experience.
Together we'll shape how we see that suffering.
We'll begin to recognize it as a call to transformation and change.
We'll find purpose in accordance with our own values and what is meaningful for us.
As such,
I'd like to begin today with a beautiful quote by Dr.
Victor Frankel.
When we are no longer able to change a situation,
We are challenged to change ourselves.
Dr.
Victor Frankel was revolutionary in that he gave us tools to recognize how we can notice our actions and our attitudes are those things which are most in our control and everything else,
How to let go of it,
How to notice that it's outside of our control.
So let's begin with a few simple questions as we set our intention for the day.
First,
What path are you being led on today and what path has led you here?
Why are you called to take this course and learn about transforming your suffering?
What is your goal?
You might consider making a mental note or jotting down on a piece of paper.
What are the lasting things that you hope to accomplish from our time together?
One of the things that I hope that we accomplish is recognizing a deeper sense of our values and where they are calling us in life.
So today we'll be focusing on that tool,
Making our values more clear and finding what they are calling us towards.
We have a responsibility towards what is precious and valuable in life and what we are uniquely gifted to calling.
That is why Dr.
Victor Frankel often said,
We have a response ability and responsibility to respond to that.
We always have an ability to respond regardless of our circumstances.
The problems and difficulties that challenge you are waiting to be overcome or to be transformed by our attitude and by those that we can serve from our experience.
Quite often our past,
We cannot change and is filled with a painful or traumatic experience.
And we have only to notice the ways in which that may allow us to grow stronger and to serve those who are going through something similar coming out the other side.
This is the basis of much of 12-step recovery work and of working with trauma.
So I'd like to begin by asking you to take a seated comfortable position and we're going to practice some visualization together.
Please take a moment to relax into the place you are sitting.
Together your breath and attention into one space.
Breathing deeply into that space.
Notice how your awareness moves from the mind into the body as you breathe into every part with gentleness,
With kindness.
Very good.
Pausing for a moment.
I'd like you to recall some difficult moment in the past from which you've learned about yourself and garnered strength,
Come out a better person from that experience.
It could have been something recent or further past,
Further in our distant past.
I'd like you to recall what that felt like.
What was the attitude that allowed you to transform that suffering,
That difficulty into who you are today?
What did that transition feel like?
And how does it feel now?
Coming back to our breath into the present moment.
We may notice that we have only our present breath,
But we have all of the knowledge and learning and strength from our past that can be applied to a present struggle,
A present suffering or any in the future.
As such,
I would like you to now hold that very lightly.
Just be willing with the out breath to let go of any pain that is still present or to accept it as coming and going like the in breath and the out breath.
Breathing deeply,
We are here.
We are present to whatever our present situation may be,
Whatever daily struggle we may have.
I would like you now to bring to mind a presently occurring struggle or one which happens perhaps in your life on a recurring basis,
A daily basis,
One that will not bring up traumatic feelings,
But just something that is a struggle,
That is frustrating.
Perhaps one that demands some of your attention that comes up when you do not want it to.
Some anger,
Some fear,
Or some frustration that you have until now,
Not fully understood,
Not fully accepted.
We're going to come into touch with that,
Just noticing again like we did with our past experience what it feels like.
Perhaps what prompts it to arise,
What situations or places,
What people.
Breathing deeply,
We accept whatever that may be,
Allowing it to come forth from the recesses of our minds to the forefront,
To something that we can hold lightly,
Recognizing our thoughts come and go.
At the moment,
We're just holding it lightly,
Recognizing it's part of us,
But we're greeting it with a smile,
Noticing that it too is able to be reflected upon and felt and seen.
Taking a few deep breaths here,
We're going to move into applying some of our strength from our past situation to the present.
I'd like you to notice what it would feel like if you had overcome this struggle in the similar way that you did in the past.
Perhaps you could even visualize how you would feel using this struggle,
This suffering as a source of strength and service.
What would that look like for you?
What would it feel like to be able to contribute from your own struggles to your own better self in the near future?
Grafting that same feeling that you had of accomplishment and purpose with your past experience,
See if you can place that same feeling on this present struggle.
Noticing in many ways how they are similar even though they are different things,
How the process will have similar results because of your strength and your learning and your purpose.
As you breathe deeply,
Ask yourself what meaning comes,
What lesson comes from making it through this struggle?
You picture your future self in the near future.
What have they found?
What have you found that is meaningful,
That moves you closer to what you value most,
Whether that's unconditional love,
Interconnection,
Peace and serenity,
Or simple balance of joy with suffering?
Holding it lightly,
We notice that there are small steps that we can take even today,
Even this moment that will move us towards that future self that is so meaningful for us and that we care for so deeply.
In a sense,
We are rising above to connect with a higher power that pulls us towards that future self as we pray,
As we meditate.
We imagine the strength that we have,
That gentle healthy tension that pulls us towards that future self and gives us the strength that we know we have.
Indeed,
That even being courageous to embark on this mission together in our Logotherapy course draws out our inner strength.
I'll return now as we breathe deeply into that inner strength.
Turning now to our breath as we prepare to finish the guided meditation.
You might gently open your eyes if you had them closed.
Our goal today was to begin to reframe our mindset around what we value.
Reframing is just one of the five tools that we'll be practicing together.
Our responsibility,
Our response ability to what is good and precious,
To what we value most.
I hope that we've come a little bit closer to that for you and together.
Before we begin next week or tomorrow,
Whenever you do the next session,
I invite you to do some journaling,
To think about how you are pulled forward,
What healthy tension is there between the present self and self-transcendence into the future.
What you're doing for your higher self and for all others that you will no doubt touch as the benefits of this practice play forward.
Through the strength of your higher power and the strength of our community,
I encourage you to reach out and message any questions you may have.
I'll close with a few affirmations.
I trust that I am in the right place,
Right here and right now,
Where I'm meant to be and on the path that I'm meant to be on.
I always have a choice in my attitude and my actions in response to any situation or any condition of my existence.
My life has unconditional value and I am responsible for who I become and who I am called to be.
What I do matters and there is always good to be found in what I do.
Thank you and until next time,
May peace be with you.
