Hello,
Welcome.
My name is Lou Redman.
Thank you for choosing to practice with me today.
I'm looking forward to share and explore this theme of doubt with you and work through some of the layers that might be blocking you from that connection to that knowing within yourself.
If you have the time,
There is a 13 minute talk that really goes in deep to the topics that we're going to explore in this meditation.
So you could find that talk under the same title.
If not,
And you want to go right into and do a meditation practice,
That's great.
I just want to give a little bit of an introduction to this practice.
I was facing some doubt in my life around what is best for me around where I should spend my time.
I won't get too far into the story.
I get more into it in the talk and I was exploring how do we navigate doubt?
How do we go from doubting to believing?
And what I realized is that often doubt and belief are at a very high level.
When I say high,
I mean of the mind that there's actually a deeper level that I want to invite us to move to.
And that is a sense of knowing that when we know something that we can kind of let go of the doubt.
The doubt is just kind of a part of us.
There's a part of us that's doubting,
But there's a deeper part that already knows.
And that knowingness doesn't need to do anything.
And so to cultivate that,
We actually cultivate a resourceful not knowing space that instead of trying to figure it out,
Can we be okay and present with it out figured out?
Can we just be at peace that we don't know and not feel like we need to have the ones that come up with the answer?
Our minds are so limited.
There's so much that we don't know.
The biggest wisdom is that we don't know what we don't know.
And with spirituality what meditation helps us to do is let go and surrender into that resourceful not knowing state.
It opens us up to a mystery,
A humility,
A wonder in the unknown.
And that's where the answers can kind of arise on their own.
And so that's what the intention with this meditation is for you to start to come into that resourceful not knowing.
Within the meditation we're going to work with a Rilke poem about being okay with the question rather than needing to find the answer.
And we'll also develop a connection to a sense of faith and trusting in our path.
In the beginning of the practice we're going to connect with what Plato calls the three transcendentals.
The love of goodness and truth and beauty.
And I find that when we're aligned with one of those we're in a state of presence.
And when we're in a state of presence we can drop into a state of knowing.
So that's why we're going to ground and bring in this good true and beautiful.
All right let's get in and explore this meditation.
And so doing what you need to shift gears.
Maybe rolling out your shoulders.
Moving in any way that feels supportive.
That allows you to ground.
Allows your posture to find a place where everything can rest.
Letting the shoulders relax.
Letting the lower body get heavy.
And we're actually going to begin by connecting to what is true.
So what is true is what's happening in this moment.
So feel your bodily sensations that are happening right now.
Notice the breath moving in and out.
Even the awareness of thoughts are connecting to what's true.
Not that the thoughts are true.
But the fact that you're aware of them.
That you're having them is true.
So taking a few more moments to connect with what is true.
What's happening right now in your body heart mind experience.
And then moving to connecting to what is good.
What is good within you?
So maybe that's your heart.
Your intentions.
Your love.
Your spirit.
That you're trying really hard.
And maybe connect to what's good in your life.
Inviting a sense of gratitude or appreciation for your kids.
Your family.
Or simply the great privilege we have to be alive.
Feel the goodness that is always here.
And as you do slow down and breathe into that goodness.
And then connecting to what is beautiful.
This one is more subjective.
So connecting to what is beautiful within you or maybe something that you love like a poem or a song.
A way of being.
Just slow down.
Inviting in a sense of beauty.
Breathing and expanding into that.
And then to let this really root in.
I'm going to offer some affirmations.
You can repeat them silently out loud.
You can just listen and just feel how they resonate.
Sharing with yourself.
I am truth.
I am goodness.
I am beauty.
I am truth.
I am goodness.
I am beauty.
And just noticing your state of being.
And then take a gentle breath in and out.
From here we're going to work with doubt.
So bring to mind a place in your life where you are experiencing doubt.
Maybe something you're uncertain or feel a sense of unknown.
Begin to hold this in your awareness.
Try not to get too wrapped up in the story.
Just noticing how it's manifesting physically as you bring this into your awareness.
What's happening in your body.
And what I invite you to do is to get to know this part of you that's doubtful.
What are some of the words that it says?
Maybe I'm not sure.
I doubt my capacity.
I doubt my ability.
I don't know if I'm doing it right.
Just notice its narrative and let it speak.
Keep slowing down and being with it.
And what we're exploring in this is doubt is of the mind.
And so bring the awareness into your mind's eye.
The third eye center just above the jaw on your forehead.
And feel that area of your body soften.
As you breathe feel the spaciousness in your mind widen.
Maybe connecting with your mind as wide as the sky.
And not that we want to push those narratives and the doubt away.
But just for now as you widen the sky inviting you to do it with a loving awareness.
Feel those narratives of doubt.
Just see if you can notice it dissolve.
Some of those thoughts may stick around.
But just notice if you can just let yourself drop into a deeper space in your mind's eye.
Widen and allow those thoughts to dissolve.
And then take a gentle breath in.
Letting it go.
Now moving the awareness from your forehead down into your heart center.
So the center of your chest.
Maybe an inch in front of your spine.
In some traditions this is known as the center of spiritual knowledge.
And see if you can start to just open and rest in not needing to know the answer or to solve the problem of your doubt.
Can you widen into a space of wonder?
Of mystery?
See if you can slow down and breathe into that center of your heart.
As Rilke says,
Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart.
And try to love the questions themselves.
Like locked rooms and like books they are written in a very foreign tongue.
We get our answers by experiencing life.
By living.
And so feel the awareness in your heart start to widen.
Start to open.
Bringing more spaciousness into your heart.
Doing this with your breath.
And softening into that resourceful not knowing state.
And then take a breath with me.
Letting that go.
And now working to cultivate faith.
How do we trust and take action based on that trust?
That trust in the unknown.
A trust in the good,
The true,
And the beautiful.
So I invite you to connect back to where we started.
Affirming those three within you.
I am truth.
I am goodness.
I am beauty.
Bring the awareness into your low belly now.
So from your heart down into your low belly.
A couple inches or an inch in front of the spine.
So feel that rootedness of energy.
And what faith is asking us is can we trust that we are exactly where we need to be?
Can you trust that you are right where you need to be?
There might be resistance to that and that's okay.
Seeing if you can widen breathing into your low belly.
And I'm going to offer some affirmations.
Again repeat them or just listen and notice how they land.
Notice the resistances that might come up and be with them.
Repeating to yourself.
I am right where I meant to be.
I'm learning what I need to learn.
I have everything I need.
I trust.
I trust.
I am right where I'm meant to be.
I am learning what I need to learn.
I have everything I need.
I trust.
I trust.
And so maybe repeating one of those that feels true or supportive.
And then for this last portion of our meditation I'd like you to connect all those points that we worked with.
So connect your lower belly to your heart to your mind.
Feel that connection rising up through the spine and widening throughout your whole body.
So your whole body is connected.
Your whole body is starting to to feel that that spaciousness,
That brightness,
Breathing in to your body to these points.
And then from here,
From this knowing,
Trust,
Spacious mind,
I invite you to invoke any higher power that you connect with.
And if you don't connect with the higher power,
Just invoke your higher self or nature or whatever resonates for you.
So maybe this is God,
Source,
Spirit,
The universe,
Your higher self,
Whatever it is for you.
Invite that presence in here.
And sometimes when we are doubting,
The greatest prayer we can share or ask for is simply help.
Help me.
Show me.
Guide me.
Make me an instrument of peace.
Make something beautiful out of me.
Whatever it is for you,
Take these last moments.
Call on that power and ask for what you need.
Ask for help.
You don't have to figure it out alone.
And then take a few more moments of silence.
Maybe there's an answer that arises.
Maybe there's a step for you or maybe not.
Don't force something.
Don't start going into your head and thinking about the step.
But what we want to do is allow the action to unfold and arise on its own.
And so just staying,
Slowing down.
Maybe you connect with the good,
True and the beautiful.
Maybe you just let it all go.
Just be with your breath.
Be with the presence,
The knowing.
And then your own time,
Just no rush.
You can pause this and stay here as long as you'd like.
But if you'd like to start to come back,
Start to bring some movement into your body,
Reawaken the eyes.
Take a look at what's in your room.
Maybe smile.
It's an honor to guide you,
To share the space with you.
If you didn't hear the talk that I shared on this meditation,
You can find it through the same title.
Just make sure you're looking at the talk category and hear more about it.
And regardless whether you listen to the talk or not,
I'd love to hear what you thought.
So feel free to share a reflection,
Share what you're struggling with or doubting in the comments.
I love getting a chance to connect and see what this brings up for you and what you're working through.
If you're listening to this on Insight Timer,
Please go check out my circle,
Loose circle.
It's a place where I post all new practices that I have.
So it's a good place to just stay in touch with what's going on for me on here.
And I thank you so much again for your time and sending you lots of love,
Deep bows for you and your work.
And I look forward to connecting again very soon.
Namaste.
