You Can Endure More Than You Think

In this empowering meditation, you’ll reconnect with your deeper why—the reason you started this journey—and find the inner ground to keep going when things feel hard. Through breath, reflection, and powerful affirmations, you’ll be invited to shift your perspective and see adversity as part of your becoming.

You’ll leave reminded that what you’re walking through is not here to break you, but to build you.

Transcript

Hello,

My name is Lew Redman.

Thank you for practicing with me.

To set up this meditation,

I want to speak a little bit on its theme.

If you are here listening right now,

I want to invite you to take the perspective that no matter whatever is happening in your life,

That you are exactly where you need to be.

And that you are right on time.

So many of our challenges and suffering come from being at battle with this truth.

We have something happening in our life and we say,

No,

I don't want this.

We have resistance.

And so it's not about liking or disliking what's happening.

It's just opening and accepting that,

Yes,

This is the moment that is in front of me.

Can I allow it?

There's a quote by Frida Kahlo,

At the end of the day,

We can endure much more than we think we can.

The etymology of endure points to this concept of withstanding hardship,

Resisting negative forces.

And in that process,

We are strengthened.

That there is actually an alchemical process that happens when we face adversity and when we're able to go through it.

You can't find this type of transformation when things are easy.

I just ran my second marathon alongside my nephew,

Who's 16 years old.

And it was a really beautiful experience because at miles 21 through 26 of a marathon,

You enter what is called the pain cave,

Where you're feeling it.

And there's nothing else for you to do but feel it.

The moment that you resist it,

The moment you make it worse.

And what was cool is that because I've experienced before,

I was able to be with my nephew and offer him motivation and give him that strength of,

Hey,

This hurts,

I know it hurts.

Can we make peace with it?

Can we allow it?

Can we make friends with it?

Like the Simon Garfunkel song,

Hello,

Darkness,

My old friend.

And the moment we do that,

It shifts our consciousness.

And we find strength that we didn't know that we had.

We find that we can endure much more than we think we can.

And so whatever you're going through,

If it's challenging,

Once you accept it,

Once you open to it,

Know that this can strengthen you.

And you can use it as a space of transformation.

There is a great Richard Rohr quote.

He says,

We come to God more by doing it wrong than by doing it right.

When things are going well,

There's no need for us to figure it out.

Like we'll just stay how we are.

And so when things go wrong,

It's then that we ask for help.

Then when we seek other solutions.

And you can say the same thing,

Whether it's your spiritual journey or whether it's anything that you're progressing towards.

Often we have to fail,

Get it wrong over and over to learn how to get it right.

Again,

Speaking to how adversity is the way that we transform.

And another insight from my marathon is when we help others that are going through something similar,

It actually gives us strength.

So even though I was in pain because I was offering these words to my nephew,

It made it a lot easier for me.

And so that's what we're going to practice in our meditation today.

And so let's shift into a meditation to practice exploring whatever adversity,

Whatever you're needing to go through in your life.

Go ahead and close your eyes,

Come into your posture if you haven't.

And let everything relax down to the earth,

Into your cushion,

Your chair.

Inviting softness into your body.

And let's take a full breath together.

Slow,

Relaxed exhale.

And as we ground into this practice,

I'd like you to connect with your why.

Why you started.

Why you started your spiritual journey.

Why you started a relationship.

Why you started expressing your creativity,

Started a business.

Whatever thing that you're needing help to go through,

Connect back with your why.

And if you don't have a why,

Inviting you to open to what that might be.

What is important to you?

Why is it important for you to keep going?

Maybe it's your kids,

Maybe it's the person you want to be.

Wherever you're at,

See if you can ground into your why.

Let your why slow you down,

Connect you,

And enliven whatever it might enliven.

And feel where does your why live inside your body.

If you were to pinpoint an area of your body that you feel it most,

Maybe it's your chest,

Your head,

Your feet,

Your hands,

It could be anywhere.

And allow this area of your body to be an anchor for your why,

And an anchor that you can come back to if you need.

And as you stay connected to this anchor,

Bringing up into your awareness whatever you are going through right now.

What are you having or needing or wanting to endure or keep going?

And so just bringing that up in your awareness as you stay connected to your anchor.

You might notice other feelings or sensations show up,

And that's totally okay.

They're welcoming it in.

And as you bring awareness to this adversity or what you're needing to move through,

I'm going to offer that quote again by Frida Kahlo.

At the end of the day,

We can endure much more than we think we can.

And just let that sink in however it might.

And I'll offer it again this time in second person.

At the end of the day,

You can endure much more than you think you can.

And notice how you receive that and how it resonates.

And now let's see what happens when you say it to yourself in first person.

Maybe repeating this after I say it.

At the end of the day,

I can endure much more than I think I can.

And if you notice resistance coming up,

That's okay.

There might be a part of you that doesn't believe that.

I'm just welcoming that if you notice it.

I'm going to offer a few more phrases that you're welcome to again repeat out loud or silently and really let this energy settle in.

I can endure much more than I think I can.

This is transforming me into who I need to be.

This is transforming me into who I really am.

I can endure much more than I think I can.

This is transforming me into who I need to be.

This is transforming me into who I really am.

Maybe repeating one or a few of those,

It feels resonant,

Feeling it strengthening your body,

Mind,

And soul.

And then letting those go and shifting now to bringing up someone out in the world who is going through exactly what you are going through.

You might know someone,

You might imagine someone,

Know that there's definitely many people going through what you're going through.

And like I shared in my experience in the marathon,

That when we can give and help another who is going through something similar,

It actually eases our own pain,

Our own suffering.

And so holding this person in your awareness,

Seeing them or feeling the energy in front of you,

Whether you know them or not,

And sharing with them.

You can endure much more than you think you can.

This is transforming you into who you need to be.

This is transforming you into who you really are.

You can endure much more than you think you can.

Notice what it's like to offer that energy towards someone else,

Sharing it,

Feeling it,

Sending that strength to them.

And then together,

Let's take a breath in.

And letting that go.

And just one more part of this practice.

Reconnecting with your why in your body,

Letting that energy grow inside of you.

And to quote Richard Rohr again,

We come to God more by doing it wrong than by doing it right.

Adversity forces us to ask for help,

To get help,

To change and to seek in a new way.

And so inviting you to connect with God,

Or however you name a higher power.

Connecting with that presence and asking for help.

It might sound like help me,

Show me,

Guide me,

Teach me,

Or any other prayer invocation that feels true for you.

Just taking a few moments here and asking your higher power for guidance,

For help,

For strength.

It is said that God meets us halfway,

That we are shown our next step,

But we have to take the step,

We have to take the action.

And so just as we come to the end,

Taking a moment to setting the intention to take action when right action presents itself,

To get the support,

To ask for help,

To actually engage with the help.

So just offering that intention here.

And then taking one last full breath together and letting it all go.

Gently bringing some movement to your body,

Opening your eyes,

Coming back into your room.

It's a deep honor and privilege to be able to guide you in this practice and on this path.

Know that I am always rooting for you.

I hope we meditate together again soon.

And if you're looking for more support around this theme,

I want to offer and suggest my 21 Days of Morning Motivation and Inspiration course to help you to continue to endure and to strengthen through whatever you are going through.

So check that out if it calls to you.

And I will see you again soon.

Take care.

Namaste.

Reviews

Lou, this meditation came at just the right time for me. 2 weeks ago my dog and I had to be rescued by firefighters from our house being on fire. It was an incredibly scary and traumatic experience. My nervous system was in shock, I couldn’t think straight and was completely discombobulated for the first week. I almost got into a car accident a few days after the fire because my sense of safety and judgment was off. Living through a trauma really disorders ones whole being, not only physically, but mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Hearing your words, your marathon story, even just the deep breaths were very powerful for me. I’m still living in survival mode (the aftermath of a major house fire is very complicated and challenging), but I am allowing for all my feelings to express themselves within me: anger, sadness, disappointment & hurt in certain people and extreme gratitude and appreciation for others who consistently check in with me and offer me concrete forms of help.
Thank you, Lou, for helping me this morning.