Welcome,
Friends.
This is a meditation on being okay with uncertainty.
I'm Molly Robinson.
I'll begin with some thoughts around this,
And then we'll move into an exploration through meditation.
We're wired to resist uncertainty because not knowing is vulnerable.
We all want to protect ourselves to some degree from the unknown so that we don't have to feel the fear or the anxiety or the vulnerability associated with not knowing.
We may get caught in planning,
Worry,
Stay busy and never slow down,
Or we may try to control things,
Control people.
Perhaps we fall into unhealthy habits like overconsumption of food or substances,
Or we tend to numb ourselves with excessive screen time.
Oftentimes when we notice that we're caught in these programs,
We get hard on ourselves,
Critical of ourselves.
And what we need in those moments is to be really kind to ourselves.
We need to relate to ourselves differently when fear or anxiety shows up around uncertainty.
Also,
Recognize that our protective programs are not there to hurt us.
They do have good intentions,
But we suffer when we get identified with their energy because our lens narrows significantly and we lose touch with the freedom and the peace that's still accessible and available amidst uncertainty.
We just need to redirect our attention.
Let's bring this into practice.
Take your seat either on a chair or on the earth.
Lengthen your spine.
Stay upright and alert.
Let your eyes close and your attention move inward.
Take a couple of long,
Slow,
Deep breaths,
Signaling to the body to relax and to become present.
Let the shoulders soften down away from the ears.
Notice the jaw,
The belly,
And the hips.
Reflect on a situation in your life that feels uncertain,
A situation that stirs up some reactivity,
Perhaps fear or anxiety.
Sense your protective programming that moves you away from the discomfort stirred up by the unknown.
Sense yourself living inside your protective programming.
What's it like when you're caught up in controlling or planning or worry or addictive or numbing behavior?
Let this be an exploration in the body.
So feel what it's like through sensation.
Do you feel contracted,
Disconnected,
Like a smaller or more limited version of yourself?
Maybe you sense a heaviness,
Feeling like you're not okay or feeling down.
What's it like?
How does this programming live in the body?
Recognize without judgment.
Let yourself know that it's okay.
See through it and sense that this protective program is innocent.
See how it's there to help you,
But also sense and feel how living from this state of protection can be painful.
If you weren't protecting yourself from the unknown,
What would you have to feel?
Do you feel anxious or afraid?
Would there be sadness or anger,
A feeling of being out of control or confusion?
Get to get in touch with the emotion that lives underneath the protective program.
Where does it live in the body?
And what does it feel like?
Is there a hardening through the face or a clenching of the shoulders up by the ears,
A rounding of the heart?
Do you notice tension in the belly,
Like you can't breathe?
Maybe there's even something going on through your hands or in your hips.
Stay with the feeling as you get in touch with the emotion that's living underneath the protective programming.
Just sense how does it want you to be with it?
What does it need?
What message does it need to hear in order to receive some support?
Does it need to be accepted or seen?
Does it just need you to be present with it,
Not run away from it?
What is this emotion or perhaps the vulnerability that you're getting in touch with?
How does it want you to be with it?
Recognize that you're not these feelings,
But rather you're the loving presence that's honoring the protective program and embracing the feelings,
Embracing the fear or the anxiety,
The sadness,
The vulnerability.
As you stay in this open-hearted space of loving presence,
You will sense that there's more room in your heart.
There's more room in your body to be with whatever you're experiencing,
To be with the situation differently.
From this newfound clarity in your heart,
In your body,
In your mind,
Look upon the situation,
The situation that feels uncertain.
What's changed?
Are you able to be with it differently?
Are you able to be with yourself amidst the situation differently?
Notice how it feels to look upon the situation through the lens of your vast compassionate heart rather than through the lens of the protective programming.
Which one feels better to you,
More real,
More truthful?
So interesting how our protective programming is trying to bring us into a place of peace and contentment.
And yet when we're living from that place,
We never seem to find that peace and contentment.
Can you feel it now as you rest into your wise,
Compassionate heart?
Can you be with the situation differently,
Be with yourself in a situation differently?
Notice honoring and embracing your whole self and meet whatever arises with presence and care.
When you notice yourself getting caught in the protective program,
Take a moment to pause and honor it.
See that it's not there to hurt you,
But it's trying to help you.
And also recognize that when you're caught up in it,
It limits you.
And then investigate what's the feeling underneath that the protective program is moving you away from?
What am I unwilling to feel?
Once you get in touch with the feeling,
Find out what it means,
How you can best support it.
If it wants you to be present with it,
Just simply be with it.
If it needs to be allowed and embraced from the heart,
Extend a loving embrace.
This is the gateway to freedom.
This is how we will ground ourselves and stay steady in the midst of uncertainty.
We'll keep our hearts open and be able to see with more clarity the situations that otherwise can uproot us.
The music will continue for a few more minutes.
You're welcome to stay in your practice until you hear the end bell.
Thank you so much for being in practice with me today.
Namaste and blessings everyone.
Thank you.
