So this is our meditation for working with willingness and willfulness.
Let's start by sitting and you're going to place your hands on your lap,
On your thighs,
With your hands facing palms up,
Unclenched,
Turned a little bit outward with your fingers relaxed,
And then you're going to gently rest them on your lap.
So this posture helps induce willingness in your body.
We have another trick for inducing willingness and that's the half smile.
So let's start by relaxing your face from the top of your head to your chin and jaw.
Let go of each facial muscle.
Let go of your forehead,
Your eyes,
Your eyebrows,
Your cheeks,
Your mouth and tongue.
See if you can just rest your mouth with your teeth slightly apart.
If you have difficulty,
Try tensing those facial muscles and letting them go.
The good old-fashioned progressive muscle relaxation trick.
Tense it up to let it go.
So a tense smile is like a grin and might tell your brain that you're hiding or masking your real feelings.
The half smile is different.
Let both corners of your lips go slightly up just so that you can feel them.
It's not necessary for others to be able to see it.
A half smile is slightly upturned lips and a relaxed face.
Try to adopt a serene facial expression.
Remember your face is communicating to your brain.
Your brain then connects to your body.
So we're trying to create a sense of ease in the body,
A sense of peace.
So now checking in.
Is there any little area where you're sticky,
Where you're feeling kind of willful?
Someplace where you know something is good for you.
You really know that it would be really helpful for you if you were doing this thing,
But you're stuck somehow.
There's a willfulness.
I don't want it.
I don't want it to be this way.
I don't want to do this.
And let's acknowledge that willfulness and say,
Hey,
You,
I know you're trying to protect me.
What's the threat?
So we're being friendly with our willfulness.
What's the threat?
In what ways will I not be safe if I do this thing that's going to be good for me?
So it could be like,
Oh,
What if I'm disappointed?
What if it doesn't work?
What if it hurts?
What if it works well?
And then I feel like I have to keep doing this thing.
And I don't have the energy.
I don't want,
I don't want another thing that I have to do.
Just feeling around in there.
What is the willfulness protecting?
How can you protect yourself without the willfulness?
How can you address whatever that thing is from your wise mind in a way that helps you move into willingness to do what's needed in the situation.
Willingness to be open to life,
Open to whatever life is bringing,
Open to the experiences you're having,
Whether they're painful or joyful or a great learning opportunity.
Being willing to take the lessons,
Willing to make the changes.
Could be something small.
I know that doing yoga in the morning will help my back feel better.
Right?
But sometimes I get willful about doing it.
Why?
Remembering that willingness,
Feel the willingness in your body,
Willingness to be engaged with life,
Willingness to recognize that you are connected to the chair that you are sitting on,
That you're connected to the floor beneath the chair,
That you are connected to the earth beneath the floor,
That you are connected to everyone in the world,
People that you like and that you don't like.
You are connected to the greater universe.
Openness to that experience.
And then just see if you can tune into any areas where you feel a sense of willingness and see if you can relax into that feeling of willingness.
Willingness to do what's needed in the situation.
Willingness to act from your wise mind.
And take a deep breath and release,
Releasing your muscles,
Relaxing your neck,
Roll your neck around a little bit.
Willingness,
Jiggle your shoulders,
Shake out your hands,
Shake off any willfulness.
Just let it go.
I don't need you.
Thank you.
Thank you,
Willfulness.
Thank you for all you've done.
I got this.
You don't need to protect me.
I've got this.
Taking a deep breath in and exhale and open your eyes.
Coming into the room.
All right.
Thank you.
1
