Morning,
Good afternoon,
Good evening.
So it's Wednesday,
We normally do something around working with difficulties,
And this morning it's slightly different.
Approach.
I just want to read a little something from Djoko Beck and then we're going to do 10 minutes of just sitting.
A core belief is a deeply held conclusion about ourselves and life that has become so familiar that we mistake it for a reality.
For example,
I'm not good enough.
I have to be somebody.
People must approve of me.
I am unsafe.
I have to get somewhere before I can be happy.
Or something's wrong with me.
Some typical core beliefs she talks about.
The important point for Joko is not to replace these beliefs with more positive ones.
It is to see them clearly to experience them.
When the belief arises,
We normally believe it,
Resist it,
Explain it,
Defend it,
Or try to get rid of it.
That very activity keeps the pattern alive.
This is why we always come back to experiencing,
Not doing anything with it.
It's really deep.
The bedrock of it.
When the belief arises.
Instead,
Joko repeatedly points us towards stopping.
Just being still enough to experience what is actually happening.
For example,
Or I feel inadequate.
So,
Don't analyse it,
Don't argue with it,
Don't try to make it disappear,
Just experience it.
In that stillness you begin to see something crucial.
The belief is not you.
It is a conditioned thought pattern appearing in awareness.
And finally,
When it is completely experienced without the usual escape strategies of thinking,
Storytelling,
Blaming,
Defending,
Distracting,
It can begin to lose its energy.
And what these core beliefs do,
They create behaviors.
If you're a people pleaser,
Or if you're,
People need to approve of me,
This is sort of generally a people pleaser in there.
People pleasers tend not to say no.
As one to be approved of.
So what I want us to do,
You can bring one of those core beliefs to mind because there'll be some flavor of one of them or two of them in there for you.
Or bring behavior to mind.
That you don't like.
I might be challenging the boss.
And shy away from.
Maybe challenging a neighbour.
For perfectionists that may be leaving things undone.
It may be even something today that you have to do at work.
Any behaviour at all that you resist,
Bring it to mind or bring one of those.
Beliefs to mind and just notice how it feels in the body.
That's all we're doing.
As core beliefs members.
I'm not good enough.
I feel inadequate.
Life is hard.
I need to be somebody special.
I'm on Liverpool.
Just bring it to mind and there'll be a corresponding feeling in the body.
Or bring the behaviour to mind.
Something you need to do.
Might be a bit of a controller.
And you'll be light too.
Just live things as they are.
And just feel maybe a little tussle in the body.
Contraction.
Might be as simple as disagreeing with somebody.
They may not like me.
Yet lost in thought it's okay.
Bring the core belief to mind.
Of a behavior.
The action.
And feel it in the body.
It's all you need to do,
There's nothing else to do.
And again,
If you lose your way,
To okay.
Just experience that whatever in the body.
That's all you need to do.
What's it feel like if I say no to somebody?
If that's your thing.
Or to a certain person.
I imagine yourself challenging somebody that you shy away from.
Okay,
You can relax that practice now.
And we just open our attention,
So to speak.
Just feel the breath.
Listen to the sounds.
You can use the mantra,
Remember?
If you need to.
Where is your attention right now?
Where are you?
OK.
I'll bring this to the end.
A little shake or something.
Thank you guys.
Have a good day.
See you tomorrow.
