Accept & Surrender Meditation

This is a Mindfulness Moment brought to you by the MEN TALKING MINDFULNESS Podcast. "Stillness Speaks" - Drop into this meditation. Relax your mind and body with this simple mediation- no experience required. Quote from Eckard Tolle great book

Transcript

Hey this is Will Schneider with Men Talking Mindfulness.

Another mindfulness moment we're gonna do another meditation but I'm gonna read first to inspire our meditation.

Read from Eckhart Thole's book Stillness Speaks.

I feel like this is his opus book it's only what is it it's only like 120 pages and this is from chapter 6 acceptance and surrender and he goes on to say at the very top of this chapter whenever you're able have a look inside yourself and see whether you are unconsciously creating conflict between the inner and the outer between your external circumstances at that moment where you are who you're with but what you are doing and your thoughts and your feelings can you feel how painful it is to internally stand in opposition to what is when you recognize this you also realize that you're now free to give up this futile conflict this inner state of war cool so we are gonna take a moment another like four or five minutes we're just gonna meditate on those wise words and what I really enjoy about what Eckhart Thole is saying in that chapter is it really taps into the opposition of things the internal the external that futile conflict you know between the inner state of being our wanting mind and our expectations and and also in conflict with our natural self of the great natural peace that we have inside of ourselves and that's what we practice to kind of slow down the pendulum from you know the light into the dark and back to the light and down to the into the dark like you know trying to crave pleasure and trying to avert pain what if and why this is I love the title of this book stillness speaks because trying to slow that pendulum down so it doesn't so dramatically swing in one direction or the other but we use the practices of breath and meditation to almost get that pendulum to be completely centered and still it's gonna move a little bit but the more we practice the more you continue to breathe the more you take time every day and practice for as little as like five ten fifteen minutes grow into 20 minutes 25 30 minutes a day maybe twice a day maybe going to retreat you know for ten days in silence and really get more into more stillness and into more patience and into more peacefulness these words of the inner and outer and that futile conflict really start to you begin to experience that meaning so find your seat or lie down close your eyes if you like you can also make contact a hand on belly hand on chest if you want to practice that way as well or maybe just start with hand on belly hand on chest I'm just gonna start to use the breath to calm ourselves down and get deeper into that stillness let's exhale out take a big giant inhale let it go out nice and easy continually deepen the breath every inhale maybe take a little bit more inhalation with a no strain right it'll get a little bit bigger and it might feel a little bit as a little strained to make a bigger inhale but not like creating tension anywhere in the body and really continually try to soften and let that exhale go inhale big keep inhaling inhale more breath more breath in exhale out keep going in maybe I except for the mouth feel like release intention in the throat in the face and again I'll let it go just keep working with that smooth quality of breath deepen the breath and as you deepen that breath in the pelvis it's gonna naturally calm down your nervous system I feel your body starting to soften as you exhale slower and deepen that breath yeah let's go bigger inhales from five four three two one exhale slowly through the nose five four three two one keep going in for five out for five in five five five and again And out.

A few more in five.

Out five.

Last two in five.

In five.

Out five.

One more in five.

Out five.

Good.

Come back to normal breath and just check in how you're feeling.

What's important to note in your meditation practice is really what is,

Like I told you,

He's talking here about what really is.

Can you feel how painful it is to internally stand in opposition to what is?

So I live in New York City.

There's lots of sirens and honking horns and loud music.

And I'm sure where you are,

Wherever you live,

There's what we might perceive as a disruption or an agitation.

What if we just,

That's us imposing our will,

Our judgment onto our external environment.

Let's not be in opposition to what is and just be with what is.

Keep coming back to that breath.

You can see as we,

That wanting mind,

I want things to be quiet.

I wanna have a great meditation.

I don't wanna hear that horn that just kinda popped off in the background.

This is a meditation time.

It should be perfectly quiet.

Like Will's meditation,

Recorded meditation should be perfect.

Well,

That's not the way life is.

If you're continually in pursuit of perfection or trying to manifest every single expectation you have,

You're gonna suffer a lot.

Always gonna be disappointed because life is never gonna meet your expectations.

Life is never gonna be perfect.

It's like trying to like fit your square into the circle of the world.

They just don't fit.

We can be like water,

Flowing water that just kind of moves through,

Fills every space and just keep moving on.

Our practice of meditation,

Our breathing practices and the natural relaxation of our nervous system.

We can get into that flow.

We can be the canoe that kind of flows down the river.

And we just,

With our practices,

Just become better navigators of whatever the river of life brings to us.

It takes practice.

It takes exercising our breathing,

Slowing things down,

Letting things go.

Being with what is.

Keep coming back to a nice,

Smooth breath.

Feel the way the breath fills the torso.

The breath fills the torso.

It relaxes and eases out of the body on the exhale.

This practice also allows us to observe the mind,

Observe our feelings,

Observe those mental constructs of expectations.

Also helps us to observe our physical self,

Our body.

We just detach from all of it,

Rise and fall of the emotions.

There's a dirt bike coming down the street.

Just let it pass by just like another thought pass by,

Detach and be with what is,

Because that's all there ever is.

So the more that we can be present to the what is,

The more peaceful we're going to become and the more clarity it's going to create.

Let's take another big,

Giant inhale.

Try and inhale,

Let it go.

One more inhale.

One more.

Stay with that breath and I'll just refresh your memory with these words of wisdom from Eckhart Tolle.

Whenever you're able,

Have a look inside yourself to see whether you're unconsciously creating conflict between the inner and the outer,

Between your external circumstances at that moment,

Where you are,

Who you are with,

What you're doing,

And your thoughts and feelings.

Can you feel how painful it is to internally stand in opposition to what is?

When you recognize this,

You also realize that you are free to give up this futile conflict,

This inner state of war.

Take a moment,

You can grab your hands,

A little prayer at your heart or bring your hands across your chest and just thank yourself for taking this time and receiving,

Getting to know some of the natural wisdom that is already inside of our DNA,

Already inside of us,

If we just get still,

Slow down,

Find our breath and take time every day to get to know our internal life,

The mind,

The body,

And our feelings.

So thank you so much.

Thank you for being part of our Men Talking Mindfulness community.

And I look forward to practicing with you again very soon.

Have an incredible day.

Thank you,

Thank you,

Peace,

Peace.

Reviews

Will is consistently such an incredible guide into deep introspective meditations. I appreciate his approach and reflections. Thank you for always showing up the way you do, Will! 🪷

Very calming voice. Wonderful reminder. I can feel your intention to help.
Thank you. 🙏

Very restful meditation. Are you still doing yoga classes on Insight Timer, Will? I miss your Sunday Funday classes and all your teaching.