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~I invite you to listen to the audio version shared above, where a guided meditation is provided that follows what is shared below in the text.
To want to know what tomorrow will bring, how things will work out, or what any outcome in the future will be is a natural desire, but it is a futile pursuit that reduces the quality of the moment right now. This need arises most especially when challenges arise in life or in our mind. In those moments, we often may have a driving impulse to want to do something today that will ensure, or so we think, tomorrow will be as we would like.
In my own life, whenever I’ve put myself out there or made a decision that then involves waiting for the response from others, my lizard brain wants to know now what their response will be. And during that time of waiting, it feels instinctive to do something to bring me closer to that outcome. But that instinct comes from a place of not trusting that it is okay to just be, and to instead be still in the in between.
It has taken me a long time to understand why this impulse arises and to not trust it. And even now, I will still feel an urgency to do whenever a moment arrives that is out of my direct control. However, my awareness has also grown so that now, I can finally step back and notice that I am doing this. This then gives me the opportunity to stop doing things unnecessarily and instead let go and be with the moment right now.
A quote that explains how meditation helps us do this is shared by Andy Puddicombe who teaches, “Meditation is less about knowing what to do and more about knowing what not to do.” In other words, meditation teaches us how to be more aware of ourselves, thereby strengthening our awareness so we can find peace in being instead of trying to force something to happen. Our role, our task, is to find the strength to step aside and let nature (i.e., other people’s responses, etc.) unfold in its own time.
This ability to not heed the impulse to do, to take action, during times of challenging and difficult thoughts and life events happens at all stages of the meditation-learning journey. It is as though life is seeing if we can notice when we are getting involved when it is actually our place to step aside (not back, not away, but not interfere), and be patient enough to see all that will reveal itself if given the space to do so.
So today, let’s practice strengthening the muscle of knowing what not to do.
Let’s begin . . .
~To conclude each meditation session, I encourage you to recite a mantra of your choosing and design. In the Contentment Masterclass, I share my example, which you are welcome to use, tweak, or look to as a template to design your own. Also provided to enrollees of the course is a free trial of the guided meditation app I use.
Click here to listen/read the previous Méditation in the series.
No. 37 — You Already Have It
SIMILAR POSTS YOU MIGHT ENJOY
~Learn more about TSLL’s Contentment Masterclass: Discover the benefits of Meditation, which is included in the detailed syllabus shared here, watch the trailer, and read student reviews.
~Comments will be turned off for Meditation posts as you cultivate a practice guided by what you need and your journey to cultivating inner peace and aligning with your true self.
