Hello and welcome to today's mindfulness exercise.
I'm your host,
Allison Hart.
Today we are going to allow ourselves to sit with the bodily and emotional experience of feeling uncertain.
This is a big one for most of us.
For many,
When they feel uncertain,
They also feel mobilized to seek for certainty.
It's difficult for the mind to comprehend that feeling uncertain,
Even an intense wave of it,
Can be useful,
Necessary,
And is capable of leading us to some of the greatest personal relationship and cultural transformations.
Many of us,
Though,
Have been taught that not knowing is weak,
Powerless,
And we fear we will be judged for simply saying,
I don't know.
Being unable to tolerate uncertainty,
Trying to rid it from our existence,
Often leads us to assert control over people,
Places,
And things that end up causing us more suffering.
Today we are going to invite our bodies and minds to be open to a different relationship with uncertainty.
Find yourself in whatever position works for you at this time.
That will allow you to be present for this exercise.
Visualizing is usually best with eyes closed,
But if you can gaze softly at a single point in front of you,
That's okay too.
First we are going to draw attention to our breath.
Not trying to change it,
Just notice that your breath is present,
Working for you without needing assistance,
Bringing to you the oxygen that nourishes your life,
Discarding whatever no longer serves your body.
Notice the cool air going into your nose,
Up into your nasal cavity,
Down the back of your throat and into your lungs.
Notice the chest slightly rise and fall.
And follow the warm breath out the same way it came.
Notice how with each in and out breath,
Your shoulders also rise and fall,
Your belly moves outward and inward.
In this way,
Breathing is a whole body experience of expansion and retraction.
You might even notice a slight sensation of warmth on your upper lip as the breath leaves the body.
Again we are only here to notice.
There's nothing for you to do or be,
Nothing to change.
You are freed in this moment from problem solving.
Continue to follow the cool breath in,
The warm breath out for the next few moments.
Getting distracted is normal and to be expected.
The mind is constantly trying to work for you by planning,
Remembering,
Thinking,
Judging.
Once you notice you've stopped attending to your breath,
Gently bring it back.
Allow the thinking to occur in the background,
Maybe it disappears,
Maybe it doesn't.
There's no need to control the mind.
Cool air in,
Chest rises and falls,
Warm air out.
Now I want you to find where you feel the sense of uncertainty the most in your body,
At least for today.
Some people find it in their gut,
In knots or in big cement blocks sensations as tension in their shoulders,
Neck,
Scalp,
Jaw.
Allow yourself to be curious about your body and ask it.
Where do I hold my experience with uncertainty and how intense is it?
Take me there.
If there's more than one place,
Find yourself in the place where your body holds it the most for right now.
Rate the intensity on a scale from one to 10.
Imagine yourself looking into the eyes of your uncertainty.
Soften your gaze as if you're staring at someone you love deeply.
Imagine them if you need to just for a second.
Lean in to your uncertainty.
Invite yourself to feel curious about it.
What is it trying to tell you?
Why is it needed?
What are you going through?
Without uncertainty,
There is no creativity in finding new ways of living,
Being and doing.
Enforce answers to these questions.
Just speak them to your uncertainty and make space for the answers as they may or may not come now,
But you may be shown throughout today and moving forward.
Without uncertainty,
There is no hope for change,
For reaching our goals and dreams.
Extend your arm out to your sense of uncertainty and imagine resting your hand on its shoulder,
Offering warmth and compassion,
Offering companionship by sitting down next to it,
Saying hello,
Hello,
Hello.
Uncertainty is uncomfortable,
But not because it's bad for us,
Because it's a reminder that we are being called to pause,
To surrender something,
Maybe change something,
Accept something.
With your hand on your sense of uncertainty,
Say to it,
I am open to the wisdom you carry.
You are welcome here.
With every inhale,
Imagine you're in breath,
Surrounding your uncertainty and giving it the energy to work for you today.
Imagine the uncertainty,
Feeling the sense of spaciousness it needs and do this for the next few moments.
You may continue to sit here,
Offering your breath to uncertainty,
Practicing openness and curiosity for as long as you need to once this meditation ends.
I hope you can bring this with you into today.
And when you forget,
Which is okay,
You can always return and practice again.
