Becoming Nobody (True Inner Freedom)

Hello,

Welcome.

My name is Lou Redmond,

And today we are doing a practice on becoming nobody.

Now,

Before we begin,

I must say that this is coming from someone who is really trying to be somebody.

For me,

The last 10 years,

I've really been trying to make it,

To be successful.

I have dreams of being a New York Times bestselling author,

Have millions of followers,

And all of that.

And I've taken on so many identities in my career,

A meditation teacher,

A coach,

An entrepreneur,

Yoga teacher,

Mindfulness guide,

Recently a business mentor.

And I know that holding onto any identity only gets in the way of who we really are.

Some say we are stardust,

Or a strand of spirit.

But really,

The deeper teachings point that we are nothing.

And that can feel scary,

Especially if you get your sense of worth from the labels that you take on.

And so I share this practice to not only remind you,

But to remind myself that our true identity can never be given or taken away.

And often,

It's by stripping away everything that we think we are that we can capture the essence of who we really are.

As Ram Dass would say,

It's about becoming nobody.

So let's explore that in our practice.

Closing down the eyes and beginning to find balance in your posture.

So you may do that by gently rocking side to side,

Finding where the center point lies,

And then doing the same,

Rocking forward and back,

Coming to a center point where gravity does all the work.

And you can feel a sense of supportedness.

You can relax into this posture.

In this balanced place,

You might notice that there's both a lifting of energy up through the back of the spine and this other energy that's cradling and holding you with this relaxed caring.

And see if you can allow yourself to be held as you keep an alert posture.

Dropping your shoulders,

Relaxing your jaw and your belly,

And bringing the awareness into your heart space.

See what it's like to inhabit your heart right now.

It may be tight,

May be guarded,

Or it may be soft and sweet.

And just as if you were parking a car in your heart garage,

You drive into it with your awareness.

And you just relax into it,

And you heart garage.

You drive into it with your awareness.

And you just rest there,

And you let the garage door close and just hang out in your heart.

Take a breath in together into the heart,

And letting it go.

And the practice that we're doing today is a practice of surrender.

And to help you cultivate surrender,

I invite you to imagine above your head is this halo-shaped portal.

And this portal is here to take whatever you give it.

And you don't have to know where it goes.

And if you'd like,

Maybe you imagine it like a heart shape,

Because it is taking whatever you give it with love and care.

Whatever you give it with love and care.

And so to begin this practice,

Use the halo to take away any thoughts,

Plans,

Images as they arise.

Stay connected to your heart.

Keep slowing down.

And as they always do in meditation,

As a thought,

A plan,

A memory shows up,

See if you can offer it up toward this portal.

Imagine that it receives it with love and sends it into the ether.

And so slow down here into your heart and just play with this practice for a few moments.

Giving whatever is coming up that is not you surrendering in presence up toward and into this portal.

And this is not to say that we're getting rid of them,

Those thoughts,

Those plans.

They'll be there when we need.

It's almost like this portal can just hold them for the right time.

And then let's take a breath together.

Letting it go.

And still notice the portal above you.

And going a little deeper into this practice of becoming nobody.

To begin,

Ask yourself,

Who am I?

And let's start this on the practical level.

And so just start to feel into or list all the I M's that you take on,

The identities that you wear.

Maybe it's wife,

Husband,

Father,

Mother.

Maybe it's your work role,

Executive manager,

Entrepreneur.

Maybe you're like me,

You take on teacher or guide,

Which sometimes can really inflate the ego.

Maybe you're an athlete or a runner or a yogi.

Maybe you're a writer,

An artist,

A craftsman.

And this is not to say that these aren't useful to embody.

Identities can be so useful.

But for this practice,

Trusting that these identities will still be there after meditation.

And we're going to work together to make And we're going to work to go deeper,

Because all these roles can and will be taken away.

And the question we're exploring in this practice is,

Who are you without the roles?

And so slow down,

Give you some time to notice the identities you take on and see one by one,

Just as you offered your thoughts and your memories,

See if you can offer the identity to the portal above you.

Seeing it,

Take it with love.

Each identity is a portal.

Each identity is like a layer coming off.

Remember,

They'll be there later when you need them.

And just keep inhabiting your heart and offering these identities to this portal to hold.

And there might be some that are tough to let go of.

There might be judgment or fears or resistance arising.

And so we welcome that as part of this process.

And just stay here in your heart,

Wherever you're at,

However many you are.

Wherever you're at,

However many you are able to strip away.

Stay right here,

Right now.

And from the depths of your heart,

Ask again,

Who am I?

And if other roles come up,

Offer them up to the portal and ask again,

Who am I?

I'm going to offer an affirmation.

In case it takes you deeper,

You're welcome to take it on and speak it silently to yourself or just listen or just let it go and stay in this presence that you are in.

I am nobody.

I am everything.

I am nobody.

I am everything.

I am nobody.

I am everything.

I am everything.

I am no thing.

I am everything.

I am no thing.

I am everything.

I am everything.

I am no thing.

So just staying here,

Maybe repeating if it resonates or just resting in the nothingness while noticing at the same time you rest in the everythingness.

And then let's take a breath together,

Letting it go.

And before you open your eyes,

Decide if you want to take all those identities back right now.

Or maybe you just take one that would be useful for your day.

Remember that they'll be there when you need.

Remember that they'll be there when you need.

An invitation to come back to this practice to try to remember and connect with who you really are beyond the roles that we take on.

Whenever you're ready,

Go ahead,

Open your eyes,

Come back into your day.

Thank you so much for practicing with me.

I always love hearing how these land,

So feel free to share a comment.

And again,

Maybe I'll see you back in this practice as you work to loosen the identities and feel the essence of who you really are.

Love and blessings.