24. In Case of Emergency, Press Play: Whole

In almost every class Adrienne teaches, she tells her students that struggling is inevitable, but suffering is optional. She doesn’t mean we get to choose whether difficult things happen to us or not. But sometimes we add another layer by fighting what we’re already feeling. 

We tell ourselves we shouldn’t be sad, shouldn’t be anxious, shouldn’t be angry, or that we should be farther along than we are. That struggle can create even more suffering.

Today’s meditation is simply an invitation to set that extra layer down, even if it’s only for a few minutes.

Sometimes we come to meditation because we want to become calmer, happier, more enlightened, or more awake. But if we look closely, that can become just another form of striving. Just another way of trying to be someone other than who we are in this moment.

What if, instead, you didn’t have to become anything? What if there was nothing to fix?

When you forget there’s nothing to fix, press play.

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You don’t have to have it figured out. You just have to be willing to share honestly.

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For th...

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hi, this is Adrian. Welcome back to another episode of In Case of Emergency Press Play. In almost every class I teach, I tell my students that struggling is inevitable, but suffering, it's optional. I don't mean we get to choose whether difficult things happen to us. We don't. I didn't choose to lose my husband, Brian. I didn't choose grief. And I would never suggest that pain like that is ever optional. What I mean is that sometimes we add another layer by fighting what we are already feeling. We tell ourselves we shouldn't be sad, we shouldn't be anxious, we shouldn't be angry, or that maybe we should be farther along than we are. That struggle can create even more suffering. So today's meditation is simply an invitation to set that extra layer down, even if it's only for a few moments. And what if instead you didn't have to become anything when you forget there's nothing to fix? Press play. Welcome to your practice. Take a moment and let your body settle into a posture that allows you to be both relaxed and alert. And as your body settles in, you can open up awareness to all sensations, everything you're feeling throughout your entire physical body in this moment. Narrow your attention to just your torso for a moment. Feel your in-breath and your outbreath. Expand and contract. Breathe in and feel the sensations of expansion through your torso. Breathe out. Feel clearly the sensation of contraction through your torso. Just stay with us for a moment. Feel your in-breath expand. Feel your out breath contract. If at any point you get pulled into a thought or are distracted by something in your environment, just notice it. Without any attachment to it, and come back to your breath. Expand and contract. Now pay attention, especially to your exhale. Notice a subtle wave of relaxation spread with each exhale as the muscles associated with breathing relax. So with each out breath, you can allow yourself to be carried by this wave deeper and deeper into relaxation. And if you become aware of any intense sensation, intense emotion or discomfort as you do this, stay soft as best you can and allow these sensations to well up, to be felt, and to eventually pass. Don't worry if you don't feel as settled as you think you should be. Don't worry if you're not as relaxed as you imagined a better meditator would be by now. You don't have to worry about any of that. You can just trust, deeply trust, your own body's natural rhythm of settle, surrender, surface, and release. You can do the same thing with emotion. Take your awareness now to your more subtle body. Discover how you feel in this moment. What's your mood or emotional tone? Allow it to exist. If you're the happiest person on earth in this moment, then be so happy it hurts. If you're the saddest person or the angriest person on the planet in this moment, be that. You do not have to fix yourself right now. You don't have to be calmer. You don't have to become happier. You don't have to get this meditation right. Tune into your thoughts and recognize the flow through awareness. You're not trying to think more or think less or not think at all. Let thought just be a part of your experience when it's a part of your experience. Your brain secretes thoughts like your mouth secretes saliva. When we see a piece of food, it just happens. It's not a problem unless we make it a problem. And notice in this moment that you are already aware. You're always aware. And if at any point you notice awareness getting clogged up with thoughts in your mind, sensations in your body, or the sounds around you, whatever it is, you can just notice it and go again. Notice that awareness is still here beneath all of it. Beneath the thoughts, beneath the emotions, beneath the sounds around you. There's nothing you have to force. Awareness has been here the entire time. Awareness is naturally expansive and spacious. Rest here for a moment. Carry this feeling with you. Your breath, your awareness. Carry the simple reminder that for this moment there is nothing about you that needs fixing. And whenever you need to return here, press play. From my heart to yours. Wherever you are right now, take a breath. Loosen your grip a little. Be bold. Listen and be impeccable with your words. Do meaningful work and leave things better than you found them. We didn't plan for this. But we're here.