Let’s face it – there are a set of experiences that you like to feel and a set of experiences that you don’t like to feel.
We’ll call those sensations that you don’t like to feel – uncomfortable.
Most of us go to great lengths to avoid feeling uncomfortable.
But that avoidance leads to something which is a lot worse:
Suck-ass, self-defeating, downright abusive-no-good-for-nothing-“I suck” thoughts.
Here’s how it works…
Our attention has to go somewhere.
And we can either feel the atoms in our body swirling, pulsating, and vibrating (otherwise known as fear, anxiety, nervousness – aka being uncomfortable).
Or…
We can suppress those body sensations and end up listening to our mind telling is that we’re not good enough.
Better to feel the momentary intensity (uncomfortableness) of the body – than listen to the crap our mind produces when it is not on inspiration mode.
And here’s a lil secret – we have the greatest chance of going into our crappy thoughts when we feel something we have deemed as bad.
So, feel the sensation/emotion/uncomfortableness (remember, it’s only atoms moving around), and stay present to what is around you.
The result?
You’re invincible.
Rock on!
Hey Josh–Yesterday I heard this on NPR from Barry Lopez, reading from his new book, and I thought of your teachings, and low and behold, your post is a perfect follow up later on in the day. I hope it helps someone else let those sensations move through as we stay in the light.
“No culture has yet solved the dilemma each has faced with the growth of a conscious mind: how to live a moral and compassionate existence when one is fully aware of the blood, the horror inherent in all life, when one finds darkness not only in one’s own culture, but within oneself.
If there is a stage at which an individual life becomes truly adult, it must be when one grasps the irony in its unfolding and accepts responsibility for a life lived in the midst of such paradox. One must live in the middle of contradiction, because if all contradiction were eliminated, at once life would collapse. There are simply no answers to some of the great persistent questions. You continue to live them out, making your life a worthy expression of a leaning into the light.”
xo
Monica, thank you also for sharing this! I re-read it a few times so I could chew on it and savor the flavor. What a liberating concept — that it really is very much a magical mystery tour and that we can thrive within the uncertainties and paradoxes by simply leaning in… hmmmmm….yummy! Have to look that book up.
BTW Josh, speaking of book… ?? 🙂
thank you josh, this is so timely … and thank you monica as well … let us lean into the light … love stephanie.
Thanks for the nugget Josh! I get richer every time you share one with us! 🙂
LOVING the CI online course!! THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!!!
:)ooooKathy