Hi, and welcome to your Daily Mindfulness.

Today, I'm going to talk about the

idea of the struggle switch, which

is a really wonderful metaphor

taught by best-selling author, Dr.

Russ Harris.

So I want you to imagine that in the back

of your mind, there is a struggle switch.

And what it does is that every single

time anything uncomfortable or unpleasant

arises in your present moment experience,

whether it's a painful emotion, experience

or memory, the struggle switch goes on.

So let's say, a painful emotion

arises, loneliness, for instance.

A very natural emotion that

we're all probably going to

experience from time to time.

As soon as that emotion arises,

the struggle switch goes on.

So we mentally start to

resist what's happening.

I don't want to feel this.

I hate this.

I want this to go away.

What's wrong with me?

Why can't I just feel okay by myself?

Right?

So once we start to struggle with the

loneliness mentally, we now actually

start to amplify it and pile more

layers of stress and suffering on top.

Now, in this example, here

we are we're getting angry at

ourselves for the loneliness.

We're getting anxious

about the loneliness.

And you know, what's wrong with me?

Why am I feeling this?

Adding shame to the loneliness,

that feeling of unworthiness.

So now with the struggle switch on like

this, as we continue to mentally struggle

with it, the emotion actually tends

to get bigger and stay around longer.

So with the struggle switch

on, we automatically struggle

with every unpleasant experience

and emotion that comes along.

And when we do, our stress and

our suffering get amplified.

But if we can learn to turn off

the struggles switch, then when any

difficult emotion or experience arises,

we simply don't add fuel to the fire.

It's not that we have

to like it or want it.

It's simply a choice not to struggle

with it because we don't want to

add more suffering to our already

difficult moment in our lives.

So now there's no such thing really as

a human life without difficult emotions.

They happen to all of us as a

natural part of the flow of life.

But when they do show up and

the struggle switch is off,

things are much more easeful.

You know, much more easeful than

living with the struggle switch on.

And with the struggle switch off, we can

accept that a difficult feeling is here.

It may stay for a long time

or just a little bit of time.

We don't try to get it to move on quickly.

We simply allow it to be there while

we choose to get on with our lives in

meaningful ways, whether that's, you

know, spending time with loved ones, doing

our work, or maybe watching a sunset.

So today the invitation is to see if

you can turn your struggle switch off.

In this way, when the unpleasant stuff

happens, it doesn't get amplified.

And instead the mind is free to engage

in the stuff that really matters.

As always, thank you for your practice

and your presence here with us.

And let's now start to settle

in for today's meditation.