The Paradox of Invincibility

Let's begin by finding a comfortable posture. This could be sitting down, lying down or standing. If it feels okay to do so today, you can invite your eyes to close. And we'll start by taking a deep breath together. In through the nose.

And slowly out through the mouth. Inviting the jaw to relax. Letting the shoulders be at ease. As well as the hands and the belly. As you start to settle in, your breath can also settle back into its natural rhythm.

The theme of today's meditation is the paradox of invincibility. And this idea that in order to develop real invincibility, we need to let down our guard enough to experience the full range of being human to then see how we can be with this too. So we'll do a choiceless awareness meditation, which involves opening our awareness to whatever might arise. So instead of focusing on the breath or any one point in particular, see if you can settle back into yourself. Almost as if you were settling behind your awareness and just observing what is coming up for you right now.

Perhaps as an emotion, a sensation, a thought, or some sensory experience. And can you create a space for yourself to be present to whatever might be there? You never need to push it. So if something is too uncomfortable, it's okay to allow it to linger in the background. But as much as you feel able to, allowing your experience to emerge in your awareness fully. And you might think of this as watching a movie.

And you sitting in the theater is you resting in awareness and the screen includes anything that arises. Sometimes it's pleasurable movie. Sometimes it can be unpleasant. And for a moment, see if you can touch into the sense of empowerment that you may feel staying open to more aspects of your experience rather than using the meditation to turn away or distract yourself. This is a vulnerable and courageous act.

So as we come to a close, let's take one last deep breath together. In through the nose. And slowly out through the mouth. And when you're ready, you can let your eyes open again. Great job.

So this meditation is designed to really help develop capacity to stay open to more moments of your life, including the difficult ones. So as you go about your day today, notice if there is a tendency to turn away from the uncomfortable experiences and see if you can reframe it with the acknowledgement that being able to stay present to these experiences and seeing that you can make it through them is the thing that develops resilience, and yes, that sense of invincibility that you can get through and be with whatever arises. Thank you for your practice. I'll talk to you soon and until next time, take care.