Below is a 2 minute read to put some sparkle in your day, or… plunge into these topics for a deeper understanding.
A message from today’s meditation:
It’s the first day of a new week! As you settle into the rhythm of fresh beginnings, have you ever considered this – your entire life is a path to awakening? Every experience, every challenge, every moment of joy or sorrow, everything you go through holds the possibility of waking you up into the potential of your being.
Our teacher for this week is Adyashanti, an American spiritual teacher whose name means “primordial peace”. I really love his work and I trust you will too.
“Your life, all of your life, is your path to awakening. By resisting or not dealing with its challenges, you stay asleep to Reality. Pay attention to what life is trying to reveal to you. Say yes to its fierce, ruthless, and loving grace.” – Adyashanti
Everything that happens in your world this week, offers you one of these two choices – either shrink, shut down and become smaller through the experience, or grow through the experience! Open up and expand through what you’re experiencing.
“You think that enlightenment is something other than what is happening right now. This is your primary mistake.” – Adyashanti
Everything that happens to you today, and everything that happens to you during the coming week is your journey, and your journey leads you either to expanding or to contracting.
“Enlightenment is nothing more than the complete absence of resistance to what is. End of story.” – Adyashanti
Your own inner resistance to what you’re experiencing, is what determines whether you are likely to shrink or grow. In resistance your nervous system goes into fight-or-flight, your muscles become tense and your brain will make available only thoughts about fighting or running. You are physically and mentally closing up and the messaging you carry forward with you is, “I am in trouble”, “Life is scary”, “I am unsafe”.
Notice when your body and mind go into resistance and stop for a moment. Try and remember to ask yourself, “do I want to shrink or grow?”
If growth is what you want then you have to become open. You have to become accepting of whatever the experience is. You need to take a deep breath, deliberately soften your body and then lean in. Decide what is the messaging that you want to carry forward with you from this experience and consciously speak to yourself in THAT voice, “I’ve got this”, “I am safe”, “Even if I don’t like the experience, I won’t resist it”, “I can ask for help”, “I can do this”.
Shrink, or expand? What will be your journey this week?
A few questions to reflect on throughout the week:
- Do I want to shrink or grow? Ask yourself this question when faced with a challenge. Growth often lies just beyond our comfort zone.
- What message do I want to carry forward? Choose empowerment over fear.
- Can I soften and accept? Resistance keeps us locked in a cycle. Openness opens doors.
Every experience, even the difficult ones, contributes to our journey. May this week be filled with opportunities for expansion, and may you find the strength to embrace life’s fierce and loving dance.
– pierre –
Today’s LIVE meditation is: Jumpstart the week.
A moment of reflection
(If you have the time, use this question as a journal prompt, because whenever you put pen to paper you’re wiring the neural pathways that create your new habits. But if you don’t have the time, just take a moment to reflect on your response.)
The text highlights the impact of inner resistance, noting how it triggers a “fight-or-flight” response and negative self-talk. Think about a time recently when you noticed yourself resisting an experience. What physical sensations or thought patterns indicated this resistance? If you had paused and asked yourself, “Do I want to shrink or grow?”, what different message might you have chosen to carry forward from that experience?
Today’s LIVE meditation
Q&A for deeper learning
1: What is “primordial peace,” as mentioned in relation to Adyashanti?
Adyashanti reminds us that at the core of our being, peace and stillness is the default. A fundamental, underlying state of peace that is always present.
2: According to the article, what are the two choices we have when facing challenges?
The article suggests that every experience offers us a choice: to either shrink, shut down, and become smaller through the experience, or to grow, open up, and expand through it.
3: What is identified as a “primary mistake” in the pursuit of enlightenment?
According to Adyashanti, as quoted in the article, the primary mistake is thinking that enlightenment is something other than what is happening right now. This implies that the present moment holds the key to understanding.
4: What role does resistance play in our growth or contraction?
The article emphasizes that our inner resistance to what we are experiencing is what primarily determines whether we are likely to shrink or grow. Resistance triggers a fight-or-flight response, causing us to close up physically and mentally.
5: What is suggested as an alternative to resisting difficult experiences?
Instead of resisting, the article suggests becoming open and accepting of the experience. This involves taking a deep breath, deliberately softening the body, and “leaning in.” It also encourages consciously choosing an empowering message to carry forward from the experience.