The Lab of Inner Exploration
El laboratorio de la exploración interior
Two students share how the practice of guided meditation has created unexpected positive changes, both internally and in their outer lives. The teacher reflects on curiosity, self-exploration, and the blurring of inside and outside.
The Lab of Inner Exploration
Two students share how the practice of guided meditation has created unexpected positive changes, both internally and in their outer lives. The teacher reflects on curiosity, self-exploration, and the blurring of inside and outside.
I wanted to share a personal experience. I realize this process, as you would say, has led me down a rabbit hole. I find that the guided meditation, all the little suggestions you offer about the hand sensing, the mind making, all of these pointers, and how when I'm meditating I'm more open to them, this repeated process on a regular basis has helped me be more open to exploring not just my internal world. It has also helped me get unstuck in some areas of my life.
That suggestion of just going somewhere in my mind has had a huge impact on me personally. It's not too big of a jump from trying something in my mind to trying something outside. I can have an idea and then just go do it. It's like I'm still here in my mind doing it, and then in the outside world I'm doing it too. These tiny suggestions have given me a lot of action in my life. I just wanted to share how this practice has given me a lot of positive movement.
I'm very glad to hear that.
For thousands of years, wise people have been saying that change can only happen in oneself. This work is about working with yourself. An image that might work for you: it's as if you are a laboratory, doing experiments on yourself, looking at things differently. It's an exploration driven by curiosity about your own functioning, your own being.
Curiosity as a method
You can have a completely scientific approach to this, because it is creative and curious. It's the childlike curiosity of the scientist who looks at how I function. And then that creativity, that spirit of scientific exploration, can be reflected outside. When you say "in my mind" and "outside," it's a way of speaking, but over time you'll start to notice that the boundary between inside and outside can be quite blurry.
That is exactly what this work is for: changing how you relate to yourself and how you relate to your friends and the world around you. It can change everything in a profound way. I'm very glad to hear it. Perhaps I should have offered a disclaimer at the start about the rabbit hole.
A little while back, I've been going through some really difficult things. Starting this meditation group in October has really helped me relate to myself in a much deeper way.
I'm glad. I'm really glad that you're here. Thank you for sharing.