The Lab of Self-Exploration
El laboratorio de la autoexploración
Two students share how the practice of guided meditation has begun to affect not only their inner lives but also their capacity for action and self-relationship in the wider world.
The Lab of Self-Exploration
Two students share how the practice of guided meditation has begun to affect not only their inner lives but also their capacity for action and self-relationship in the wider world.
I wanted to share a personal experience. I realize this process has led me down a rabbit hole. I find that the guided meditation, all the little suggestions about the hand sensing, the mind making, and how when I'm meditating I'm more open to it, 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 places in other areas of my life. The suggestion of just going somewhere in my mind has had a huge impact on me personally. It's not too big 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 it 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 like you are a laboratory, and you're doing experiments on yourself, looking at things differently. It's an exploration driven by curiosity about your own functioning, your own being.
The curiosity of a scientist
You can have a completely scientific approach to it, because it is so creative and curious. It's the childlike curiosity of the scientist who looks at how I function. And then that creativity, that 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 line between inside and outside can be quite blurry.
That is exactly what this work is for: how you relate to yourself, how you relate to your friends. It can change everything in a profound way. I'm very glad to hear it. Perhaps there should have been 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, I believe, 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.