How to Co-Opt All the Stuff That Gets in the Way of Your Meditation | Christiane Wolf

It's one of those ideas that sounds kind of like a Zen riddle, but actually turns out to be incredibly useful: what's in the way is the way. If you've ever sat down to meditate and thought, "Ugh, I can't focus — my mind's all over the place," or, "If only this restlessness would go away, then I could really meditate," this one's for you. Christiane's going to show us how those so-called obstacles — the distractions, the boredom, the racing thoughts — can actually become the practice itself. All this month, we're sharing custom guided meditations from our teacher of the month, Christiane Wolf exclusively available at DanHarris.com http://danharris.com/. Like any good drug dealer, the first taste is free – so today, we're giving you a sample of what you can expect for the rest of the month. Related Episodes: Is Your Ambition Rooted In Trauma? | Christiane Wolf https://www.danharris.com/p/is-your-ambition-rooted-in-trauma?r=4o5o&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false Peak Performance at Any Age | Christiane Wolf (Dharma Teacher/Doctor/Ultramarathoner) https://www.danharris.com/p/peak-performance-at-any-age-christiane?r=4o5o&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false Tickets are now on sale for a special live taping of the 10% Happier Podcast with guest Pete Holmes! Join us on November 18th in NYC for this benefit show, with all proceeds supporting the New York Insight Meditation Center. Grab your tickets here https://www.nyimc.org/event/great-cosmic-joke/! Join Dan's online community here http://www.danharris.com/ Follow Dan on social: Instagram https://bit.ly/3tGigG5, TikTok https://bit.ly/3FOA84J Subscribe to our YouTube Channel https://bit.ly/3FybRzD Thanks to our sponsor: Airbnb: Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at airbnb.com/host http://airbnb.com/host. To advertise on the show, contact [email protected] or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/10HappierwithDanHarris

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• 0:04Dan Harris?

  This is the 10% Happier Podcast. I'm Dan Harris.

• 0:19Dan Harris?

  Happy Sunday, party people. Today, we are bringing you a meditation from Christiana Wolf, and it's about one of those ideas that kind of sounds like a Zen riddle, but actually turns out to be incredibly useful. What's in the way is the way. The obstacle is the way. If you've ever sat to meditate and thought, "I can't focus. I'm totally distracted. I'm incredibly physically restless, and it's driving me nuts." If you've ever sat and bumped into a barrier like that, this one's for you. Christiana's going to show you how to turn these obstacles, these distractions, these powerful emotions, into the practice itself. As you may know, Christiana is our Teacher of the Month over at danharris.com.

• 1:03Dan Harris?

  That means she is very busy creating custom guided meditations for all of our Monday, Wednesday episodes here on the podcast. For the most part, these guided meds are only available for paying subscribers, but we're dropping this one for free, the strategy pursued by drug dealers everywhere. Subscribers also get access to our weekly live meditation and Q&A sessions. The next one is coming up with Christiana Solo. We're doing this one on Wednesday at 4 Eastern, Wednesday, November 12. We usually do these on Tuesdays, but Tuesday, November 11 is a holiday in the US. It's Veterans Dan, so we're moving our session to Wednesday. Quickly, if you want to meditate with me in person, I've got two events coming up. I'm doing a live taping of this podcast on November 18 in

• 1:47Dan Harris?

  New York City. My guest will be the comedian Pete Holmes. It is a benefit for the New York Insight Meditation Center. Then, coming up on November 23, I'll be doing an intimate Sunday afternoon meditation and Q&A sesh at a lovely hotel in the Hudson Valley in New York called Trout Beck. If you want a nice day trip from the city, come and say hi. I've put links to both events in the show notes if you want to get tickets. Okay, after a quick break, a guided meditation from Christiana Wolf.

• 2:18Speaker 01

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• 3:17Speaker 03

  So in this meditation, we will explore how to work with something in your life where you find yourself saying something like, "If only this wasn't here, then..." ...dot, dot, dot. For example, "Then I could really meditate." We will use the example of meditation, what we believe gets in the way of us meditating. But of course, the principle is applicable for anything that we feel gets in the way of filling your own blanks.

• 3:59Speaker 03

  So make yourself comfortable for this meditation.

• 4:05Speaker 03

  If you're seated, placing your feet firmly on the ground, and sitting with your back pretty upright.

• 4:17Speaker 03

  If you like, close your eyes or simply lower your gaze.

• 4:26Speaker 03

  Start by feeling into the areas where your body has contact with the ground or your chair.

• 4:39Speaker 03

  Simply feeling into those areas

• 4:44Speaker 03

  where your body has contact and sensing is it hard or soft, warm or cold.

• 5:01Speaker 03

  Find an anchor for this meditation to, which you will return to again and again, whenever you get lost in thinking.

• 5:12Speaker 03

  The breath is a good anchor if it feels pleasant or neutral to you. If not, then maybe staying with the sensations in your feet could be a good alternative.

• 5:27Speaker 03

  If you're using the breath, then now just allow the breath to become a little bit longer and deeper.

• 5:38Speaker 03

  Becoming aware of the body just sitting here and breathing deeply.

• 5:50Speaker 03

  Giving yourself a little bit of time to arrive and settle into this meditation.

• 6:12Speaker 03

  Now asking yourself, what do you expect from a meditation? Or what is a good meditation for you?

• 6:31Speaker 03

  Maybe you've heard the phrase, "A good meditation is one you do."

• 6:41Speaker 03

  But having heard this doesn't necessarily mean that your mind gives up its expectations that a good meditation should be or feel a particular way.

• 6:56Speaker 03

  We often have the expectation that a good meditation should feel good in some way,

• 7:03Speaker 03

  ideally even blissful,

• 7:07Speaker 03

  or at least somewhat calming and relaxing.

• 7:12Speaker 03

  Why would we even meditate if we wouldn't expect this, right?

• 7:19Speaker 03

  So be curious and find out what it is for you.

• 7:28Speaker 03

  What makes you feel disappointed in the meditation, or maybe even in yourself, if that doesn't happen?

• 7:46Speaker 03

  Mindfulness has the wonderful qualities of curiosity and openness.

• 7:54Speaker 03

  We can turn mindfulness like a flashlight onto anything, including something that we don't fully understand.

• 8:05Speaker 03

  So you can now shine mindfulness onto what you're struggling with in meditation.

• 8:13Speaker 03

  What would you like to have gone where you find yourself thinking, "If only this wouldn't be here, then I could meditate"?

• 8:34Speaker 03

  What is it? Is it restlessness?

• 8:40Speaker 03

  Racing thoughts?

• 8:45Speaker 03

  Boredom?

• 8:49Speaker 03

  The noise around you?

• 8:59Speaker 03

  Make this now the focus of your attention. Getting really curious about it.

• 9:11Speaker 03

  Can you explore it?

• 9:18Speaker 03

  If it is within you, where does that show up?

• 9:27Speaker 03

  Is that in your body or mainly in your head?

• 9:33Speaker 03

  Or both?

• 9:42Speaker 03

  Does it have any particular qualities?

• 9:54Speaker 03

  Is it solid or is there some movement to it?

• 10:08Speaker 03

  Is it still the same or has it changed?

• 10:21Speaker 03

  Or can you imagine bringing the breath into what is challenging?

• 10:27Speaker 03

  Breathing some space into or around whatever you're working with right now?

• 10:38Speaker 03

  What are you noticing?

• 10:54Speaker 03

  What if this wasn't a problem, but just a part of this meditation today?

• 11:08Speaker 03

  What if what you're doing right now is exactly what makes a good meditation?

• 11:23Speaker 03

  As best as you can allowing what you think is in the way to be here and actually be part of the way.

• 11:37Speaker 03

  Allowing yourself to be restless,

• 11:43Speaker 03

  having racing thoughts,

• 11:48Speaker 03

  to be bored,

• 11:52Speaker 03

  or having the sounds around you.

• 12:05Speaker 03

  That is just how things are right now.

• 12:18Speaker 03

  So giving yourself some credit for showing up today and doing the work.

• 12:33Speaker 03

  And when you're ready, bringing this meditation to an end,

• 12:43Speaker 03

  inviting some movement back into the body,

• 12:50Speaker 03

  and open your eyes when you're ready.

• 12:58Speaker 03

  Thank you for meditating with me.

• 13:07Dan Harris?

  Thanks again to Christiana. Don't forget, I'll be doing a live taping of this podcast, which will also double as a fundraiser for the New York Insight Meditation Center. That's coming up on November 18th in New York City. There's a link in the show notes if you want to get tickets. Also, as always, a reminder to sign up at danharris.com. You'll get guided meditations that come along with all of our Monday, Wednesday episodes, plus weekly live meditation and Q and A sessions. Our next session is on Wednesday, November 12th. We're skipping Tuesday, which is when we usually do meditations because it's Veterans Dan in the United States. We do these always at 4 Eastern. So Wednesday, November 12th at 4 Eastern with Christiana Wolf, who's our Teacher of the Month, and

• 13:51Dan Harris?

  then we'll be back to our regular Tuesday at 4 PM Eastern schedule. Finally, thanks so much to everybody who worked so hard to make this show. Our producers are Tara Anderson and Eleanor Vasili. Our recording and engineering is handled by the great folks over at Pod People. Lauren Smith is our managing producer. Marissa Schneiderman is our senior producer. DJ Cashmere is our executive producer, and Nick Thorburn of the band Islands wrote our theme.

• 14:23Speaker 04

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