Being For Something

Last updated on: May 18, 2015 at 1:00 pm by Rick Hanson

Being For Something 2015-05-18T13:00:43-07:00 Rick Hanson

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This is the second post in the series on Your Precious Life. You can find Part One here. In it we’ll look at the power of Being For Something.

Let’s do a brief practice together. Think of it as an exercise for your mind. You can keep your eyes open or closed, take notes or not, and go as deeply as you want. Please know that you cannot always predict or control what comes up for you in an exercise. Much of what we are doing here is seeding your fertile unconscious, the dark and loamy soil of the mind – to which the great majority of the brain is dedicated, since only a tiny fraction of all neurological processes get represented in any way in consciousness – so that sprouts of valuable learning pop up later and bear fruit in time.

Here we go.

Get comfortable. Be aware of your body as a whole . . . the body breathing . . . breathing the body.

Bring to mind some person or something that you really care about. Perhaps a child, a mate, a parent or sibling, a friend, a teacher or mentor, even a pet. Or perhaps a place, like a meadow or the seashore, or a cause, like justice or the caring for the poor.

Take a moment to wish that person or thing well. You might explore putting that goodwill into words such as “May you be well . . . May you be safe from harm . . . May you be healthy . . . May you be happy . . . May you live (or exist) with ease.”

Take a moment to be mindful of the experience of caring, of wishing well, of kindness. Sense how it contains a feeling of being for the person or thing you care about.

Take a moment to explore that feeling of being for something . . . how it feels in your body . . . the emotions intertwined with it or associated with it . . . the attitudes or points of view that come with it . . . the behavioral orientation that comes with it, the inclination to protect and support, to take action.

If you like, take a moment to see if you can intensify that feeling of being for something. Maybe through breathing a little more deeply, or bringing yourself to feel your caring – perhaps your love – more deeply, perhaps more fiercely. Maybe through recalling times when you felt really strong . . . recalling a sense of strength in your own body and mind . . . a sense, perhaps, of great resolve and determination . . . and then applying that sense of strength to what you are caring about here.

Take a moment to be mindful of this experience of strength, of power . . . of resolve, of determination . . . regarding what you are for. See what is associated, in your mind, with that sense of commitment toward what you care about. . . what is associated with those feelings of strength and power in yourself?

Enjoy that sense of strength and determination in being for something good. Breathe it in . . . breathe it out . . . Breathing a sense of strength . . . Strength breathing you.

Notice that sense of strength and determination. How would your life change if you approached it from that place?

Notice any resistance to being for good things. Like a sense of futility, exhaustion, learned helplessness, or a fear of shame. How would your life change if you grew more skeptical of those feelings of weakness?

Can you start letting go of these blocks in yourself?

The post Being For Something appeared first on Dr. Rick Hanson.

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