Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris - How To Handle Discomfort Uncertainty And Overwhelm Meditation With Kaira Jewel Lingo

Episode Date: January 11, 2026

All this month, we're sharing custom guided meditations from our teacher of the month, Kaira Jewel Lingo, exclusively available at 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. This meditation is about learning to sit with discomfort.  Related Episodes: Are You Overcomplicating Your Life? Meet August's Teacher of the Month, Kaira Jewel Lingo   Get ready for another Meditation Party at Omega Institute! This in-person workshop brings together Dan with his friends and meditation teachers, Sebene Selassie, Jeff Warren, and for the first time, Ofosu Jones-Quartey. The event runs October 24th-26th. Sign up and learn more at eomega.org/workshops/meditation-party-2025.   Join Dan's online community here Follow Dan on social: Instagram, TikTok Subscribe to our YouTube Channel   To advertise on the show, contact [e-mail] or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/10HappierwithDanHarris

This is the 10% Happier Podcast. I'm Dan Harris. Happy Sunday, everybody. Hope you're having a good weekend. We're bringing you a guided meditation today from Kyra Jewel Lingo. It's an amazing meditation teacher. Some context here. We're now creating guided meditations to go along with all of our Monday, Wednesday episodes. The idea is that we want to help you remember all the great stuff that you learn in these amazing conversations that we post. meditation is a great way to sort of pound the wisdom into your neurons. These meditations are only available for paying subscribers over on Dan Harris.com, but today we're giving you one for free. It's the classic drug dealer strategy, you know, give a dose for free until we get you hooked. But we're, I think, a lot more helpful than your average drug dealer. Before we dive in, just a quick reminder that I'll be doing a live meditation retreat up at the Omega Institute, north of New York City at the end of October. It runs from October.

24th to 26. This is a much more relaxed and enjoyable version. It's not a Zen death march or anything like that. We call it Meditation Party. My friend, Seven A. Salasi, and Jeff Warren will be there also this year for the first time. Another friend of Fosu Jones-Corte. It's going to be great. You can sign up at e-O-Mega.org, or I will put a link in the show notes. We'll get started with a guided meditation from Kyra Jewel Lingo right after this. Most of us are conditioned to either push discomfort away or distract ourselves from it. Uncertainty especially can feel overwhelming or even threatening. But there's another way. Instead of resisting or reacting, we can learn to sit with what's difficult and allow it to simply be. With mindfulness, we can bring tenderness and curiosity to, to our discomfort, gently welcoming it rather than fighting it. Like a kind parent, soothing a distressed child, mindfulness helps us stay present and connected, even when things feel unclear or unsettled.

Let's explore this together. Find a comfortable position, allowing the body to relax and open. Feel the solidity and support of the earth beneath you. And let yourself, rest into that grounding. Trust the earth to hold you. Gently connect with your breath. Let it be just as it is. Flowing in, flowing out, steady, reliable, effortless. No need to change or manage it.

Simply follow it. Let your attention move through the body, noticing and releasing any areas of tension. your jaw, shoulders, belly, hands. At the same time, notice any areas that feel spacious or simply neutral. Let those sensations support you. Before we touch into what is difficult, it can be helpful to ground ourselves in a sense of connection. Bring to mind a place, person, or being, real or imagined, that helps you feel safe,

supported, or at ease. Let yourself feel what it's like to be in the presence of this refuge. Let these feelings infuse your body, helping you build inner resources. Oh, I invite you to bring to mind a situation or moment that has felt uncomfortable or uncertain recently. Not something overwhelming or traumatic, but something that lingers or unsettles you. It could be a decision you're unsure about, a conversation that didn't go the way you hoped, or a feeling of not knowing what comes next. Allow the discomfort or uncertainty to gently come into focus. Let yourself feel how it shows up in your body, maybe as tightness, restlessness,

heaviness, or a sense of agitation or stuckness. You're not trying to fix it. just noticing allowing if at any point this becomes too intense feel free to pause open your eyes look around and connect with your environment stretch or shift your posture you can always return to this practice when you feel ready with each breath invite yourself to stay close to this feeling of discomfort. Name it gently. Uncertainty is here. Discomfort is here. Just like greeting an old friend, notice what happens as you acknowledge it without needing to change it. Let the breath hold you as you sit with what's hard to sit with. While part of you may want to run away from the pain,

mindfulness can help you give it space. Feel yourself. opening to accept and befriend this discomfort to whatever extent you are able. You might whisper inwardly, it's okay not to know. It's okay to feel unsettled. Explore what it's like to welcome this discomfort as part of your human experience. Not a mistake, not a problem to solve, but something to be with. Now notice if there's any judgment or resistance.

around what you're feeling. Can you soften toward that too? Offer it some kindness? Like cradling a part of yourself that's just trying to make sense of the unknown. If it helps, you can even place a hand over your heart or belly grounding your awareness through touch.

You could say inwardly, my dear discomfort, I see you. It's okay for you. for you to be here. I'm here with you. I will do my best to take care of you. Let yourself express whatever arises for this part of yourself that may often get pushed away. Now you can offer it the care it needs. Let yourself rest in this space of not knowing without needing to resolve anything. There's a deep strength in staying with the question in allowing the answer. In allowing the answer to ripen in its own time. You might ask gently, what might this discomfort be trying to

show me? Is there something I'm learning or being called to understand more deeply? And then simply listen, there's no need to rush to a conclusion. Trust that even silence is part of the response. let the breath continue to hold you. Let yourself be exactly where you are. No pushing, no pulling. Just being with what is. Discomfort and uncertainty are not enemies. They are teachers.

When we turn toward them with mindfulness and compassion, they can reveal insights we might otherwise miss. In your daily life, when discomfort arises or uncertainty features, overwhelming, see if you can simply pause and recognize it. This is discomfort. This is not knowing. Feel where it lives in your body.

Greet it with presence. This gentle awareness gives you space to respond instead of react. You can slowly begin to bring movement into your body now. Wiggle your fingers or toes. Maybe take a deep breath or shift your posture. If your eyes are closed, gently open them. You've done something courageous today, choosing to stay present with what's uncomfortable and unclear.

This is how wisdom grows. Thank you for your practice. Thank you, Kyra Jewel Lingo. If you want to get more of these guided meditations that come along with all of our episodes, you can head on over to Danharis.com and sign up. Speaking of signing up, don't forget to check out e Omega.org where you can sign up for the live meditation party I'll be doing with Sevenace-Lassine, Jeff Warren, and Ophosa-Jones-Portay. At the end of October, I'll put a link to that in the show notes.

Finally, I want to thank everybody who works so hard to make this show. Our producers are Tara Anderson, Caroline Keenan and Eleanor Vassili. Our recording and engineering is handled by the great folks over at Pod People. Lauren Smith is our production manager. Marissa Schneiderman is our senior producer. DJ Kashmir is our executive. producer and Nick Thorburn of the band Islands Rodar Theme.