Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris - Stop Arguing With Reality | Bonus Meditation with Sebene Selassie

Episode Date: November 1, 2024

Unraveling one of our main sources of unhappiness.About Sebene Selassie:Growing up, Sebene felt like a big weirdo. Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and raised in white neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., she was a tomboy Black girl who loved Monty Python and UB40. She never believed she belonged. Thirty years ago, she began studying Buddhism as an undergraduate at McGill University where she majored in Comparative Religious Studies. Now, Sebene is a teacher, author, and speaker who teaches that meditation can help us remember our inherent sense of belonging, that our individual freedom affects absolutely everyone and everything, and that our collective freedom depends on each and every one of us. Sebene is a three-time cancer survivor of Stage III and IV cancer.Check out Sebene’s Substack newsletter, Ancestors to Elements. To find this meditation in the Happier app, you can search for “Hope in the Everyday.”See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to 10% happier early and ad free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple podcasts. It's the 10% happier podcast. I'm Dan Harris. Hey everybody, time for a bonus meditation. Today we're talking about hope, which is a tricky concept and can be, I think, deployed unwisely. But you're in good hands today with our meditation teacher du jour, Sabin A. Selassie, who says hope is not about arguing with reality, which is the way it's often sold to us.

A little bit more about Seb before we get started. She's trained as a meditation teacher, an integral coach, an indigenous focusing-oriented therapy for complex trauma practitioner, and she's a New York State licensed hiking guide. I should also say she's got a great subscription service going on Substack Ancestors to Elements. You should check that out. I'll put a link in the show notes. Here we go now with Sabine Selassie. Hey there.

This is Sabine. Maybe you've noticed a central paradox of meditation. We may come to practice seeking positive transformation for ourselves and the world, but first we must learn to allow things just as they are. Genuine acceptance lays the foundation for transformation. I like to think of this as learning not to be in contention with reality. Another way to say that is trusting life, moment to moment. Let's try it together.

Find a way to settle in that's comfortable for you, wherever you are. You can close your eyes if you'd like or keep them open with a relaxed gaze. Allow the body to naturally soften anywhere that feels tight or tense. Trusting life as it is begins by trusting the body and all its sensations. Let's begin by connecting to the sensations of the body. What sensations are you feeling right now? You can even ask yourself,

What's happening in my body right now? There's no right answer. Simply notice what's here, making space for whatever is happening. Remember, we are learning to allow each sensation as it is, simply noticing and trusting what is happening. Sometimes what we notice is the very resistance we're hoping to release. There may be tension or tightness in the body you don't like. Or maybe you already hear a critical voice telling you that you can't do this. Just noticing that resistance is an essential step here, so great job.

Rather than being in contention with any of this, try letting yourself feel it in your body without pushing it away. Allowing everything to be here. You can trust this too. Now let's try expanding the inquiry, asking, what's happening in my body right now, and adding, can I allow this experience? Can I trust this experience? Go ahead and give it a try on your own. As we finish this meditation, take another opportunity to appreciate how incredible life is. This changing cascade of sensations, thoughts, emotions.

You can be aware of whatever is happening and learn to trust it all. How amazing is that? You can open your eyes now and reconnect to your surroundings as we end this meditation. Thanks for practicing trusting life with me. I'm wishing you really well. Thank you, Semené. Don't forget to check out her Substack, Ancestors to Elements. Just search her name on Substack and you'll get it.

I also put a link in the show notes. Also, you can find more meditations like this one over on the Happier app. Just download the app wherever you get your apps to get started. If you like 10% Happier, and I hope you do, you can listen early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple podcasts. Prime members can listen ad free on Amazon Music.

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