When we think of courage we often imagine a fierce energy that pushes obstacles aside, cuts through barriers and fights battles. Courage can have a gentle energy, too. Sometimes courage can look and feel like steady, caring presence, especially during mindfulness meditation and the practice of feeling what we feel.
In this guided meditation, led by Sean Fargo, we are invited to sense into this moment, just as it is. With courage, we practice staying with our experience, allowing it to change and unfold as it is naturally inclined to do.
Listen in a safe, quiet place where you can be relatively free from distraction. Practice with eyes open or closed, in a posture that balances comfort with alertness. May this meditation be of benefit to your practice.
Sponsored by the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification MindfulnessExercises.com/Certification
In this mindfulness meditation we are asked the question, “What could we move towards with courage?” We may relate courageousness to entering into a battle. In this case, courage serves a different role. With courage, we cease fighting against this moment and instead, allow it to unfold as we remain a steady witness.
We practice allowing this moment to unfold naturally, as is. At the same time, we actively witness this unfolding, tending to it with increasingly more expansive layers of awareness.
As we observe this process, we do so without inserting our will or any agenda into what is happening. In mindfulness meditation we do not try to conjure any one type of experience. We allow whatever is unfolding right here and now.
Within this experience, we may notice and label some things as pleasant, others as unpleasant, while others get very little notice or feel like nothing at all. Typically, we want the pleasant to stay and avoid or suppress what’s unpleasant.
Courageously practicing presence is a body-based activity. We allow the sensations and energies felt by the body to move as they need to, without trying to figure anything out. In this meditation we are encouraged to sense into the head, the face and the neck as a means of remaining embodied.
With practice, we may become more capable of meeting this moment just as it is. With the courage to face what is true, we can bring a loving and gentle awareness to it, even if what is felt is unfamiliar or uncomfortable. From there, we may be better able to decide whether a response is needed and which action would be most helpful.
Learn more about meeting this moment with courage, and teaching others how to do the same, with the following free mindfulness resources:
- Podcast: Acknowledging Fear, A Meditation with Sean Fargo
- Podcast: Cultivating Self-Compassion Despite Obstacles, with Sean Fargo
- Podcast: Leading Difficult Conversations with Mindful Presence, with Oren Jay Sofer
- Podcast: Inspiring Courage as a Mindfulness Teacher
- Podcast: Sharing Mindfulness from the Heart, with Sean Fargo
- Podcast: We Are Capable of Meeting This Moment, A Meditation with Sean Fargo
- Video: Qoya Movement: The Courage to Stay True
- Meditation Script: A 5-Minute Confidence Meditation Script
- Blog: 100+ Empowering Self-Love Affirmations for Boosting Confidence and Self-Esteem
- Blog: 80 Empowering Resilience Quotes to Overcome Life’s Challenges
- Blog: Empower Yourself with Positive I Am Affirmations
About Sean Fargo:
Sean Fargo is a former Buddhist monk who founded Mindfulness Exercises and leads the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification.
