Hello, hello, my name is Sabrina Amina, and this is the Peelings Pod.
I'm super excited because today is the first episode of the third season of my podcast,
and I'm proud of that because this has felt very much like a work of heart, and it's not
perfect, certainly, but it's an exploration that feels true and authentic and aligned
for me, and it's been received pretty well, as far as I know.
And yeah, I just, this season, I started in the winter, so I did a winter season, the
spring season, and now it's a summer season, and I started this podcast with the intention
of just sharing what I learned through experiencing emotions with mindfulness, and most of the
episodes thus far have been focused on some of the more challenging emotions, and those
are the emotions I've been able to navigate with more ease thanks to my mindfulness and
mindful self-compassion practice.
So at the very least, I hope this podcast serves as an invitation for you to do the same.
I hope it inspires you to open up to the more difficult feelings that sometimes we push
aside or are afraid of facing.
Today, I want to focus on disappointment because I think it's an emotion that we try to avoid
at all costs.
We don't want to be disappointed, so what do we do?
We avoid putting ourselves in situations where we might have to face disappointment, which
is fear-based behavior, and if there's one thing I strive for, it is to be in touch with
and aware of my fear-based behaviors as much as possible because my fear-based behaviors
keep me playing small.
They keep me from showing up fully and authentically.
They keep me hiding.
I think they keep me from pursuing my heart's desires, and the inspiration for this episode
today came from a conversation I had with a friend yesterday who, I forget the context,
but they basically said, well, I don't want to get my hopes up.
I was like, I don't know, those kinds of statements now stop me in my tracks a bit, and I'm like,
why?
Why wouldn't you want to get your hopes up?
Hope is such a beautiful thing.
Hope is such a wonderful emotion.
What would we do in a world without hope?
Get your hopes up, people, stop being afraid to be disappointed.
We live in a world where disappointment is a reality, but also incredible joy and satisfaction
and pleasure and the yummy goodness is available to us too.
As long as we're unwilling to face depth and darkness, we're also not available to
experience the incredible lightness of being, in the words of, oh, I forget the author's
name right now, Mila Melancundera, yes.
Yeah, so please, please, tap into your hope.
Tap into your desires.
Tap avoiding the things that you really want, the things that you really desire because
it might not work out because guess what?
It might work out.
It just might work out, and it just might get to be that good.
So yeah, just like feeling to that for a minute.
What does it feel like to just set aside fear for a minute?
And I think one of the scariest places to let go of fear or just face the fear is in
relationship, you know, when you meet someone new and you're excited about it, but you hold
yourself back a bit because you're like, ah, it might not work out, and you hide or withdraw
or play silly games, and we all do it.
What if we could just really show up fully in these connections that feel exciting and
vibrant and breathe life into us?
What if instead of starting a project thinking, oh, I'm not going to get my hopes up about
this, instead of future casting into a potential disappointment, what if you were fully here
and in it right now, fully present to the excitement and fully present to the spark
of desire that inspired you to pursue this project and lived in that space?
And yeah, sometimes we can kind of navigate challenges and disappointments, but that's
part of the beauty of the process, like facing disappointment.
Let me tell you, you are totally capable of facing disappointment.
You know, I'm just going to say it.
I remember the disappointment I felt when Trump got elected, and I was just like, holy
moly, holy moly.
For some reason, that was like the biggest disappointment that came to mind in this moment.
But yeah, just think of a huge disappointment that you had.
And like, just remember that you dealt with it and got through it.
You know what?
Imagine a Yankees fan, like Yankees fan, like I don't know what it, like sports fans, you
know, they get crazy about their teens.
And honestly, I don't think they show up to the stands with this kind of energy.
Well, I'm going to root for the Yankees, but I'm also not going to get my hopes up.
They show up, they fully in support of their team, they fully imagine that they're going
to win.
They're so certain of it, they put money on their, on their knowing and their trust,
on their belief that their team is going to win.
And they're not worried about disappointment.
I mean, sure, they deal with it if they have to, but like, they're all in.
The sports fans, sports fans.
Not really a sports fan, but like definitely honor their commitment to the mission, whatever
that is.
Anyhow, so yeah, like be in a space where you let yourself feel the good feelings fully
without worrying about it not working out without constantly being in fear of the thing
going away without constantly worrying or, or trying to control and manipulate.
So this is, this is a problem.
It's like sometimes it, we're so desperate to avoid disappointment that we'll do anything
we can to try to control the situation.
And then you like squeeze the life out of it.
It's like, ugh, that doesn't feel good.
Trying to control out of fear.
That's not the way to go.
Go with your heart's desire.
Follow that.
Your desire is truth.
It comes from a place of authenticity.
And tap into that.
I'm not like, desire is something sacred and real.
It's something different than kind of something like that might feel like a frivolous want.
Like, but I don't know that.
That's a line of thought that I don't want to follow right now.
My point is that instead of dismissing desires as frivolous, like really tap into them, really
tune into what do you want to see in your life?
What do you want to create in your life?
And what would it feel like to pursue that and set aside the worry and fear that it might
not work out?
How does that land for you?
I just want to take a pause because I'm feeling particularly activated by this.
I just know in my life I have held myself back from things because I was afraid.
I don't, I don't, like, listen, here's a lesson I hear over and over again that I still sometimes
bristle at the thought of, but there's also this idea that we're not actually disappointed
and we're not actually afraid of being disappointed, but rather we're afraid of getting the thing
that we want.
Like what if it is that good?
What if I can get exactly what we want?
And then like, wow, then you realize, oh, the desires I have, I can bring to life.
And then what?
What do I do when I actually get what I want?
Yeah, so when you limit yourself to just like, well, I'm going to kind of dip my toe in this
thing that I think I want, that, you know, actually I do want, but I'm not going to fully
commit to that desire because I don't want to get hurt.
I don't want to be disappointed.
I don't want to deal with that.
Cultivate the trust in yourself, cultivate the self-confidence, cultivate the courage
to face that fear.
That's my invitation for you this week.
Let yourself allow for the possibility of disappointment.
And when you let yourself allow for the possibility of disappointment, you also allow yourself
the possibility of living out your wildest dreams.
Sure it might not work out, but there's also the possibility that it very well could work
out.
So yeah, lean into that.
Notice the places and spaces where you're like, hmm, not going to get my hopes up.
Get your hopes up, babe.
That is my message to you this week.
Get your hopes up.
And with that short message from our sponsors, i.e. the Spirit Guides, let's settle into
our practice for today.
Find a comfortable position.
Wherever you land, whether you're lying down or sitting up, just make any micro adjustments
you need to get maybe 10% more comfy.
And as you settle in, connect to your breath, bring attention and awareness to your inhale.
Bring attention and awareness to each exhale.
And as you slowly breathe in and out, breathe in the courage that you need.
Breathe out the fears you've been grasping.
Breathe in that courage, feel it in your belly.
Exhale any fears that come up.
Take a deep breath in and let it go.
If it feels comfortable, rub the hands together, creating a little bit of friction and warmth.
Take a deep breath in.
And as you exhale, place your hands gently on your solar plexus, which is the spot just
above your belly button, the color associated with this chakra is yellow.
And the solar plexus chakra is our source of personal power.
Imagine breathing fully into this space.
Imagine breathing in courage and imagine exhaling any fear or doubt.
And as you breathe into the belly, imagine a golden yellow light emanating from this
space, radiating outwards.
Imagine that warm light enveloping your entire body as it expands and radiates outward.
Imagine the power of the sun kind of radiating from your center.
And feeling into that power, feeling into that warmth, feeling into the energetic alignment
of joy.
Take a deep breath in and let it go.
As you continue to follow the inhale and exhale, imagine pulse around this light.
Imagine the light expanding as you inhale and contracting as you exhale.
Take a deep breath in and out.
And imagine that yellow glow surrounding your entire body being an aura.
Just allowing a smile to curl up from the corners of your mouth.
And as you close the practice with a deep inhale and a full exhale, set the intention
to allow yourself to be surrounded by this golden light today.
This fortifying, rich, brilliant, protective light that allows you to tap into your joy
and your desire.
That allows you to face fear head on.
And we'll close with one last deep inhale and a full exhale.
And if you wish to continue your breathing for a few moments, feel free.
Whenever you feel ready, you can flutter the eyes open and see what it feels like to observe
the space surrounded by this powerful force field of light.
Thank you so much for listening.
Thank you so much for practicing with me.
I wish you a wonderful week.