Hello, hello. Welcome to the Feelings Pod. My name is Sabrina Amina. I'm your host, and
today's episode is about curiosity. I talked a little bit about curiosity in a few of
my other episodes, but today I want to give it some special attention because when we're
in a state of curiosity, we are more open. We're able to learn and receive and step away
from our judgments, which is a great place to be if you ask me. So think about the last
time you had a harsh judgment about something, and it might be hard for you for that to come
to mind because we're constantly judging things. But what I love about my mindfulness practice,
I mean one of the many things is that it allows me to notice more the quality of my thoughts.
And when I have a judging thought, I can say, oh, there's a judgment. Let me see if I can
explore with a bit more curiosity. Curiosity is especially helpful when I'm feeling a particular
aversion to something or resistance. And I can either be curious about my resistance,
or I can be curious about the thing or situation I'm resisting. I mentioned aversion, but that's
kind of, I think I'm going to put aversion aside for now and focus more on resistance,
and unwillingness to be with, accept, see. Now our judgments and our resistance and aversions
are important. It's not like we want to get rid of those things. But sometimes they're
more harmful than they are helpful. There are certainly times where our judgments protect
us, our resistance is wisdom, and sometimes we are operating from a place of just constriction
instead of expansion. And it's up to us to discern, oh, this is something I can trust.
I trust my resistance around this situation. Or I think my resistance to this situation
could be, can teach me something in fact if I lean into curiosity. So for example, I think
a place that we often make judgments is when we first meet new people and we're trying
to discern, is this a person I like? Is this a person that feels safe to be around? Is this
someone I can trust? Is this someone I need to be on guard around? Is this someone that
I like? Is this someone that I don't like? So we make those judgments really quickly.
And then judgment doesn't necessarily have to be a negative judgment. You can just say,
oh, that's a good person. Even that in and of itself is a judgment. And we can get curious
about those snap judgments. What is it about this person that makes me think they're a
good, quote unquote, good person? Curiosity is a lot of fun because there's so much possibility
in curiosity. When we lean into curiosity, there's more to explore. A judgment is just
a label. It's unquestioning. It's the opposite of curiosity. It's a snap decision about a
person, place, situation, circumstance, and there's nothing more to explore after something's
been labeled. Imagine how many opportunities are lost because of snap judgments. I think
something that really helped me become more curious even before my mindfulness practice
was just being in education, working with so many different students from different walks
of life who have different challenges, who show up differently in so many ways in the
classroom. And as an educator, it's my job to be curious about those kids. It's not my
job to make a judgment. It's not my job to write off a student for being difficult or
challenging. As an educator, I'm a problem solver. So if something does come up with
a student in my class, I have to lean on my curiosity if we're going to move forward,
if I'm going to be able to connect with this student. If I want this student to learn from
me, if I want them to feel safe in my classroom, I have to create space for curiosity about
these children. And oftentimes, I've heard in my training as an educator, you know, people
will tell you about a child. People will try to hand off their judgments on a student and
pass them on to you. But I've always... And yes, that's very true. But I think it's so
important to give a child an opportunity to show themselves to you in whatever way they
are inclined to show up. And it's not my job to judge how a child shows up. It's my job
to offer support and guidance and safety. When we make a judgment about folks, there's
no safety in that. It's a writing off. So allowing for curiosity also creates an opportunity
to build community. Oh, I love it when my words rhyme. Yeah, so when I'm curious about
the students in my classroom, when I ask questions, when I seek deeper understanding, that creates
a greater sense of connection. If I judge a student right off the bat and write them
off based on that judgment, that's kind of cruel actually, in my humble opinion. So yeah,
I encourage you this week to lean into spaces where you could make room for more curiosity.
Perhaps you're having a challenging situation in relationship with someone in your life.
Is there a possibility to lean into curiosity about the conflict? Are judgments being made
about the person or situation that could be explored more deeply with curiosity? Is this
person really being a jerk or is there something more to this story? Is there something I'm
not seeing? And curiosity can be collaborative. Actually, that's probably the most fun is
not just asking yourself questions about your judgments, but getting curious about a person
and asking them to offer insight. Yeah, a question I really love is, it's like a check-in. I'm
telling myself this story, but what do you think about that? Do I have the right impression
about this? Allow someone else to offer a different perspective or a different story,
or maybe add nuance to the story you're telling yourself. Yeah. So your challenge this week,
should you choose to accept it, is notice where you can infuse a bit more curiosity into your
life, into your day-to-day interactions. You might be surprised what comes from the exploration.
We'll do a short practice today. So wherever you are, find a comfortable seat. If you're
not able to practice in this moment, feel free to pause and come back at a later time.
If it feels comfortable for you to close your eyes once you've settled into a comfortable
position, I invite you to do so. Or you can simply find a soft gaze on a steady spot in
front of you. And simply notice your breath. Notice the quality of your inhale and your
exhale. Allow yourself to settle into your body. Notice what's present for you in this
moment. Take a deep breath in and let it go. Make note of how it feels to take a fuller,
deeper breath and expel a full exhale. Take a deep breath in and let it go.
I'll guide you through a brief body scan, starting at the crown of the head, bringing
your awareness to your forehead and the muscles in your face. Allow all expression to just
melt away. Notice the ears, the jaw, the neck, shoulders, upper arms, forearms. Notice
the hands. Notice your 10 fingers. Just gently rub the hands together, creating a little
bit of friction and warmth between the hands. And when you feel that warmth, rest the palms
of your hands over your heart. Breathe into the heart space. Take a deep breath in and
let it go. Bring your attention and awareness to the belly and torso. Notice the space between
the belly button and your hips. And just breathe into this space. Let it go. Notice the thighs,
your knees, your calf muscles. Notice your shins, your ankles, the tops of your feet,
the bottoms of your feet, your 10 toes, your heels. Let's draw one big deep breath. Imagine
drawing it up from the bottoms of your feet and letting that breath travel all the way
to the top of the crown of your head. Take a deep inhale and let it go. As you settle,
just notice the quality of your thoughts. Allow them to float through. Notice the thought,
the bolder thought, perhaps it's a worry, a memory, a plan, a question, a curiosity.
Notice the thought and let it go. Take a deep breath in and let it go. Notice your emotions.
Is there one prominent emotion present for you in this moment? Notice the quality of
it. Is it deep and profound? Is it constricting, expansive, pleasant or unpleasant? Where does
that emotion live in your body? Take a deep breath in and let it go. Allowing yourself
a moment of stillness before coming back to the room and letting the eyes flutter open,
taking in your surroundings and perhaps letting your gaze rest on something that makes you
feel at ease. Thank you so much for practicing today. Thank you so much for listening. Have
a wonderful day.