Jun 2, 2026 · 29 min · 6 segments
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Davin YoungsHost
But today I wanna, uh, finish the series on, uh, practicing presence, and I thought I'd end it in a way that is, I hope, quite delightful and, um, also probably challenging for most of us.
What does it mean to be present to all that is good in your life? You know, so much of meditative practices, contemplative practices ask us to consider our relationship to hardship and sorrow and suffering, and that's because it's part of the human instinct to avoid those things at all costs.
But there's also this truth that, uh, on the flip side of that, we can struggle as humans to actually be aware of and sit in or marinate in the goodness that is often permeating our lives.
In fact, I would even argue that, you know, some of you might even-- or maybe not you, but anyone could hear the, this idea of what does it mean to meditate on that which is good? And it almost could feel like a futile endeavor, or even there could be this sort of reaction where there's so much other bad stuff to work about, work on and think about that this could feel, um, yeah, maybe unnecessary.
But I would argue that there's a piece of the human condition, you know, we know about the actual functionality of the brain, and I'm gonna read you just a little bit more of this, uh, after our sit from the psychologist and meditation teacher Rick Hanson.
But we are prone to cling to n- the negative from a cognitive standpoint, and so much of that has to do with survival.
But we're also, uh, more and more aware of this truth of neuroplasticity and how the brain shapes and forms to that which we give attention to.
Um, and so there's great evidence for the usefulness of sitting with, dwelling in, appreciating and savoring that which is good as a way of reframing our daily perspectives.
And so we'll sit with a practice today that asks you to, to do that, and we'll talk a little bit more about the science and understanding about why it's useful.
But I wonder if you might just ask yourself before we even get going, like what i- what is, what's your body tell you? What does your heart tell you? If I said, "Hey, we're gonna sit together for fifteen minutes and just relish the goodness of our lives," what kind of reaction do you actually honestly have for that and with that? And then I want you to just take that information with you as you go into this sit.
But today I wanna, uh, finish the series on, uh, practicing presence, and I thought I'd end it in a way that is, I hope, quite delightful and, um, also probably challenging for most of us.
What does it mean to be present to all that is good in your life? You know, so much of meditative practices, contemplative practices ask us to consider our relationship to hardship and sorrow and suffering, and that's because it's part of the human instinct to avoid those things at all costs.
But there's also this truth that, uh, on the flip side of that, we can struggle as humans to actually be aware of and sit in or marinate in the goodness that is often permeating our lives.
In fact, I would even argue that, you know, some of you might even-- or maybe not you, but anyone could hear the, this idea of what does it mean to meditate on that which is good? And it almost could feel like a futile endeavor, or even there could be this sort of reaction where there's so much other bad stuff to work about, work on and think about that this could feel, um, yeah, maybe unnecessary.
But I would argue that there's a piece of the human condition, you know, we know about the actual functionality of the brain, and I'm gonna read you just a little bit more of this, uh, after our sit from the psychologist and meditation teacher Rick Hanson.
But we are prone to cling to n- the negative from a cognitive standpoint, and so much of that has to do with survival.
But we're also, uh, more and more aware of this truth of neuroplasticity and how the brain shapes and forms to that which we give attention to.
Um, and so there's great evidence for the usefulness of sitting with, dwelling in, appreciating and savoring that which is good as a way of reframing our daily perspectives.
And so we'll sit with a practice today that asks you to, to do that, and we'll talk a little bit more about the science and understanding about why it's useful.
But I wonder if you might just ask yourself before we even get going, like what i- what is, what's your body tell you? What does your heart tell you? If I said, "Hey, we're gonna sit together for fifteen minutes and just relish the goodness of our lives," what kind of reaction do you actually honestly have for that and with that? And then I want you to just take that information with you as you go into this sit.
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