How To Figure Out What You Actually Need Right Now | Meditation with Sebene Selassie
In this episode, meditation teacher Sebene Selassie guides listeners through a meditation to tune into their inner knowing and intuition. She provides a practical method for connecting with innate wisdom by sensing the body and asking specific questions.
Deep Dive Analysis
8 Topic Outline
Introduction to Inner Knowing and Intuition
Setting the Stage for Guided Meditation
Sensing the Body and Physical Sensations
Connecting to Inner Knowing Through Inward Awareness
Inquiring About Immediate Needs with Body Wisdom
Exploring What Wants to Emerge in Life
Resting in Inner Wisdom Connection
Returning to External Awareness
2 Key Concepts
Inner Knowing / Innate Wisdom
This refers to a deep understanding rooted in sensory experience, distinct from racing thoughts. It allows individuals to meet situations with greater clarity and kindness, communicating through subtle body cues and feelings rather than purely intellectual thought.
Listening with Your Body
This practice involves posing a question to oneself and then observing the body's subtle responses, such as feelings of expansion or contraction, changes in breathing, or the emergence of a word, image, or feeling. The goal is to trust these initial, non-mental responses as a form of wisdom.
5 Questions Answered
You can listen to your gut by using meditation to turn inwards, tuning into your own sensory experience, and connecting with your inner knowing or innate wisdom, which is rooted in your body.
When you invite your awareness inward, your attention might go to your heart area, your belly, behind your eyes, or somewhere else, and this specific location can vary each time. This space serves as a connection point to your deeper knowing.
To find out what you need, drop the question 'What do I need right now?' into your inner space, listen with your body without searching for a mental answer, and trust whatever arises first, noticing physical sensations like expansion or contraction.
To discover what wants to emerge, ask 'What wants to emerge in my life?' allowing the question to settle into your inner knowing. Stay open and receptive, and notice how whatever arises, whether clear or confusing, lands in your body.
No, this wisdom is not something you have to earn or develop; it is already within you, waiting for you to slow down enough to hear it, and you can return to this place of inner listening anytime you need to.
19 Actionable Insights
1. Cultivate Daily Inner Knowing
Practice tuning into your inner knowing for even a few minutes a day to develop the capacity to listen to your deeper understanding of needs and possibilities.
2. Prepare Meditation Posture
Find a comfortable position (sitting, standing, or lying down) with a naturally straight, non-rigid spine, and either close your eyes or soften your gaze downward.
3. Arrive in Present Moment
Take a moment to fully arrive by noticing any sounds or sensations in your current room or space to help center your attention.
4. Sense Body’s Support
Begin by sensing your body, noticing where it makes contact with its support, and feeling your weight settle into that support.
5. Deepen Breath, Settle In
Take a few deep breaths, allowing yourself to sink a little deeper into the moment with each exhale.
6. Notice Body Sensations
Observe any subtle or strong sensations in your body, such as movements, vibrations, pulsing, tingling, or the natural flow of your breath.
7. Direct Awareness Inward
Bring your awareness inward to a specific body area (e.g., heart, belly, behind eyes) to connect with your quieter body wisdom, distinct from racing thoughts.
8. Rest in Inner Space
Rest in this inward awareness, sensing the chosen space or place in your body, and simply being with whatever is present.
9. Ask “What Do I Need?”
Drop the question “What do I need right now?” into your inner space, listening with your body for an answer without mental searching, and trusting the first thing that arises.
10. Discern Body’s Response
Feel into the response, noticing if it creates expansion or contraction, changes your breathing, or feels true in your bones, as your body communicates in ways your mind may not understand.
11. Ask “What Wants to Emerge?”
Drop the question “What wants to emerge in my life?” into your inner knowing, staying open and receptive without forcing an answer, and observing how the response lands in your body.
12. Rest in Inner Connection
Take a few moments to simply rest in this connection with your inner knowing, appreciating this capacity without needing to immediately act on what came up.
13. Use Breath to Return
Feel your breath moving in and out, trusting that you can return to this place of inner listening anytime you need to with each breath.
14. Practice Listening to Cues
Regularly practice listening to subtle bodily cues and trusting what you feel, as this consistent practice will make your inner knowing clearer over time.
15. Reconnect with Surroundings
Open your eyes and take a moment to reconnect with your surroundings, stretching or moving your body if it feels good, after the meditation.
16. Subscribe for Custom Meditations
Sign up at danharris.com to receive custom guided meditations that come with all of the Monday and Wednesday episodes during October.
17. Join Live Q&A
Subscribe to danharris.com to get access to weekly live video meditation and Q&A sessions every Tuesday at 4 PM Eastern.
18. Attend In-Person Retreat
Consider attending the weekend-long meditation retreat at the Omega Institute from October 24th-26th to meditate, converse, and participate in Q&A with Dan Harris and Seben A. Selassie.
19. Check Show Notes for Events
Check the link in the show notes to sign up for the in-person event on the weekend of October 24th.
3 Key Quotes
Our bodies have ways of knowing that our minds don't always understand.
Sebene Selassie
This wisdom isn't something you have to earn or develop. It's already here, waiting for you to slow down enough to hear it.
Sebene Selassie
Your body holds more wisdom than you might realize.
Sebene Selassie
1 Protocols
Connecting to Inner Knowing Meditation
Sebene Selassie- Find a comfortable position wherever you are (sitting, standing, or lying down), allowing your spine to be naturally straight without being rigid.
- Close your eyes or soften your gaze downward, taking a moment to arrive and notice any sounds or sensations of the room or space you're in.
- Sense the body, noticing where you're making contact with what's supporting you and feeling the weight of your body settling into that support.
- Take a few deep breaths, and with each exhale, let yourself sink a little deeper into the moment.
- Notice any sensations in the body, subtle or strong, such as movements, vibrations, pulsing, tingling, or the breath entering and leaving the body.
- Bring your awareness even more inward, noticing where your attention goes (e.g., heart area, belly, behind your eyes) as a space to connect to your deeper knowing.
- Drop the question 'What do I need right now?' into this inner space, listening with your body for a word, image, or feeling, trusting what comes up first, and noticing if it creates expansion or contraction in your body.
- Ask another question: 'What wants to emerge in my life?' letting it drop into your inner knowing, staying open and receptive, and noticing how it lands in your body.
- Take a few moments to simply rest in this connection with your inner knowing, appreciating that this capacity exists within you.
- Feel your breath moving in and out, trusting that you can return to this place of inner listening anytime, and then open your eyes, taking a moment to reconnect with your surroundings.