Paying close attention to your mind, you may notice that you are not in control of your thoughts. They come and go as they please. Some would say that although we are not in control of our thoughts, we have agency over our response to them. But is that true? What aspects of reality are we truly in control of, if any? This episode is a wondering on the dynamic of control.

This session is another wondering on how to navigate the thoughts that cause us harm when we believe them. We are ill-equipped in the journey toward peace if we do not have access to our sword of no, and if we have abandoned the wisdom of knowing when to wield it with fierce compassion.

The thoughts that cause you suffering are there to be investigated, understood, accepted, and loved. But sometimes these thoughts invite us to learn how to say no, with a ferocity inspired by the great love for what you have been entrusted to protect: yourself, your heart, your being. This is the wrathful deity inside you, the one who knows how to embody the no in such a way that ends the battle, ends the conversation, ends the suffering thought.

The word "angel" comes from the Greek word "angelos," meaning "messenger." What if anxiety isn't a problem in need of fixing, but rather an angel, arising with a message for you, guidance on where to go next and how to get there? In this session, I wonder about anxiety and gratitude, interdependence and the interplay of giving and receiving.

I mention my friend and mentor Ashley Jansen in this episode. Check out her work at www.souldivers.net.

"There is a kind of fear that's guiding. Maybe fear is always guiding, it's always telling you something, and the trick is to listen for what's the message. What is it actually telling me? Is it true that this feeling of fear is telling me to run away, or is it an invitation to get closer?"

In this session, I wonder about wonder, fear, the unknown, doubt, the skill of discernment, and relationship.

In this session, I wonder about beginnings, and a bit about silence, too.