This week in class I talked about the classic instruction regarding “saying yes” to life.  

Father Thomas Keating, one of the chief architects of Centering Prayer, described meditation as “the practice of consent,” accepting your experience to be exactly what it is.  

I also talked little bit about how “no” is also saying yes… To something else.  

If you encounter something overwhelming in meditation or in life, it’s wise to turn your attention elsewhere and trust that when the conditions are more supportive, you can explore this then.  

When a good friend asked a well-known, powerful business leader to be on his Board of Trustees, the man replied, “Thank you so much for the invitation. I’m flattered. But I have to say no because I’m so excited about how we can transform education in the United States through my newly formed nonprofit. I’m giving this my full attention right now.”  

My friend said it was the most inspiring rejection letter he had ever gotten.  

Along those lines, here is a link entitled, How to Say No to Anyone (Even a Good Friend).  

You can listen to the talk …
Here on iTunes
Here on Libsyn  

iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.