The last few classes we've been exploring really how to open ourselves, both to people

that we might write off or judge or push out of our hearts and also to our own life within

us and tonight I want to go right to the what I consider the ground level which is our

entire capacity to have that openness to life comes from being able to be open to the experience

of sensations in our body. All of the reactivity we have, any aversion we might experience, any

disgust or fear or dislike or whatever it is towards ourself or towards the world is experienced

in a most basic way as difficult unpleasant sensations. So it's not until we have the capacity

to let go of our resistance to being right here in these bodies that we actually can come into

the presence that includes the world. That's our theme and I'd like to maybe begin our theme

with a story. Some of you might remember for a few years ago it's one of my favorites as a

Scandinavian tale about princess R and the serpent and the princess's parents had fallen on some

pretty difficult times they were out of cash basically so they had a turn to the dragon to see

if maybe they could get a loan from the dragon's hoard and the dragon said, well, certainly I just

for one small thing, you know, in exchange let them marry your daughter and they you know they

felt terrible about it but you know they knew they had to do it so they went to the princess and

said, dear, we've decided on the proper betrothal for you and you're going to be married to the dragon

and of course she was a resourceful young woman and although she was frightened and upset,

she knew to turn to a very wise woman that lived on the edge of town with her, you know, 15 children

and 45 grandchildren and the like and so she went and talked to this woman and poured out her story

and the wise woman first asked, well, do you want to marry the dragon?

She said, absolutely not and she said and then the wise woman said, well, I have a way, I think

you can do it that will help you to feel safe and she whispered in her ear for a while and one of the

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