The Mindful Attitude of Vulnerability

Learn about the Mindful Attitude of the Vulnerability to help support your formal (meditation) and informal (day to day) practice of mindfulness. Bring this attitude into practice and navigate life with a greater degree of clarity, calm and connection.

Use the attitude to guide your formal meditation practice, or as an informal reminder throughout your day to come back to the present moment. Find ways to incorporate these mindful attitudes in discussion with your family, or those close to you and practice them in communication with others both at work and at home.

The Mindful Attitude of Vulnerability

Many of us equate vulnerability with weakness, or a feeling of being unsafe, when in actuality vulnerability is a practice in courage and strength. We learn the relationship between vulnerability and weakness through experiences in our lives, often negative, that teach us that we must protect ourselves from harm. As babies we enter the world open and vulnerable, unconditionally loving ourselves and the world around us. But as we grow up we often encounter experiences that leave us feeling judged, misunderstood, rejected or abandoned, and we begin to close ourselves off. This fear causes us to lose our spontaneity, our joy and our self-expression.

These are challenging patterns to overcome, which is why we cannot talk about vulnerability without talking about courage. Meeting our vulnerability with bravery and openness can create lasting, meaningful change in our lives. By being vulnerable we are better able to connect with others, form relationships, experience emotion with greater depth, and cultivate resilience for the challenges we face.

Below are some resources on Vulnerability compiled by the Happy Melon Team to be shared with you. Enjoy listening, reading and watching. Stay connected and let us know what you loved, or share your own resources with us in return!

Brene Brown on Vulnerability

No conversation around Vulnerability is complete without Brene Brown.

Brown is a researcher and storyteller who has spent her career studying courage, vulnerability, shame and empathy. Her seminal Ted Talk ‘The Power of Vulnerability’  on shame and vulnerability has reached millions of viewers and is an incredible gateway into self exploration and personal development.

We know you’ve probably seen it, but it’s always worth a re-watch. Tune in again here.

Vulnerability and Power on Russell Brand’s ‘Under the Skin’

Russell Brand’s podcast  ‘Under The Skin’ probes what’s beneath the surface of the people we admire, the ideas that define our time and the history we are told. Always humorous and poignant, Brand’s interviews are one of our favourite listens.

In this episode he speaks to Brene Brown on the power of vulnerability and the concept of ‘doing our best’.

Listen to the full episode here.

The Importance of Vulnerability

This short video from The School of Life highlights the importance of vulnerability in building connections and respect.

We often imagine that what will win us friends and esteem is strength. But surprisingly, it is vulnerability that’s at the core of friendship and likeability. Vulnerability an invitation to make friends with our own weaknesses and cultivate courage and strength.

Watch the short thought provoking video here. 

The Defining Trait of Entrepreneurs

There are endless examples of entrepreneurs, innovators and geniuses that fall in to the category of ‘a little out there’. What sets these people apart is their ability to be just that – maverick like, risk taking, bold, and in essence, vulnerable.

This article from the Harvard Business Review is a lovely reminder that we have to be brave to create change, and that vulnerability is the key to innovative thinking and progress. 

Read the full article here.

The Kind World Podcast

Kind World is a show about how a single act of kindness can change someone’s life. In each episode, hosts and reporters Yasmin Amer and Andrea Asuaje search the world for good news stories that will restore your faith in humanity. You can’t go wrong with any of these brief and poignant episodes.

Pop an episode on when you need a little reminder of all that is good in the world.

Listen here. 

Mark Nepo, On Vulnerability

“We waste so much energy trying to cover up who we are when beneath every attitude is the want to be loved, and beneath every anger is a wound to be healed and beneath every sadness is the fear that there will not be enough time. When we hesitate in being direct, we unknowingly slip something on, some added layer of protection that keeps us from feeling the world, and often that thin covering is the beginning of a loneliness which, if not put down, diminishes our chances of joy. It’s like wearing gloves every time we touch something, and then, forgetting we chose to put them on, we complain that nothing feels quite real. Our challenge each day is not to get dressed to face the world but to unglove ourselves so that the doorknob feels cold and the car handle feels wet and the kiss goodbye feels like the lips of another being, soft and unrepeatable.”

― Mark Nepo, The Book of Awakening: Having the Life You Want by Being Present to the Life You Have

Pema Chodron on Vulnerability

One of modern Buddhist philosophy’s leading voices, Pema Chodron, speaks on vulnerability and facing the unknown.

“Anyone who stands on the edge of the unknown, fully in the present without reference point, experiences groundlessness. That’s when our understanding goes deeper, when we find that the present moment is a pretty vulnerable place and that this can be completely unnerving and completely tender at the same time.”
– Pema Chodron

Move and meditate with us in-studio and online to continue cultivating the mindful attitude of vulnerability. Book a class here.