Tara Brach

And then realize, the second R, the should.

Life should be different.

In some way there's a should in there.

And remember in a simple way, okay, this is a pattern, it's a habitual pattern, but it's not who you are.

It's some waves in the sea.

And just sense that there's a larger sense of your being.

This possibility of stepping beyond that victim self into more wholeness.

And sense the possibility of reclaiming agency.

What is yours to do?

How is your wise heart guiding in this moment?

You might sense for yourself how you could bring these four R's into situations in the future to wake yourself up in the midst of life.

Okay, friends, I hope that you got some sense of the power of catching the victim trance and sensing a larger possibility.

And so for some of you who might have felt that, others might have found that that victim identity was really strong and it felt unshakable.

And so I want to just take a moment to say that

While the tendency when we encounter threats to feel that we're a victim is universal, some of us have deeper victim patterning, deeper grooves in the brain, stronger wiring, and it comes from that we've experienced more threats, more wounds in our personal upbringing, our societal position.

on the personal level to the degree in your upbringing that you felt neglected, unsafe, unseen, unloved, criticized, abused, this creates the grounds of victim consciousness.

It'll be much stronger.

And the signs show up often in our relationships that when we're identified as

As a victim, and it's a more pervasive identity, there's a strong, strong tendency to mistrust.

It's really hard to trust that others love us, understand us, that we're lovable, that others will respect us, they'll treat us well.