How To Figure Out What You Actually Need Right Now | Meditation with Sebene Selassie

Summary

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Podcast Summary:

10% Happier with Dan Harris
Episode Title: How To Figure Out What You Actually Need Right Now | Meditation with Sebene Selassie
Original Air Date: October 12, 2025
Host: Dan Harris
Guest Meditation Teacher: Sebene Selassie

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Main Theme

This episode of 10% Happier features a special guided meditation with esteemed teacher Sebene Selassie. The aim: to help listeners drop beneath the surface noise of their minds and tune into their “inner knowing”—the intuitive sense of what they truly need right now. Sebene guides listeners through a series of mindfulness practices designed to access bodily wisdom, offering gentle instructions for developing self-trust and clarity. This meditation is intended as a practical tool for anyone feeling overwhelmed by external opinions, life noise, or a lack of direction.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Challenge of Listening to Your Gut

[00:00-02:20] Host Introduction—Dan Harris

• Dan highlights the common self-help advice to "listen to your gut," but notes the lack of real instructions for how to actually do it.
• Introduces Sebene Selassie as "teacher of the month," and previews opportunities for further engagement—both virtually and in-person.
• Explains that while many guided meditations are paywalled, this episode’s meditation is being offered freely.

Notable Quote:
"One of the most venerable cliches in the world of personal or spiritual growth is ‘listen to your gut, get in touch with your intuition.’ Okay, sure, fine. But how do you actually do that?"
—Dan Harris [00:08]

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2. Guided Meditation: Accessing Inner Wisdom

[04:55-15:07] Guided Practice—Sebene Selassie

a. Tuning Inward

• Observes how many find it difficult to truly “tune into ourselves” due to external judgments and internal chaos.
• Meditation is presented as a way to connect with a deeper, bodily source of wisdom.

Notable Quote:
"When we use meditation to turn inwards, we can actually tune into our own sensory experience and touch our inner knowing, a knowing rooted in an innate wisdom."
—Sebene Selassie [04:59]

b. Meditation Setup

• Listeners are prompted to find a comfortable position—sitting, standing, or lying down.
• Guidance begins with establishing mindful presence, tuning into bodily sensations, and breath.

Key Steps:

• Notice contact points with the ground/support.
• Take deep breaths and allow yourself to “sink” into the moment.
• Let awareness settle on ongoing body sensations (breath, tingling, tension, etc).

c. Accessing Deeper Knowing

• Invitation to bring awareness even more inward—focusing on wherever intuitively draws attention (heart, belly, behind eyes, etc).
• Contrast between head-based thoughts and “quieter wisdom in your body.”
• Listeners rest attention in this space.

Notable Practice Prompt:
"Now I want to invite you to bring your awareness even more inward. Notice when I invite you to turn inward, where does your attention go? ...this space can be one way to connect to your deeper knowing. Not the racing thoughts in your head, but the quieter wisdom in your body."
—Sebene Selassie [06:35]

d. The "What Do I Need Right Now?" Question

• Listeners are told to gently plant the question, “What do I need right now?” into this inner space, not to search for an answer, but to listen to what arises—word, image, or feeling.
• Emphasis on not editing or controlling the response. Non-answers ("I don't know") are valid.

Notable Quote:
"Don't search for an answer with your mind. Just let the question settle and listen with your body, notice what arises."
—Sebene Selassie [08:16]

• Encouraged to notice reactions in the body to what surfaces: expansion/contraction, breath changes, sensations of truth.

e. The "What Wants to Emerge?" Question

• Similarly, listeners ask themselves, "What wants to emerge in my life?"—allowing intuition and subtle sensation to guide the response.
• Emphasis on openness, patience, and listening for subtler cues.

Notable Quote:
"This is one way your inner wisdom can communicate with you. Sometimes it's a gentle knowing, sometimes a firm conviction, sometimes just a subtle sense of yes or no."
—Sebene Selassie [10:11]

f. Closing Reflections

• Listeners are encouraged to “rest in connection with inner knowing” and not feel compelled to immediately act on what arises.
• Assurance given that this wisdom is innate and accessible through practice.

Memorable Moment:
"This wisdom isn't something you have to earn or develop. It's already here, waiting for you to slow down enough to hear it."
—Sebene Selassie [12:09]

g. Transition Out

• Directions to return awareness to the room, open eyes, and stretch if desired.
• Closing reminder about the value of daily practice in building intuitive capacity.

Closing Thought:
"Thank you for taking time to cultivate your inner knowing. Practicing for even a few minutes a day helps us develop the capacity to listen to the deeper understanding we all carry for what we need and for what is possible."
—Sebene Selassie [14:36]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “A knowing rooted in an innate wisdom. This wisdom may not answer all the questions of the world, but it allows us to meet whatever is happening with more clarity and kindness.” —Sebene Selassie [05:22]
• “Our bodies have ways of knowing that our minds don’t always understand.” —Sebene Selassie [09:12]
• “Sometimes the answer is simply ‘I don’t know.’ And that’s a valid response.” —Sebene Selassie [08:45]
• “Feel into whatever response came up. Does it create expansion or contraction in your body? … Does it feel true in your bones?” —Sebene Selassie [08:53]
• “The more you practice listening to these subtle cues and trusting what you feel, the clearer this inner knowing becomes.” —Sebene Selassie [13:10]

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Segment Timestamps

• 00:00-02:20 — Host intro: The “gut” cliché, introducing Sebene, episode context, and upcoming events.
• 04:55-06:35 — Sebene: Setting up the meditation and creating bodily awareness.
• 06:35-08:16 — Turning inward and connecting with your body’s wisdom.
• 08:16-09:12 — Dropping in the question, “What do I need right now?” Listening for subtle answers.
• 09:12-10:11 — Sensing the body’s reactions, discerning truth from bodily responses.
• 10:11-12:09 — Question: “What wants to emerge in my life?” and trusting inner responses.
• 12:09-14:36 — Resting in inner knowing and integrating the practice.
• 14:36-15:07 — Transitioning out of meditation.

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Tone & Accessibility

Sebene’s guidance is warm, gentle, inclusive, and body-centered—no spiritual jargon, no pressure for specific outcomes, and frequent reminders that all responses (even uncertainty) are valid. The tone invites acceptance, patience, and curiosity.

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Episode Value

Ideal for listeners seeking an accessible, deeply practical way to access intuition and distinguish it from mental chatter. Sebene’s meditation serves as a step-by-step “how-to” for learning to sense and trust one’s own inner wisdom, especially beneficial in times of uncertainty or overwhelm.

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For further custom meditations, live sessions, and event information, listeners are invited to join Dan’s community at danharris.com.

Transcript

[A]

Foreign this is the 10% Happier podcast. I'm Dan Harris. Happy Sunday party people. How we doing? One of the most venerable cliches in the world of personal or spiritual growth is listen to your gut, get in touch with your intuition. Okay, sure, fine. But how do you actually do that? Today, the great meditation teacher Seben A. Selassie is going to walk you through this process in a guided meditation. Seb is our Teacher of the month [e-mail] that means she's creating custom guided meditations for all of our Monday Wednesday episodes during the month of October. For the most part, these guided meditations are only available to paying subscribers [e-mail], but we're dropping this one down the feed for free. As Teacher of the Month, Seb is also doing some live guided meditation and Q and A sessions. We do these every Tuesday at 4 Eastern on video. The next one is October 14th and it will feature me and Seb together. If you want to join danharris.com, join the party. Speaking of parties, if you want to meditate with me and Seb in person, we are teaching a weekend long retreat from October 24th through the 26th at the Omega Institute, which is north of New York City. One of our subscribers recently pointed out that I've mentioned the meditation party retreat a few times but have not given a lot of detail. So let me just say a little bit more. There are four sessions. One of them's Friday evening, the next one Saturday morning, then Saturday afternoon, and finally one on Sunday morning. We do a mixture of meditation, conversation and Q and A with the audience. There are also some opportunities for small group discussions with your fellow attendees in between the sessions. You've got plenty of free time. You can go hiking, play basketball, volleyball, pickleball, tennis, yoga, tai chi meditation, more meditation if you want it. Also, on Saturday evening we do a dance party which is voluntary. Nobody's forced to attend. There's a link in the show notes if you want to sign up. Okay, we're going to take a quick break and we'll be right back with a guided meditation from Seb.

[B]

This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. On October 10th, we recognized World Mental Health Day and BetterHelp has taken taken a different angle by celebrating therapists themselves and saying a collective thank you. We asked you to write some thank you notes to your therapist and share them with us. Here are a few of the answers we received from Ben N. I'd like to thank Dr. B and nominate them for Most Patient Listener Award I'm a mess, but you're the best. From Dean W. Juana thank you for helping transform my life. You are incredible and impactful in what you do. From Kyle K. Thank you for the guidance and for the example of what leading with a beautiful open heart heart looks like. From Sally C. Thank you, Will, for helping me open and sort out the boxes in the basement of my head. It's challenging, exhausting, and I'm so grateful to have found you at this point in my life. This World Mental Health Day we're celebrating the therapists who've helped millions of people take a step forward. If you're ready to find the right therapist for you, BetterHelp can help you start that journey. Our listeners get 10% off their first month at betterhelp.com happier that's BetterHelp H.

[A]

E L P.com happier I just went back out to the beach. I took a fall trip with my wife to the beach in Montauk, New York, which is our favorite place in the world. We were out there for a wedding and we stayed at our friend's house. And I was just reminded of how much I love staying in a house on vacation. There's something just magical about staying in a house.

[B]

You feel like you're part of the.

[A]

Scene, not just a tourist. So yeah, I love staying and welcoming homes that I can book on Airbnb. But while I was in the home out in Montauk, it got me thinking that our home could be the same thing for somebody else. We put so much time into making this place beautiful and comfortable, so why not help somebody else feel comfortable and taken care of while they're traveling? When we're away from home, this is an option you yourself might want to consider if you host your home on Airbnb while you're traveling. It's a great way to offset some of the costs of your own trip. And that extra income can be put toward an upcoming trip, a splurge you've been eyeing, home improvements, etc. And if you've got a lot of trips ahead of you, hosting on Airbnb is a pretty cool and unique way to make some money back. Your home may be worth more than you think. Find out how [e-mail] host many of.

[C]

Us have a hard time truly tuning into ourselves. Maybe we worry about what others think about us, about our work, our ideas, our new haircut. When honestly, those people probably aren't even considering us. They're worried about their own jobs, thoughts and New outfits, or perhaps with all the opinions out there. In the chaos of our current world, we can have a hard time understanding what it is we believe or how we want to respond. When we use meditation to turn inwards, we can actually tune into our own sensory experience and touch our inner knowing, a knowing rooted in an innate wisdom. This wisdom may not answer all the questions of the world, but it allows us to meet whatever is happening with more clarity and kindness. In this meditation, we'll use mindfulness to practice tuning into that inner knowing and learn to trust the wisdom that's always available to us. Let's try it together. Find a comfortable position Wherever you are sitting, standing or lying down. Let your spine be naturally straight without being rigid. Feel free to close your eyes or soften your gaze downward. Take a moment to arrive here, noticing any sounds or sensations of the room or space you're in. Let's start by sensing the body. Notice where you're making contact with what's supporting you. Feel the weight of your body settling into that support. Now take a few deep breaths, and with each exhale, let yourself sink a little deeper into this moment. Notice any sensations in the body, subtle or strong. Maybe there are movements, vibrations pulsing or tingling. Perhaps you're aware of the breath entering and leaving the body. Simply allow your awareness of sensation to help center your attention for a few moments more. Now I want to invite you to bring your awareness even more inward. Notice when I invite you to turn inward, where does your attention go? There's no right answer. Maybe to your heart area, your belly behind your eyes, or somewhere else. And it might be somewhere else another time. But wherever it goes now, this space can be one way to connect to your deeper knowing. Not the racing thoughts in your head, but the quieter wisdom in your body. Again, invite your awareness inward, and let's rest in this awareness for a bit, Sensing this space or place in the body, simply being with whatever is present. Now, without thinking too hard about it, try dropping this question into this space. What do I need right now? Don't search for an answer with your mind. Just let the question settle and listen with your body, notice what arises. Maybe it's a word that comes to mind, or an image, or simply a feeling. Whatever comes up first. Before your mind starts editing, try trusting that if nothing comes, that's okay too. Sometimes the answer is simply I don't know. And that's a valid response. Feel into whatever response came up. Does it create expansion or contraction in your body? Does your breathing deepen or become shallow? Does it feel true in your bones. And what else do you notice? Our bodies have ways of knowing that our minds don't always understand. Now let's ask another question. What wants to emerge in my life? Again, let it drop into your inner knowing and simply listen. You don't need to force an answer. Try staying open and recept whatever arises. Whether it's clear or confusing, exciting or scary, notice how it lands in your body. This is one way your inner wisdom can communicate with you. Sometimes it's a gentle knowing, sometimes a firm conviction, sometimes just a subtle sense of yes or no. Now take a few moments to simply rest in this connection with your inner knowing. You don't need to do anything with what came up. Just appreciate that this capacity exists within you. As we come to the end of this practice, feel your breath moving in and out, trusting that with each breath you can return to this place of inner listening anytime you need to. This wisdom isn't something you have to earn or develop. It's already here, waiting for you to slow down enough to hear it. There's so much noise in our world, it's hard sometimes to hear our innate response. But your body holds more wisdom than you might realize. The more you practice listening to these subtle cues and trusting what you feel, the clearer this inner knowing becomes. You can open your eyes now and take a moment to reconnect with your surroundings. Feel free to stretch or move the body if that feels good. Thank you for taking time to cultivate your inner knowing. Practicing for even a few minutes a day helps us develop the capacity to listen to the deeper understanding we all carry for what we need and for what is possible.

[A]

Thanks again to Seb. Don't forget to sign [e-mail] if you want custom guided meditations that come with all of our Monday and Wednesday episodes. Subscribers also get weekly live video meditation and Q and A sessions Every Tuesday at 4 Eastern. This Tuesday, it's me and Seb together. Sign [e-mail] and don't forget to check out the link in the show notes for the IRL event Seb and I are doing on the weekend of October 24th. Finally, thank you to everybody who works so hard on this show. Our producers are Tara Anderson and Eleanor Vasily. Our recording and engineering is handled by the great folks over at Pod People. Lauren Smith is our managing producer, Marissa Schneiderman is our senior producer, DJ Cashmere is our executive producer, and Nick Thorburn of the band Islands wrote our theme.

[C]

What do you think makes the perfect snack?

[D]

Hmm, it's gotta be when I'm really craving it and it's convenient could you be more specific? When it's cravinient okay like a freshly baked cookie made with real butter available right down the street at a.m. p.m. Or a savory breakfast sandwich I can grab in just a second at a.m. p.m.

[C]

I'm seeing a pattern here well yeah.

[D]

We'Re talking about what I crave which.

[C]

Is anything from AM PM what more.

[E]

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[A]

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[E]

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