We’ve all let our difficult emotions into the drivers seat on occasion, most of the time we regret the consequences of it. In my case if I feel that I’m being treated unfairly or my boundaries are being crossed I can become angry and I frequently find that I misunderstood the circumstances afterwards. One thing Thich Nhat Hanh said, which I firmly believe is that when we understand the world as it truly is then we won’t feel these emotions in the same way. It’s our dualistic perception of the world that creates suffering - I’ll explain what this means in a couple of weeks when we talk about interbeing.
Anxiety and sadness can overwhelm us too and its not easy when you’re in the eye of the storm. Everything else falls away and you can feel like you are that emotion, there’s no separation. But the truth is you and not your anger, you are not your anxiety. You are simply experiencing them - the key is to invest the time to train yourself to accept what you’re feeling and have the awareness and distance to be able to notice it arising and look deeply into it. We can’t shut out what we’re feeling because it will manifest in our lives in other ways. Instead we can welcome in our sadness, welcome in our anxiety and anger when they arise and say, there you are my old friend.
We can sit down with them for a while and apply the three spotlights of mindfulness, concentration and insight. Mindfulness - to be aware of an emotion when it arises and view it from the outside rather than the inside. Its hard to take action from within a storm but you have a much better perspective from a hill a couple of miles away. That how you can view your emotion - like watching a storm from a hill in the distance. You can still feel the breeze but you’re not overwhelmed.
Concentration - carving out the time to sit down and be present with what you’re experiencing. Meditating on your emotion. Much of the time our thoughts are scattered but when we apply our concentrated awareness to a subject when we meditate we call that contemplation. Contemplating your anger. Breathing in, I am aware of my anger. Breathing out I smile to my anger. Shining the light of concentration on what we’re feeling.
And finally insight - looking deeply into the roots of what we’re experiencing. What were the events, circumstances, and traumas of the past that feed into our perceptions of the situation. Can we look at the past through beginners eyes, as if for the first time. Breathing in I see the roots of my anger, BO I smile to the roots of my anger.
None of this is easy, believe me I know. I suffered from depression in my youth, I still experience anxiety in my daily life and my partner will tell you I can be a grumpy old sod. But - the suffering that I used to experience as a result of difficult emotions is hugely reduced. I’m less reactive so it impacts on other people less. I believe that meditation has hugely helped me accept and process how I’m feeling and I want you to have the same benefits - because you’re a good person and you deserve to be happy. You just need some patience and persistence applying the practice over time and you’ll see the benefits.
So let's find a comfortable position to sit in and we’re going to do a guided meditation looking deeply into our emotions. This will focus on anxiety but you can apply this to other feels as well. The next time you notice a strong emotion arising I invite you to come back to this episode and practise the meditation while experiencing it. This is how we can train ourselves to process these feelings in a way that's good for us, good for other people and creates a kinder world.
Comments
Post a Comment