Mindfulness With Difficult Emotions

In this Dharma talk I explore ways we can work mindfully with difficult emotional states. This very difficult time in the world can be a catalyst for evoking what are sometimes referred to afflictive emotional states.  Often the experience of fear, doubt, shame and anger are very seductive. They come laced with the endearing and sticky label “my”. The mind is identified with it as “my fear”. “my doubt” "my anger".  This can feed into the cycle of negative self judgement for having the feeling, as if we choose to feel it.  We unconsciously identify with the emotion. These strong afflictive emotional states have a common characteristic, they lie.  With mindfulness, when we look deeply, we can discover: we never have experienced a single emotion or thought that has ever stayed.  All are impairment  Neither the worst feelings, nor the best stick around indefinitely  When we tune into impermanence in which these feelings unfold, we break the identification with seeming solidity of the “suffering” as well as the “sufferer”. This practice is about establishing a familiarity and comfort with the “discomfort” associated with heavy emotional states.  We don't have to make them go away, they go away by themselves. In this practice we will learn how to deepen and strengthen our capacity to do this. This frees us to respond to life from love, compassion and wisdom

"It’s very helpful to realize that the emotions we have, the negativity and positiveity are exactly what we need to be fully human, fully aware, and fully alive"    

Pema Chodrin:

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