Dealing With Difficult Emotions

This practice is designed to build competence in dealing with difficult emotions as they arise as sesnations in the body - by recognising them, labeling them, and letting them go. It begins with an anchoring breath meditation, followed by a short body scan, before walking through the process for dealing with difficult emotions.

Transcript

So let's begin by taking a long breath in and a long breath out. And for a minute just bring your attention to the breath. And as ever, If you get distracted, Just gently but firmly return your attention to the breath without being upset or judgmental. Every time that you notice that your attention has been drawn from the breath and you return to attention on the breath, You've actually increased your faculty of attention. So when thoughts and sensations or sounds arise, Just simply return your attention to the breath. Do that for one minute now. Thank you. So now allow your attention to gently move away from the breath, Letting the breath slip to the background. And very slowly scan your attention up and down your body, Paying attention to any areas where there are noticeable sensations, Whatever they might be. And when you come across a sensation, Simply stay with it for a moment or two, Gently exploring how it shows up in your body. It can be useful to label the sensations. You might label them hot or cold, Tingling, Tight, Loose, Sharp, Whatever appeals to you. All the time, Just simply notice the sensations. Don't try to change them. Other than perhaps consciously letting go of any tightness or tension you notice anywhere as you scan up and down the body. Just notice those sensations. Are they hot, Cold, Tight, Loose, Tingling, Vibrating? Just notice. Thank you. And now gently tune your attention away from the body and just allow yourself to become aware of any sounds in your immediate environment. Allow your attention to go to whichever of those sounds, If there are sounds, Call to you most strongly. Just simply notice. Don't become lost in them. Don't become lost in thoughts about them. Simply notice the sounds with curiosity and awareness. You may also find that thoughts call to your attention and allow yourself to notice those thoughts and to explore them with curiosity. Again, Not getting lost in them. Simply allow your attention to gently go where it's drawn, But all of the time remaining present to what's in the field of your awareness. Just notice these thoughts and sounds come and go. Thank you. And now I invite you to recall to mind the incident or the difficult emotion or thoughts that you thought of earlier, Where you've recently dealt with something that was difficult for you. Bring that incident into the laboratory of your mind and investigate it a little bit. Allow yourself to go back to that time experiencing the incident again, As if it's being replayed with you in it. And as you do so, Simply drop the beam of your attention to wherever you most noticeably experience any physical sensations that come along with thoughts or emotions that arise. See if you're able to move up close to whatever feelings or sensations arise in your body. Bring into these physical sensations, Intentionally directing the focus of your attention to the region of the body where the sensations are strongest. You may like to breathe into that part of the body on the in-breath and breathe out from it on the out-breath. So bring yourself back to that incident, Allow you to experience those thoughts and sensations again and simply observe what's going on in the body for the next few minutes. And as you notice, Sensations manifest in connection with those thoughts or emotions. Simply move up close to them. As I say, Breathe into them, Breathe out of those areas. It can help to label what you're experiencing there. Is it tight? Is it loose? Is it hot or cold? Just notice with curiosity the sensations that are coming from these thoughts and emotions. Just continue to explore the sensations. Simply notice how they might come and go, How they ebb and flow as you re-experience the incident. Try not to engage with the incident itself, But rather confine your attention to the comings and goings of the emotions and the associated sensations. Remember, You're not trying to fix anything, You're not trying to make this feel okay, You're just observing what's going on in the body, Bringing attention and curiosity to those sensations. Thank you. If you find yourself becoming a little upset, Then remind yourself that this is okay. It's normal to sometimes experience emotions which are not pleasant. It's normal and has nothing to run from. Simply devote your entire attention to the associated sensations, Watching them as they come and go, As dispassionately as you might watch clouds moving across a clear sky, Feeling no need to do anything other than note their present and their nature. Thank you. You may find yourself resisting these feelings. It is absolutely normal not to want to experience them. You may wish to reassure yourself that it's okay not to want to experience unpleasant emotions, At the same time noting that they really are simply physical sensations that will anyway come and go. On each in-breath, Allow the word calm to arise in your mind. And on each out-breath, Consciously relax any tension you become aware of anywhere in the body, Perhaps noting such tension as tension, Labeling it tension and letting it go as you say relax quietly in your mind on the out-breath. So for the next few minutes, See if you can use each in-breath and out-breath to bring you closer to sitting calmly and without reactions to these sensations, Simply noting them coming and going, Staying aware of them, But choosing not to engage with them in mind or body. Thank you. Thank you. As you do this practice, You will often find yourself become lost in thought. And you may find that you've tuned out of these sensations and this incident. At that stage you have a choice. You can either bring the difficulty back to mind again, Or you can simply allow your attention to settle upon the breath. Do whatever feels right in the moment. To finish off the practice, Bring your attention back to the breath and let's just sit calmly with a basic attention to the breath for the next minute or two. And then, When I ring the bell, Just bring your attention back into the room, Gently opening your eyes and carrying on with your day. Thank you.