Today we'll practice feel-good,
Which means focusing on positive body emotion.
We'll work with the R in the reach for the stars mnemonic by creating a response with external stimulus.
So we'll need something to generate a positive emotional response.
One good option to generate a positive emotion is to find a video that makes you feel good.
For example,
You could watch a video of a baby laughing,
Or some cute puppies.
You might wish to pause this recording and find a video or some other external thing that you can look at or listen to in order to create a positive emotional response.
You can watch it to start to practice,
Then pause it and simply focus on the bodily sensations you notice that are due to emotional response.
When the emotional body sensations fade away,
Play the video again to bring them back.
Once you have your video or other method of generating a response of your choosing ready to play,
Let's begin.
Stretch up your spine and relax your shoulders and jaw.
Play the video or whatever you've chosen to generate feel-good,
And then once you notice an emotional response,
Move your attention from the video to the emotional sensations.
You could choose to pause the video or let it continue to play,
But move your attention away from it to your own sensations.
Explore their location,
Their intensity,
Investigate all the details as much as you can.
Common areas in the body for feeling emotion include the face,
Throat,
Chest,
Abdomen.
It could be in your arms,
Or it could be anywhere.
It's different for everyone.
Once you find it,
Stay with it as long as it lasts.
When it fades and you can no longer notice those emotional sensations in the body,
Play the video again,
And again turn your attention to the feelings once they come up.
Keep repeating this process,
Re-striking the bell each time the feelings fade.
You may notice smiling or even laughing may come up as an automatic response to the positive emotions.
Explore how that feels if so,
Allow it to come up and express itself.
Each time you bring the feelings back,
Are they the same?
Are they different?
Perhaps you start to notice them in different locations,
Or maybe the intensity changes.
Just allow and explore.
Exploring positive emotions is a good way to get to know how you experience emotions in general.
It's pleasant,
So it's fairly easy,
But it starts to develop in you a sensitivity to how these types of sensations arise for you.
For many people,
They've never actually taken notice of this in their lives.
Being able to clearly detect emotional activations can help you develop your emotional intelligence.
And it's a mindfulness practice,
So it develops concentration,
Clarity,
And equanimity as well.
Continue to generate the response and then focus intently on it.
Nice work today.
I hope this practice was enjoyable for you.
And whether it was or not,
You're building your mindfulness skills either way.
If you'd like to continue on your own,
Go ahead.
When you want to end,
Make a gradual transition out of practice.
Stretch if you'd like,
And see if you can continue detecting positive emotion if and when it comes up today.
