Introduction to Mindfulness - Dean Amory

energies that arise from our unconscious and if we do not learn to
deal with them they can overpower us. We should prepare in advance
for emotional storms by learning how to embrace our feelings and
emotions. We have to begin to learn how to deal with emotions right
now, because when the storm hits, it may be too late. Like the way we
prepare for winter; we cut wood in the summer and let it dry so that
it can be of use to us when winter comes. It is too late to cut wood in
the winter-time. We should not wait until then.
Some of the points made by Thich Nhat Hahn on the DVD about
emotional storms:
- Our emotions are only a part of us. We are more than our
emotion. We should write on a piece of paper and carry it around
“dear emotion, you are only a part of me”.
- The challenge is to mobilise other elements in us to take care of
the emotion. If you have been practicing mindful breathing, you
are prepared to mobilise mindful energy to take care of your
painful emotion.
- Our emotion is not our enemy, it is our “baby”; we need to know
we can take care of it. By recognising the emotion, embracing the
emotion, I can experience relief.
- Our well being in a crisis is like a tree being blown around in a
storm. If we look at the upper part of the tree, we see it being
blown around, and we may feel it is so fragile and vulnerable. But
if we bring our attention to the trunk of the tree, and think about
how firmly rooted it is in the soil, we can have a very different
feeling. We see that is stable. During the experience of strong
emotion, we also should not stay on the level of the head or the
heart, we need to bring our attention to our naval, and become
aware of our breathing. Lying down, placing our hand on our
belly, and breathing deep and slow. We need to hold firm to -
“cling to” - our in-breath and out-breath, until the storm passes.
What we do meanwhile is to maintain an awareness of our
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