Introduction to Mindfulness - Dean Amory

themselves that the effect of trying to run from, or suppress, negative
feelings was to leave them feeling permanently on edge and therefore
vulnerable to returning to addictive behaviours that had helped them
avoid feelings in the past.
Playing the DVD of Thich Nhat Hanh on “Coping with Emotional
Storms” seems to have been especially helpful to all participants, bar
one in the group. The message contained in this talk was simple: Our
feelings are not our enemy, they are a part of us that needs care and
attention. And that if we stay present to our feelings they naturally
transform and pass. For each participant, different feelings may cause
distress and threaten to overwhelm them.
In this course we focused on painful emotions like hurt, sadness,
anger. I think in future courses we would recommend focussing on
feelings and urges broadly fitting the description of “cravings” which
can arise in the presence or absence of distress. This is an aspect of
relapse prevention that has been very well developed by Alan Marlatt.
For this reason (and many other good reasons) we would recommend
making contact with Marlatt and his Colleagues in Seattle
Washington, seeking permission to incorporate his exercises for
“coping with urges and cravings”.
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