Process of our Mind

in #life5 years ago

Process of our Mind

In this process it is incidental when we travel, what path we follow, or with whom. What really matters in a journey of this type is how open we are to new experiences and to growth. To accentuate this predisposition, we can do something very simple. Many people believe that in meditation the ideal is to distance oneself from emotions. Most meditation techniques use something abstract, a word or an image, or physical, the breath, the heartbeat as the focus centered on a point. The implicit or sometimes even explicit deduction is that in meditation there is no place for emotion. This is partly true.

ian-wagg-L6quUHThufI-unsplash.jpg

Source

We feel a lot of emotions: anger, fear, greed, envy, anxiety, excitement, affliction, exaltation, bitterness, impatience, restlessness, sadness, hysteria, delight, presumption, boredom, sorrow, disappointment, sympathy, rejoicing, desire, joy, diversion. They may be pleasant or unpleasant but, in any case, they distract us by making it difficult for us to reach the calmness necessary for the state of meditation. On the other hand, feelings such as patience and serenity can be positive. There is a zen meditation technique called shikan-taza that uses a particular emotion as part of its focus.

In this technique the consciousness is left to rest in a feeling, the feeling of an expectant gratitude. The expectant part is the hope that we will fully experience our true nature, open and silent, serene and joyful, full of light. Gratitude, of course, is for experiencing it. Since we know that this is our true nature, that we will experience it, and that all we have to do is sit quietly, there is no rush, tension or anxiety, there is only serene patience and expectant gratitude, combined with an awakened consciousness.

erik-brolin-wmZNEGkcsmw-unsplash.jpg

Source

When one chooses to turn expectant gratitude into a part of meditation, interesting things happen. It is incredible and frightening how easy it is, even for people who are not particularly pessimistic, to move from expectant gratitude to premonitory pessimism. Many of us carry something, which must almost always be dormant, that tells us that it is not right to anticipate the generosity of the universe.

Meditating in expectant gratitude is an exercise in trust with which we can discover that the absence of conscious mental distrust is not necessarily the same as the presence of real trust. It is curious that choosing to experience a strong and deliberate presence of loving trust can provoke a restless and vague alarm in our unconscious mind. Most of us unconsciously accept that we have to fight for what we want and find it difficult to believe that there is something wonderful about us. If we integrate in our practice the feeling of expectant gratitude we will have the possibility of changing the unconscious habit of looking with suspicion at the universe.

phoenix-1029-s5Hq_YBzZF0-unsplash.jpg

Source

It would also be said that we believe in a kind of primitive magic according to which if we are seen desperately anxious and needy, and if we make a hard effort and it hurts a lot, something would be good for us. We believe we can bribe the Universe, or others, to treat us well. Clearly, as far as the Universe is concerned, it is superstition, and as far as other people are concerned, it is, at best, unsafe. While this is the result of our reactions to the experience of life, the projection of our attitude towards the universe, we do not have to live with it all our life. It is just another habit and, as we know, habits can be changed.

We must not forget that we have the ability to feel any emotion at any time. Denying or suppressing an emotion we feel can hurt us, but, on the other hand, we should not be slaves to our feelings. We must observe the present emotions and analyze if they are based on what is happening to us or if it is just a habit. If it is a habit, there are dozens of books on techniques and countless therapists who can help us change it. If, on the other hand, the emotion is based on a current circumstance, we have the option of changing our responses to such a situation, and we may need help with that.

It's not about suppressing emotions. When we do, they form a toxic residue, crumbling our psyches and creating corrupt places. What is desirable is to learn to react to things in a way that does not imply repression and means to understand ourselves and others better. This understanding naturally leads to the reordering of emotions. It is possible to achieve this change even though it can be very difficult and we have to resort to professional help.

alexis-antonio-QeultZnIw5c-unsplash.jpg

Source

Since the ability to feel any emotion is something that is latent in us, many times, if we are not completely absorbed by another feeling, we can experience a concrete emotion simply by focusing our attention on a part of our Psyche. If we think terrifying things, we will begin to feel fear, if we think things that make us angry, we will begin to feel angry, if we think pleasant things, we will begin to feel happy. Feelings are, to a greater extent than we imagine, a matter of choice, of choosing what we want to think. Habits are choices made while we are asleep.

When we prepare to meditate, focus and calm ourselves, we can go further and choose to feel an expectant gratitude as we practice. This can be part of almost every meditation technique.

Although it seems like an obvious choice, we barely make it. We have in us something called resistance that we are going to consider carefully.

A lot of hugs..

@edgarare1

Sort:  

Very insightful article. I like the meditative proposals that come from a deep understanding of the dynamics of our mind, as opposed to other perspectives (that are very fashionable in my country) that invite people to fight against their own selves and emotions.

I've always thought that the zen branch is the best one of Buddhism; it is indeed my favorite, for its lack of traditional religious dogmatism and its strong focus in the direct experience.

I agree with your thought: it is worth trying to consciously open our souls to those emotions that will lead us to the best paths. It is not creating something artificial, out of nothing. Those feelings are already in us (as the others, the bitter and painful ones); we have every right to choose those capable to help and heal.

Hello dear @edgarare1, thanks for sharing.

We must not forget that we have the ability to feel any emotion at any time. Denying or suppressing an emotion we feel can hurt us, but, on the other hand, we should not be slaves to our feelings.

In these cases, emotional intelligence is important, as you say, we cannot be slaves to our emotions or allow them to govern our lives, controlling our own emotions will make us make better decisions.

Thanks friend!
@fucho80

Is yawning with ones mouth closed similar to zen practice. I jest, but there is some philosophical discovery there :)

To listen to the audio version of this article click on the play image.

Brought to you by @tts. If you find it useful please consider upvoting this reply.


Congratulations @edgarare1!
You raised your level and are now a Dolphin!

Do not miss the last post from @steemitboard:

The new SteemFest⁴ badge is ready

You can upvote this notification to help all Steem users. Learn how here!

Thanks for the post.

I have read on other occasions about the benefits of meditation, but I have never practiced it ... maybe I should try it :)

Thanks a lot for your comment @pedrobrito2004

Well, there is always an opportunity, let’s do it..!!

Posted using Partiko iOS

Come on, inner peace ... I don't have all day
Come on, inner peace ... I don't have all day
source

Hello!

This post has been manually curated, resteemed
and gifted with some virtually delicious cake
from the @helpiecake curation team!

Much love to you from all of us at @helpie!
Keep up the great work!


helpiecake

Manually curated by @ashikstd.


@helpie is a Community Witness.

Thanks a lot for your support @helpiecake

I’m glad to heard that..!!

Posted using Partiko iOS

@edgarare1, In my opinion when we do Meditation then Emotions exist because no emotions then no proceedings, but in my opinion these emotions are silent one and they let us flow. Stay blessed.

Posted using Partiko Android