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Urge Surfing
thegoldeneternity
Veteran
I believe strongly in allowing one's self to simply feel and observe emotions or other sensations without trying to ignore, or resist them; nor assign any thoughts or story to them.
I like the imagery of the wave. It encapsulates the power of urges, the temporary nature of urges, and the intermittent nature of urges. Some storms make for larger waves, but no storm lasts forever.
Also, watch out for jellyfish.
http://www.mindfulness.org.au/urge-surfing-relapse-prevention/
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Comments
It looks pretty good to me, and I think could also be applied to conditions like anxiety and depression. Though I think to teach it effectively to people with serious issues you'd need an established personal mindfulness practice.
It reminded me a bit of this:
Jack Kornfield's RAIN methodology. Basically it's Recognition, Acceptance, Investigation and Non-idenfication.
http://virtualsatsang.wordpress.com/2010/09/29/mindfulness-rain-and-mental-health/
These are all essentially modern variations on the theme of satipatthana.
@thegoldeneternity
Not that i disagree with your post but...
Why do you say that you don't assign any thought or story to your sensations and then follow it up in the next sentence with an example of where you do?
My second paragraph is relating to the "urge surfing" concept. Surfing the waves of the urges. I think there is a place for imagery.
Regarding not assigning a thought or story to my sensations, that is a tactic that I have applied to my own meditation. I think it can be useful for many things, including urges. (Mostly, I have used it for sadness, loneliness, depression, and anxiety).
I think that the "urge surfing" concept can be related to the idea of feeling-the-urge fully without attaching a story or thought-line to the urge. I don't think that one should necessarily be imagining the urge as a literal wave, however, I wouldn't be opposed to seeing how that worked as well. I think, when not actively engaged in this activity (when looking from the outside) that the wave is a very good symbol for what an urge is.
If I get any experience with this practice, I will update y'all :-)
The link says this idea (of mindfulness essentially) is used against addictions.
I think addictions can be difficult to overcome.
The idea that one can “surf” the urge without actively giving into it is good, I suppose, but may not be sufficient to cure an addiction.
the wave is a very good symbol for what an urge is.
I agree, and I find it also well describes strong feelings generally.
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I live by the sea and watch waves quite a lot in between porpoise and seal spotting, so for me it was a natural connection to make.
I don't think that one should necessarily be imagining the urge as a literal wave...
That's exactly what I do. Really feel it.