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Specifically: Emotions
This could be quite advanced - or not - it depends on who is reading it 
I have recently realised that emotions do not occur in the touch space I thought they occured in.
When an emotion occurs it often causes a physical, or energy-type, reaction in the body.
However, at the very moment the emotion occurs, this energy-type reaction is not yet present. The emotion actually occurs elsewhere.
I was wondering if anyone with this experience could give me guidence on this.
Emotions occur extremely fast, and with a lot of concentration and a great deal of, to use a Shinzen Young term, equanimity I am able to experience emotions non-judgementally.
However I can currently only do this with a good deal of completeness when I'm doing a long meditation sit in deep concentration in my bedroom.
I would like to know if anyone could give me advice on being able to focus/being aware of emotions as they arise... where would be a good place to allow my focus to rest in order to await their arisal?
Currently I use body sensations as the default focus of my meditation. Occasionally I use the visual field, and sometimes I also use the breath.
Thank you very much for any advise you can offer
Rich
I have recently realised that emotions do not occur in the touch space I thought they occured in.
When an emotion occurs it often causes a physical, or energy-type, reaction in the body.
However, at the very moment the emotion occurs, this energy-type reaction is not yet present. The emotion actually occurs elsewhere.
I was wondering if anyone with this experience could give me guidence on this.
Emotions occur extremely fast, and with a lot of concentration and a great deal of, to use a Shinzen Young term, equanimity I am able to experience emotions non-judgementally.
However I can currently only do this with a good deal of completeness when I'm doing a long meditation sit in deep concentration in my bedroom.
I would like to know if anyone could give me advice on being able to focus/being aware of emotions as they arise... where would be a good place to allow my focus to rest in order to await their arisal?
Currently I use body sensations as the default focus of my meditation. Occasionally I use the visual field, and sometimes I also use the breath.
Thank you very much for any advise you can offer
Rich
0
Comments
I was once told that emotions could be imagined as E = Energy (in) Motion - EMOTION!!
This has been very helpful in what I imagine you're talking about. It helped understand that it's actually the stimulated energy that arises first, which we recognize as an emotion.
i.e. I come into contact with an object (a coherent energy field), I begin to sense some sort of impression (force), I attend to the field as a discreet object in my perceptual field, I begin to interact with it (receive it and measure it's energetic characteristics against the characteristics of my own state of being) - this is where I imagine the energy is stimulated, as I kind of take-in (drink) the energy of the object, from this a sense of agreement or disagreement arises in relation between my state of being and the object's - which I feel in my body, accompanied by pleasure or pain, which I recognize (imagine) as some kind (flavor) of emotion - energy in motion.
That's my story
That's actually quite useful. Thanks Bob.
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What do you mean?
It is just possible that there is no disturbance in your life, but extremely unlikely.
I've had a similar issue for a long time now(emotions manifesting as physical sensations and vice-versa), and I can tell you that playing with this really isn't something you want to pursue. There are some more 'advanced' techniques for manipulating or quelling these sensations, but applying them without the proper guidance has given me nothing but agony(seriously). Listen to what the rest of the folks here are saying. Concentrate on your breathing/mantra/whatever and simply allow it to pass.
Love your name. Welcome to the site!
I find that most of the time I spend in practice, my emotional state is fairly neutral. That's fine - it's a valid emotional state - but a neutral state isn't an extreme and it's also good to practice in those times as well. However, those extreme states are fleeting and not always convenient to our practice schedule. The trick is, to be abe to recognize the more extreme emotional moments as they arise and then take them to our practice at that time.
Not too long ago, I got a phone call from my mother, telling me my father was in a particularly bad state. He was, in effect, dying. Needless to say, this news produced some very powerful and raw emotions. Somehow, it occured to me to go over to my practice area and sit with what was going on. I won't go into details, but suffice it to say that it was a very good experience to be able to sit and observe these emotions as the arose.
We don't always have something so immediately powerful to work with - it isn't every day our father dies. Yet, if we we are mindful of our emotional state in any given moment, we can practice with those emotions any time - we don't have to be near a cushion. The trick is to recognize the moment in its arising and remembering our practice instruction.
I find that when I'm sitting, my emotions are pretty tame and neutral, but going through the day, they can rage out of control and that's when I find it hardest to apply my meditation instruction.
Anyone can sit down, meditate and have a peaceful time on the cushion, but it takes more to bring the meditation precepts into every waking moment of our lives.
This is why we practice mindfulness. When we become aware of negative mental activity, we can direct the awareness back with the breath and the freshness of the present moment.
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