Crucially, as we develop mindful awareness of our emotions, we sharpen our ability, as Salzberg says, to "recognize a feeling just as it begins, not fifteen consequential actions later."
We begin to find the "gap" between what triggers our emotions and our usual conditioned reactions. In that space, we have the opportunity to act in a different, more skillful way.
Salzberg offers the acronym, RAIN to help remember the steps in dealing with emotions mindfully and gaining some control and mastery over whether our emotions carry us away or whether we can manage them and continue to stay grounded and in control of our actions:
Recognizing what you are feeling.
Accepting the emotion or emotions that are arising
Investigating the emotion with unbiased interest rather than running from it
Not Identifying with the emotion. Whatever you might feel at any moment is temporary and not your entire self
By practicing RAIN as you sit, being mindful of your emotions, you get in touch with your capacity to "witness" your internal life - both thoughts and feelings - without having them rule you.
I encourage you to continue to work with Salzberg's guided meditation, Mindfulness of Emotions, in the Real Happiness link on the right, if that's helpful. I also encourage you to continue to find moments of mindfulness throughout each day.
You've been doing this for three weeks now, and it may be getting harder to commit day-to-day. Hopefully you're also noticing some changes in the way you react and in your relationship to your experiences.
Please share, if you feel comfortable ...
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