Mindfulness of Emotions

Sometimes emotions make the life difficult even make it unbearable for some people. On the other hand, the life without emotions is tasteless, because, emotions give us experience of pleasure.

All addictions and most entertainments, communicates, projects, trainings, and therapies result from the efforts for achieving positive emotions or to avoid negative emotions. Life is meaningless without emotions, but being dominated by emotions leads to more chaos and suffering too. Appropriate solution for emotional problems is the emotion management. One of the most effective tools to emotion management is mindfulness.

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness is a tool that enables person to be aware his or her perceptions, feelings, thoughts, behaviors, physical and mental processes in the present moment. Mindfulness based on Buddhist and Sufism principles, but there is no requirement to become Buddhist or Sufi to its practice. Today, physicians and therapists use mindfulness for reducing stress and preventing depression.

Mindfulness of Emotions

In my opinion, there are five basic aspects to practicing with emotions: Recognition, Acceptance, Investigation, Non identification, Messenger.

Recognition

The first aspect of mindfulness of emotions is the recognition. Begin by bringing your attention to your breath. Place your hands on your belly while you slowly breathe in and out, and notice your breathing. Then, notice the feelings. Recognize what the emotion is, then describe and name it. The more recognize about your emotions, the more you will become comfortable with them. When emotions are unknown, they become powerful and uncontrollable, but when you recognize and name them, they become controllable.

Acceptance

The second aspect of mindfulness of emotions is the acceptance. To accept the emotions does not mean that you agree with them. Do not deny the emotion that comes; you just observe and feel it without judging and reacting.

Investigation

The third aspect of mindfulness of emotions is the investigation. Investigation is awareness of bodily sensations occurring in the present moment.
How intense is your feeling?
How are you breathing in this moment?
What are you feeling in your body? Where do you feel it?
What is your posture?

Non-identification

The fourth aspect of mindfulness of emotions is the non-identification. We’re not our emotions. Our emotions are transient states which come and go, but we are use to identify with our emotions. I am depressed. We are happy. When we identify ourselves with our emotions, it is difficult to control them.

Messenger

The fifth aspect of mindfulness of emotions is the messenger. Rumi says your body is like guest house, every morning a new gust come to your guest house. Welcome him/her and receive him/her with a sweet smile, even if he/she is moody. In fact, each guest is a messenger that has a message for you!
Every emotion has a message for us, for example the message of depression may be to pause and ponder or changing lifestyle!