Wisdom by Sally Kempton
Most of us hold buried emotions. We might not be aware of them, but they can affect our mood and our relationships without our even knowing it. When we meditation, those layers of emotions are brought up so they can be seen and let go of. So there will often be periods, especially in the early days of practice, when emotions keep bubbling up from inside. Just understand that this is part of the process and that it can ultimately be helpful to our emotional state.
One of the great practices for working with emotions is to embrace an emotion by making space for it. You begin by feeling the emotion, focusing especially on the energetic experience of it rather than on the “story” it is telling you. Try to find the energy of the emotion. Notice what part of your body it seems to affect the most. Focus your attention on the felt experience of the emotion in the body. Breathe into it. Now imagine that a space surrounds that part of your body. including the feeling of the emotion. Let the emotional energy and the space be present together. Without trying to make the emotion go away, notice how it will naturally evanesce into the surrounding spaciousness.
When you practice with emotions this way, over time you will be much less subject to emotional upheaval. Yet you’ll be able to feel your feelings without being scared of them.
