Receive

Perhaps the most common theme of mindfulness is some variant of “let it be”. This general instruction is helpful when dealing with the recursive day-to-day problems, but becomes another form of effort dealing with emotions of higher amplitude. Simply sitting with a heavy feeling can feel dissociative and can lead to frustration if it lingers on.

The more helpful instruction that consistently works for me is receive. To receive anything fully, one must become fully open. This means actually letting go of all other thoughts and being aware of what arises. In this open and highly aware state, emotions are more obviously dynamic. Curiosity or boredom follows. An emotion can be inspected and explored without effort, which can yield obvious or profound discoveries. Over time, the emotion can become familiar, less overwhelming, and even satisfying. Living in a state of receiving the world is a wonderful foundation to return to.

Expand

Credit for this cue goes to Henry Shukman in his book Original Love. He describes positive emotions as expansive, warm versus negative emotions which are tightness, cold. Playing with this dynamic, I found the cue of expanding to be extraordinarily helpful. The mind is boundless, but often does not feel that way when dealing with many competing thoughts and sensations. When feeling overwhelmed, it can feel like there is not enough space in the world to hold everything in it. Expanding challenges this feeling. Imagining your body, mind, or awareness growing and growing can create an immediate relief of space. No sensation has to be contained to the body, or thought contained to the literal mind. Everything can flow freely in boundless space. I will imagine myself becoming giant, my mind figuratively exploding and becoming limitless space. It’s quite difficult to hold any tension while trying to expand.