When you have a strong emotion like fear or despair, you should know how to take good care of it, because it can be overwhelming. At that point, you cannot say, “Present moment wonderful moment,” because your emotion is so painful, so overwhelming. But learn how to deal with that emotion, to embrace it, because in each one of us, there is the seed of mindfulness.
Practise touching that seed every day while walking, sitting, breathing, smiling, or eating; cultivate that energy of mindfulness. Any time you need that energy, just touch that seed of energy and suddenly, that energy will be born. You can use it to embrace your emotion. If you succeed just once in doing so you will have peace; you will no longer be afraid of strong emotions.
Look at a tree during a storm; you see that its branches and leaves are swaying back and forth violently in the strong wind. You think that the tree will not be able to withstand the storm. You are like that when gripped by a strong emotion. You feel that, like the tree, you too are very vulnerable. You can break any time. But if you direct your attention down to the trunk of the tree you see things differently. You see that the tree is solid and deeply rooted in the ground and because it is rooted in the soil, it cannot be blown away.
Similarly, each of us, in a sitting position or standing position, is like a tree. When the storm of your emotion is passing by, do not stay in the heart of the storm, at the level of the brain or heart; it is dangerous. Bring your emotion down to the level of your navel. That is the trunk, the most solid part of yourself. Those of you who practise Chinese medicine and yoga know that already. Bring your tension down a little bit below the navel and practise mindful breathing. Become aware of the rise and fall of your abdomen. In a sitting position, you feel much better. Just breathe. Do not think of anything. Breathe through the movement of the rise and fall of your abdomen. Practise in this way for ten or fifteen minutes and the strong emotion will go away.
For those who cannot stand strong emotions, their suffering is so great that they believe the only way to end it is by killing themselves. That is why many young people commit suicide, because they cannot see any other way out. They do not know how to take care of their strong emotions. But we know that an emotion is just an emotion. It comes, stays for a while and then goes away. Why do we have to die because of one emotion? We are much more than our emotions.
During the critical emotional moment, if we know how and where to take refuge, if we are able to breathe in and out and focus our attention on the rise and fall of our abdomen for fifteen, twenty or twenty-five minutes, then the emotion, the storm, will roll away and we will survive.
By surviving strong emotions, we experience peace. We are no longer afraid. The next time, it becomes simpler and we know that we will survive.
Ahimsa Trust represents Thich Nhat Hanh in India. For online talks, retreats, and Mindfulness meditation session, go to www.ahimsatrust.org, ahmisa.trust@gmail.com.