Once Like, Dislike or Indifference has turned into Attachment, Resistance or Indifference, strong emotions naturally follow.

What normally happens is a Resistance to emotion, most times expressed through a story in your Chattering Mind about not wanting that experience and emotion to happen.

This Resistance in the Chattering Mind then creates a whole physiological change in your body, reinforcing your Resistance.

And this physiological change, in turn, continues to reinforce your Chattering Mind’s story making you feel like you are a small, separate self.

When you are unaware, you are caught in this unconscious looping, which only exacerbates your strong emotion.

Inquiring into and really feeling your feelings and emotions from your Open Mind, instead of unconsciously reacting from your Chattering Mind’s story, begins to build the skill of bravely attending to all that you experience.

In bravely attending to your experience you are able to respond wisely to your own emotional life.

You will see that all feelings are valid and are a natural part of this human life.

Practice :: When you notice a strong feeling, begin by first dropping your Inner Attention’s attachment to your Chattering Mind’s story about your emotion.

Then shift your Inner Attention to the experience of feeling the way the feeling moves through your body.

Simply practice feeling your feelings in your body without getting caught in your story about the feelings.

Let your Breath Awareness, Body Awareness and Awareness of Silence be anchors for your Inner Attention in the Present Moment.

When the emotion passes, take note of how your Open Mind and Open Heart are still here.

The emotion moved through and you are even more present and grounded because of your courage to open fully.

Note: Sometimes big emotions are just too big to feel alone. It’s important when you are feeling overwhelmed by emotion to reach out and seek the support of your parent, teacher, a trusted friend or a counselor.