Circumstances for learning this attention exercise
Worrying
Waiting to find out what happens next
Exhausted by bad news
Uncertainty is in the air today. Instead of going with a soothing exercise, I want to share a strategy that has been enormously helpful to me when navigating periods of uncertainty and overwhelm.
One of the most powerful applications of mindful awareness involves relating to our feelings as sensations instead of stories.
When we focus on our emotions as stories, we emphasize resolving them quickly. When solutions aren't readily available, we can feel trapped.
Instead of fixating on who caused what we're feeling or how to get rid of it, the emphasis here is on developing perceptual clarity and equanimity.
We resist the ambiguity of unpleasant emotions, but resistance tends to escalate them.
This exercise isn't about forcing ourselves to enjoy challenging feelings or condone what caused them. It's about reducing our resistance to them, allowing them to run their course, and making conscious decisions about responding.
Our unpleasant feelings are not enemies of mindfulness practice. They are messengers bearing important information that can be difficult to hear. They reveal when our safety or values are being threatened.
Uncertainty is an inevitable aspect of being alive.
A willingness to investigate the constituent elements of uncertainty equips us with empowering ways to inhabit our lives fully—even without the certainty we yearn for.
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