"Daily Meditation: Noting Your Emotions".

February, 8th.

I love to practise the skill of noticing developed here in "Noting Your Emotions" by the lovely Kristin Neff from Insight Timer. You begin by getting in touch with your body "what your body feels like at the present moment?" followed by a brief breathing "your body knows how to breath itself" and the sounds you hear, making a simple note without getting involved with source of the sound - mentally noting the silence too: "silence", "birds tweeting", "wind blowing"... moving on to body sensation "tingle", "itching" "tightness" and so on. Then you move on to the feelings you notice without "getting lost in the story-lines": Peace, boredom, frustration, or it may be a thought... of yesterday, your mother! - keeping the note very short without getting stuck in it". I like 'investigating like a detective what my awareness will note next and just watching it and letting it go. "we don't control what we think about. We don't control how we feel but we can pay attention to it.", like a scientist watching the contents of your mind, whatever comes up: sounds, physical sensations, smell... making a soft mental note and letting it go." It's lovely to watch what's naturally coming up. Even when you get lost in thoughts, just notice it and say mentally 'lost in thought'. Of course, the mind has its own agenda and sometimes you do get involved with its story-telling. So, to gently let it go you just need to notice when it happens (and it will!) then go straight back to focus on your breath - doing exactly the same when you notice an uncomfortable feeling arising. The most important thing in this kind of technique is to be kind to whatever feeling or emotion comes up and letting it be. A wonderful technique to tune in to your body, to your feelings & emotions in the here & now without judging them but just getting in touch and noticing them, naming them (being aware of them) and then letting them go, with kindness and compassion. Beautiful meditation technique that I have been practising quite often and has changed the way I normally deal with the world inside and outside myself. Bravo!

Time: 20 minutes.

App: Insight Timer.

To listen to this guided meditation click here