Our Mindfulness practice, whether it is on the cushion paying attention to the emotions and thoughts that weave between the breath and bodily sensations, or whether it is in the world paying attention to our actions and behaviors which emerge from our emotions and thoughts, is always a reminder that in order to change any unhealthy or harmful patterns – in order to transform any suffering – we have to first become aware of the patterns themselves. We cannot change anything that we are not aware of…. On a personal level this may show up within the experience of intense emotions. Often we are driven by unconscious motivations of our emotional landscape. How often do we feel lost in the rage or the upset that sometimes arises? The impact that Mindfulness brings is that the experience of being aware of the rage is not the rage itself. Being mindful of all the sensations of rage or anger is not being lost in or consumed by the fire. How often do we actually feed the experience of anger without examining what is really happening? …Our practice simply invites us to do the best we can – to be as mindful, aware and kind to whatever arises, even our intense emotional landscapes.
Larry Yang, Now More than ever We need Mindfulness, Huffington Post
