Mindfulness is becoming mainstream currently and there are very good reasons for it.  I have been teaching Mindfulness for a little while now and it has become very clear that it is super POWERFUL.

In a short amount of time, it has become clear that mindfulness courses are powerful, these are designed to deal with psychology, meeting east with west, it’s a powerful new way to bring east to the west.  Mindfulness has its roots in Buddhism, buddhist practices centre around being mindful of everything, there are lot of meditations, breathing techniques, being mindful of our thoughts, emotions and so many other techniques that when we put these into practice, it is clear that over a short period of time, our life can change.

On a very deep level, Mindfulness can change the way we think, feel and behave to outside stimuli.  People will always come into our lives, they will always do and day what they want to do and say.  A lot of things are not within our control.

However, when we realise that what WE do, say, feel, act upon are within our own control and no one else’s, then we become empowered.  We become empowered when we have our mind under our control.  The mind is designed in a certain way, that from the time we are born, if it has not been programmed ( which it never is), it can be chaotic and make us its slave.  We are the slave of our mind, we do what it tells us to do, what it wants to do, when it wants to do, we are not in control of it.  Until, we become mindful that is.

Mindfulness courses are so powerful, that it is changing how people think, feel, behave and as a result how they act towards others.  When we are able to bring under control our mind, we are able to control a lot of elements in our lives.  For example, when we are in control of our emotions, we can use it to propel us into the world of order.  Emotions can be used in a positive way, it can be used as energy to create what’s to come.  We can use the strong emotional energy to do great things in life, that’s when we know how to be in control of our emotions.

To be in control of our emotions, we have to be aware of them, to be aware of them, we have to observe them, to observe them, we have to be powerful enough to detach from them.  When we say ” I feel sad”, we have connected to the feeling, the brain sends messages to the mind to act, the body works to release all the hormones and substances to honour this command from the self.  So, when we say something like ” I feel sad”, we are giving commands to the brain to act, the nervous system gets into action, sending messages to the body to act swiftly, in releasing all kinds of chemicals in our body to honour this wish of ” I feel sad”.

If we turn this on its head, we detach from the feelings, we still have it inside of us, but we do not attch to it, we may say something like:  “I notice there is a feeling of sadness inside of me” or ” this is sadness”, then we disconnect to the feelings, the brain does not act, it did not get the signal to act and it does not.  So, then after a little while the sadness, dissipates.  Naming our emotions is a good way to take inventory of our feelings, we become in charge of the feelings, we become aware of it, we take charge of our feelings fully, we take full responsibility.

With time, what happens is that we won’t have those strong feelings anymore.  If we do, it will dissolve fast, leaving us a lot of energy to do all the great things we need to do, to live a mindful life.  When we become aware of each of our emotion, we taking an inventory of our feelings, this in turn makes us aware of how we feel all the time, we become empowered to change ourselves.

So, next time you feel overwhelmed by your feelings, try labelling them as someone who is observing them, like someone from outside looking in.  Like you see someone else feeling those feelings, what this does, it helps us feel those feelings, not repress them, own them, but also being very in charge of them.

Try this instead, when feeling anything – name them as an observer:

For example – try this – “This is pain, this is anger, this is resentment, this is shame, rage, guilt, frustration, unforgiveness, hatred etc …”

Name them as an observer, never owning these feelings, notice them, feel them, they will soon dissolve.  This makes us aware of what is lurking inside of us, without repressing, oppressing those feelings, owning them, giving them due time, seeing them, respecting them, not judging those feelings but at the same time, removing the extreme charge out of it. By depersonalising our feelings, we are able to be in control of them, they do not become destructive, they heal faster.

It is when we repress feelings/emotions that all chaos takes place within us.  Not when we are mindful of them.

This behaviour of being in charge of our emotions, over a long period of time helps to gain control over our feelings fully, entirely and completely.  We become master of our lives, we become super powerful, we become a master of the self.

Go on, start naming your feelings as someone observing yourself – name every one of them, see how you become in charge and in control of them. Your life will become so peaceful, when you become in charge of your feelings and emotions.

To your health and growth.

Kiran G