When I spin or spiral or go ‘sideways’, fear rolls over me like great waves and I am tossed about by the next crazy think that comes to my mind…
Consider this, however. Have you ever been at the ocean? Do you know what it’s like to drop below the waves and watch them from underneath? I have noticed that if you stay on the surface you can get pounded by wave after wave but if you drop a few feet below the surface, all you feel is a gentle tug.
This past weekend, I faced wave after wave of fears. I found that when I stayed on the surface, I was at the mercy of every memory and thought that rolled in but if I could drop down into myself and find a quite place, the ‘waves’ had no effect.
In her book True Refuge, teacher Tara Brach says this:
“I recently read in the book My Stroke of Insight by brain scientist Jill Bolte Taylor that the natural life span of an emotion—the average time it takes for it to move through the nervous system and body—is only a minute and a half. After that we need thoughts to keep the emotion rolling. So if we wonder why we lock into painful emotional states like anxiety, depression, or rage, we need look no further than our own endless stream of inner dialogue.” ~ True Refuge
One tool I used was to ‘pay attention’ to thoughts but journaling them in Evernote and most of ,u fears seemed to be appeased by the recognition of documentation. For the rest, I used Tara Brach’s RAIN acronym:
- Recognize
- Allow
- Investigate with Kindness
- Non-identify
If only I could claim perfection! This approach, however, did help me ‘drop under the waves’ and become happier overall…
Related articles
- Awakening Through Conflict ~ Tara Brach (evolutionarymystic.wordpress.com)
- RAIN- Cultivating a Mindful Awareness ~ Tara Brach (evolutionarymystic.wordpress.com)
- True Refuge- Finding Peace and Freedom in Your Own Awakened Heart ~ Tara Brach (evolutionarymystic.wordpress.com)
- “Real but not True” Tara Brach (willowmariewrites.com)
- Talks With Tara: The God Whom I Love… (miraculousendeavors.org)
Bright, shiny objects! 
Reblogged this on Eyes Wide Open and commented:
Over this past Mother’s Day Weekend, my Social Media Guru of a big brother and I had a long talk about blogging. He gave me some great tips as to how to create a blog that communicates effectively. Two of his top three suggestions (get ready for some good, free advice spoken out of the mouth of the professor) are to add pictures and reblog other people’s cool stuff in between my posts. So I’m taking his advice on both accounts. Allow me to shamelessly plug the writing of the boy who first introduced me to some of the bright, shiny things in life like the music of Paul McCartney and the Wings, Chocolate Peanut Butter Shakes from Brach’s Good List and Mr. Bill from Saturday Night Live.
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