“Those who enter the gates of heaven are not beings who have no passions or have curbed the passions, but those who have cultivated an understanding of them.” William Blake
In the book “A Path with Heart”, Jack Kornfield reminds us that every spiritual path shares similar difficulties: strong emotions. He suggests a way of working with these (useful on & off the yoga mat) which is ‘naming’.
Start by focusing on the breath, watching the inward and outward flow. When your attention is captured by a strong emotion, you make this your point of focus. Feel it fully and name it - for example ‘fear’ , ‘sadness’, ‘peace’, ‘sleepiness’, anger, or any other strong feeling. Watch it until it fades & then return to the breath.
“You must practice naming very softly, giving 95% of your energy to sensing each experience, and 5% to a soft name in the background,” says Kornfield. Naming is not a way to judge & push away undesirable experience, but is a way of being present with what is. We can even watch desire, addiction, greed, ambition & craving: watch it and name it, and when it subsides, return to the breath.
In the book “A Path with Heart”, Jack Kornfield reminds us that every spiritual path shares similar difficulties: strong emotions. He suggests a way of working with these (useful on & off the yoga mat) which is ‘naming’.
Start by focusing on the breath, watching the inward and outward flow. When your attention is captured by a strong emotion, you make this your point of focus. Feel it fully and name it - for example ‘fear’ , ‘sadness’, ‘peace’, ‘sleepiness’, anger, or any other strong feeling. Watch it until it fades & then return to the breath.
“You must practice naming very softly, giving 95% of your energy to sensing each experience, and 5% to a soft name in the background,” says Kornfield. Naming is not a way to judge & push away undesirable experience, but is a way of being present with what is. We can even watch desire, addiction, greed, ambition & craving: watch it and name it, and when it subsides, return to the breath.
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