“One of the hallmarks of experienced meditators is their ability to experience negative emotions without necessarily ‘getting caught up’ in them. This skill has significant implications for the treatment of common forms of psychopathology, particularly mood and anxiety disorders.”
-Michael Treadway (Neuroscientist) & Sara Lazar (Psychiatrist)
Students of Living Interpretation: What if we stepped out of our own bodies and observed our conversations from the outside? Not just our physical mannerisms, rather our thoughts and our emotions. What would we see? Most likely, times where we’ve overreacted or gotten carried away. It’s not hard to get caught up in moments that can lead to things getting blown out of proportion. Take a second to pause right now and think of a setting in your own life where you may have reacted abruptly and worsened the situation. Now imagine if there was a moment of pause between the action and the reaction.
Mindful meditation has a simple goal of making ourselves more aware of our being- of creating that pause. Hindsight is 20/20 so take a moment to reflect on a situation that you would’ve handled differently today. Maybe apologize to the other person involved; or just breathe deeply into those feelings and spend a moment to forgive yourself. We’re an imperfect species, so it’s okay to make mistakes. Be aware of the mistakes and forgive yourself and others. See if these actions today help your mood and your psychological approach throughout the day.