Mindfulness of Emotional Intensity in our Thoughts & Emotions

Greetings! In today's podcast, we continue our theme of nurture our inner strength when the external world seems very stressful. This topic is the gift that keeps on giving, since we have approached it from many different angles in the seven episodes of this season!

Today, we explore mindfulness of emotional intensity - how many of our thoughts and emotions are at the red hot end of the spectrum--rage, anger, frustration? How much time do we spend steeping in this toxic tea? If an honest looks finds us there more often than not, then: not only is this unhealthy, but it is inaccurate. If we are not living in an active war zone, then we've been hoodwinked by ideology, media etc to respond as though we are. While this makes big media companies lots of money by capturing our attention, it rewires our minds to respond without emotional regulation, and to produce dopamine etc to when we do; we become addicted in fact to negative news. We get addicted to the rush of anger, the clarity of rage.

Alas not only is this unhealthy but it is inaccurate. Many people don't mind hurting themselves with unhealthy behaviour if it seems to help others, for example, by bringing truth to light, but in this case our obsession with the negative is not accurate; it is not bringing truth to light.

How can we explore this in meditation? Noticing our thoughts/emotions; asking, "what is the root of this"? Usually a fear of not belonging, a fear of scarcity. Then, visualize: "how would I feel if I could let this go?"

To watch this meditation, please visit: https://youtu.be/NW9_a9tqEdU.

For more information about Calgary Mindfulness, or to join our weekly practice, please write CalgaryMindfulness@Gmail.com, where we welcome your questions, comments and intentions for future meditation practices.

We offer workshops and instruction and much more!

For information, please visit www.CalgaryMindfulness.ca

Kind regards, Rosanna D’Agnillo, Founder and Lead Facilitator, Calgary Mindfulness