On Mindfulness

I feel sorry for “the feelings”. I am sorry for the way they are treated or rather mistreated. They are diminished, ridiculed and disrespected; they can be both dismissed and glorified. And above all they are misinterpreted.

When we sense an emotion we get immediately busy with giving a meaning to it, explaining, justifying and judging it. A feeling is like a defendant that is talked of, analyzed and finally condemned without ever being asked or heard.

To hear feelings and emotions we simply need to learn the language they speak, and it is not the same language that our intelligent, thinking mind is using. We need an understanding of that difference and we need a proper dictionary. So far we are using one that reminds me of a joke I watched once on TV. The joke is about a couple of tourists travelling in an exotic country using a phrase book written obviously by some crazy academic. The translation of “Can you help me?” meant actually “Where is my hat?” a sentence “What time is it?” was really “Do you have potatoes?”, or “Go to the left” was translated as “Don’t stroke a cat”. The joke was hilariously funny, and perfectly renders human being problems with communication generally.

But let’s stick to the emotions and feelings. Where can we find the right dictionary? How can we understand and learn the language of sensations and emotions? The answer is in you, it is subjective and personal and the way to understanding your feelings is in being present with them, listening to them, allowing them to move through your body. Nobody can write a dictionary for you, you have to do it yourself. The best, safest and gentlest way is in meditation. Learn meditation.