Clinging to the Moment Meditation

This is a meditation that I use to become more comfortable with my emotions from time to time, be they "negative" or "positive". The basic idea is to bring about an emotion and sit with it, become comfortable with it, become familiar with it, and learn to call it forward or pull it back when the situation demands it. You can use this methodology to control your emotions if you wish or to simply become intimately aware of them, or for whatever purpose you want, really. Do what you will.

Close your eyes and imagine yourself in a situation where you felt a strong emotion -- happiness, jealousy, rage, disgust, what-have-you. Take a moment to really place yourself there. Notice the sounds, the sights, the smells, the tastes, everything. Pay attention to it all -- who was there, what was happening, where it was, every little detail. This can be a recent memory or something from the distant past.

Once you're there, immersed in the moment, turn your attention inward. What is it that you're feeling? Give a name to it. Where is it that you're feeling it? Focus on your body, notice how the emotion interacts with you on a physiological level. Has your forehead gotten tense? Have your palms gotten sweaty? Recognize how that emotion feels and where you feel it.

Don't judge the emotion or your physiological expression. Just notice it, focus on it, pay close attention. Try to understand it; what it feels like when you first begin to feel that emotion, how it feels at its peak, how it feels when it fades. Diligently study it within your body at that moment you're imagining and in the moment where you are now. Is it different? See if you can make it feel the same.

You might feel the urge to run from some emotions like fear or anxiety or depression, to stop focusing, stop meditating. Don't. Those emotions are part of you no matter how unpleasant you might find them. Accept it and stay focused.

After sitting with the emotion for a while, you can go about your business. You can take the emotion with you if you want or you can let it fade away with the images of the situation as you cease meditation. That's your choice. If you choose to let it fade away, notice how that feels, too. Make a study of the feeling of the emotion receding. See if you can call it up again and let it go again. It's yours; it's part of you; you have the ability to recognize it, to use it, and to stop using it when you don't need it.

---

If you found this useful, or if you think it's a load of garbage, let me know by commenting below.