Another powerful mindfulness practice is to simply and directly be mindful of emotional feelings. Every experience or encounter in our lives has a feeling tone to it – pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral – and a word that best describes the quality of feeling we are left with.
Pause to remember some of the experiences that you have had this past week that left you with a feeling – and then name the feelings that you had: joyful, sad, frustrated, angry, hopeful, curious, confused, grateful, etc. Feelings are generally best described with one word. If you find yourself launching into a longer narrative like, “I feel that….” then you are most likely engaged in thinking rather than feeling. Learning to be more mindful of your feelings in the present moment, and to make a brief mental note that describe the feelings that are present and alive for you, can help you to live with greater clarity, balance, choicefulness, self control, and sense of purpose. As your own mindfulness of feelings deepens, you’ll be better able to model and help your children to recognize, understand, and be more mindful of their feelings.
Photo by Pfaff
