Experiencing Emotional Pain

• All feelings are already within us; they are part of the experience of us.
• All of our thoughts and actions generate responses and reactions, from us as well as our environment and others.
• All of our responses and reactions are already within us. These perpetuate the cycle of cause and effect, never having a beginning or an end.

We really do experience emotional pain. Instead of experiencing it, we often avoid it instead. And, we should not just experience emotional pain, we should explore it. It’s a vital source of vivid information about our life, our world and our role in it. All of our emotions are important tools to understanding and navigating our life.

We’ve trained our mind to avoid experiencing life in a present, open way. Our emotions are a guide to our internal responses and reactions. When emotions are too intense, the mind tries to compartmentalize the emotions through avoidance and attachment: avoiding the more intense, darker emotions, attaching to the easier, lighter emotions. The mental attachment to the easier, lighter emotions blocks out the intense, darker ones. This process moves us out of being present and aware.

Some people like to see the best in others. Others don’t see others as the human beings that they are. Both of these strategies are examples of avoidance and attachment. Both strategies block presence and awareness. Without presence and awareness, we cannot see, let alone navigate this life.