What is your Favorite Emotion?

[Edwardo Piet]

The way I understand mindfulness is that it's about nonjudgementally noticing and meta-noticing (noticing noticing, lol) and accepting all your feelings anyway:

There is nothing spooky or irrational about mindfulness, and the literature on its psychological benefits is now substantial. Mindfulness is simply a state of clear, nonjudgmental, and nondiscursive attention to the contents of consciousness, whether pleasant or unpleasant. Developing this quality of mind has been shown to reduce pain, anxiety, and depression; improve cognitive function; and even produce changes in gray matter density in regions of the brain related to learning and memory, emotional regulation, and self-awareness.

(my bold)

Source: https://www.samharris.org/podcast/item/m...meditation

[Edwardo Piet]

I just think of it as paying attention to my own automatic daydreaming with more deliberate attention and self-awareness and less absent-mindedness. That's all I think of it as. And like anything, that can be practiced -- I've just got other shit to do, lol.

The very opposite of forcing thoughts. The very opposite of positive thinking or avoiding negative thinking.

[emjay]

That's a very thoughtful analysis Losty   And you're right, emotions are amazing, just as is everything about the mind. I'm both very emotional and very closed off at the same time. I'm used to shit in my life and I'm stoic about it... I very rarely grieve loss or let myself wallow in it... so I don't cry very much. Nor do I let myself feel regret or 'what if' when I make mistakes because I see no point in crying over spilt milk. Likewise I try to use mindfulness to shut down some feelings before they have a chance to grow strong and hurt me in the long run... and anger is one of them. Anger can feel good and empowering in the moment, as you say, but given the choice I'd rather not feel it because whether directed at myself or at someone/something else IMO it's ultimately unfulfilling and rarely solves anything, and usually makes things worse. But for me mindfulness only really works well when it's about nipping something in the bud, before it's had a chance to properly form... if I miss that opportunity then I tend to feel the full force of the emotion, wallowing in it and finding it hard to get out. So in other words I find it hard to be mindful when I'm actually caught up in an emotion, but I wish I could because that would solve a lot of problems, and lead to true emotional mastery.

I truly think the way I was raised is the reason I feel differently about this. I don't want to use mindfulness to learn how not to feel certain emotions. I absolutely embrace my ability to feel. I don't even know how to describe how good it feels to feel...anything. So I just let myself feel how I truly feel. If that feeling happens to be negative then I work my way through it. But I won't deny my feelings even if they're bad. I love being able to feel them.

I can totally understand that   I don't think my way is the best way by a long shot, it's just my way. I'm pretty emotionally unstable tbh and for me this seems the best way to try and deal with it. But I have no problem in principle with crying or anything... it's not a macho thing or whatever that makes me not do it... crying/grieving helps you to work through things and come to a state of acceptance. IMO it's braver to cry than not to cry because it involves really facing whatever has hurt you and working through your feelings about it so I can totally see its value. I've seen that first hand because for one loss I was inconsolable, couldn't stop crying for days, but it worked and eventually the tears dried up and I accepted it, but it was still an unpleasant experience, so I guess I am perhaps a coward for wanting to block it out.

[Losty]

You're not a coward

We all deal with things in different ways. Whatever helps you deal.

[emjay]

The way I understand mindfulness is that it's about nonjudgementally noticing and meta-noticing (noticing noticing, lol) and accepting all your feelings anyway:

There is nothing spooky or irrational about mindfulness, and the literature on its psychological benefits is now substantial. Mindfulness is simply a state of clear, nonjudgmental, and nondiscursive attention to the contents of consciousness, whether pleasant or unpleasant. Developing this quality of mind has been shown to reduce pain, anxiety, and depression; improve cognitive function; and even produce changes in gray matter density in regions of the brain related to learning and memory, emotional regulation, and self-awareness.

(my bold)

Source: https://www.samharris.org/podcast/item/m...meditation

That's true. I didn't really mean it in the meditation sense. I meant more in the sense of an awareness of a thought/feeling in the making and the decision at that moment not to feed it and to divert my attention elsewhere.

[Edwardo Piet]

You reached out to me when I returned here to AF, Squishy.

Reaching out to a strange turtle on the internet before you even know them and bringing them out of shitty moods, that's both something to be proud of and brave.

[emjay]

You reached out to me when I returned here to AF, Squishy.

Reaching out to a strange turtle on the internet before you even know them and bringing them out of shitty moods, that's both something to be proud of and brave.

I remember... it was a thread about some sort of psychometric test. I'm glad it helped you back then and I'm glad to have met you 

Funnily enough this whole conversation has got me weepy   

And where has the night gone?... it's nearly 6am and I haven't been to sleep yet. So I'm gonna have to call it night now, so nighty night guys 

[Athene]

I've honed an ability to turn off overwhelming emotions under almost any set of circumstances, if I desire. It takes almost no effort. 
Extremely useful, but mildly concerning to me on occasion; I'm not certain it's supposed to be that easy.

Oh, well.
Luckily, I'm no American Psycho. 

[J a c k]

I've honed an ability to turn off overwhelming emotions under almost any set of circumstances, if I desire. It takes almost no effort. 
Extremely useful, but mildly concerning to me on occasion; I'm not certain it's supposed to be that easy.

Oh, well.
Luckily, I'm no American Psycho. 

Heh. I call it the "switch". I can turn it off or on when I want. Except sometimes I just do off. I like you. You're like me, but the cool, collected, and smoother version. Plus smarter. Ok. You're not like me at all. Lol

[Athene]

Heh. I call it the "switch". I can turn it off or on when I want. Except sometimes I just do off. I like you. You're like me, but the cool, collected, and smoother version. Plus smarter. Ok. You're not like me at all. Lol

Ha ha--I'm smart enough, but that's about it.
Thank you for the kind words Mama, but I'm afraid the superlatives are all hype.

Your brain is off the chain.