Day 2 Practice: Naming
“Mindfulness notices that some thought has boiled up and is about to take us for a ride—and just doesn’t go along with it.”
The natural follow up to embodiment is practice of “Naming”, our ability to be conscious to what’s happening in our inner world. In this practice, we explicitly name what we are experiencing: naming the feeling tones, emotions, moods, and mental states; “this is hard… this is difficult and uncomfortable… this is what anger feels like… this is the depths of shame … this is pain of heartache… this is the uneasiness of doubt… this is the beauty of self-acceptance, etc.”
By naming our experience, we create spaciousness between the one aware of what is happening and the experience. Research proves that by naming our experience, we are less identified with what is happening; and thus tame our reaction to it; aka “name it to tame it”. And in doing so, we move from our amygdala response (our fight, flight, or freeze response) to the higher consciousness parts of our brain which enables us to find a more appropriate response, rather than our knee jerk reaction that we later regret.
So, we take time to slow down and consciously recognize what we are feeling, the subtleties of what is happening: the internal speed of anger, the stickiness of guilt, the unworthiness of comparison, the negativity of judgment, or the heaviness of resentment. We become more available to all the subtleties of sensations in multitude of emotions and feelings: the tenseness or rigidity, the tightness or contraction, the stickiness or heaviness, and all the changes in breath, blood pressure, and energies from within. And with this level of awareness, we are more conscious of the effects our nervous system and well-being.
There is a saying, “Awareness is like the sky that holds the weather.” On a cloudy grey day, the sky above is still blue, unchanged above it all. When we experience difficulties, challenges, and heartache, we are still the same authentic, loving, caring being, unchanged. We are no longer the one lost in the story but rather the one aware of it.
One mantra that I have found quite helpful in moments of challenge or difficulty (that is if I can recognize that I am hooked) has been… “Banni, of course you are having a strong reaction to this…. because you care, because you are not afraid to feel what it is like to be human.” Repeating this creates space, to not be defined or identified so deeply with what is happening. Through spaciousness, we become the witness to our experience rather than the main character in it.
So today I encourage you to practice naming what you are feeling, name it to tame it, especially in moments when things are challenging, uneasy or may not be going your way. Feel your way into this practice of naming and see what difference it can have on your felt experience. May we all find space in our experiences today.
“Watch the functioning of your own mind in a calm and detached manner so you can gain insight into your own behavior.”
“We practice accepting whatever we feel, moment by moment, without trying to change it. And this way we gradually come to experience a peace with what truly is.”
“When we become aware of what agitates us, saddens us, or infuriates us, we can practice sitting with it and eventually offer ourselves compassion.”
“We are what we think. The habitual inclination of our thoughts determines our talents and abilities, and our personality. So whatever you want to be, start to develop that pattern now.”
“When thought is powerful, it is because it has a lot of believe in it. At a certain point, thoughts become irrelevant.”
“Being ashamed of our cravings doesn’t help, but justifying or denying them doesn’t help, either. Instead, we should learn to be with our situation as it is rather than moving away from it.”