Waking Life
Thoughts and Feelings
Take a moment to relax and consider a subject you may wish to explore. Instead of approaching dreaming with might, be playful with ideas and let them flow naturally. Allow yourself to feel a sense of “what if...” and daydream about dream possibilities. Follow your curiosity and intuition wherever they take you. Take as much time as you need to explore the subjects that arise. When you’re ready to finish this part of the contemplation, note what you discovered and then go to sleep. As you do, remind yourself that you’ll continue exploring the subjects that came up when you are in a dream. As you practice you’ll become better at this technique. Be prepared for surprise at what you uncover during these sessions.
Thoughts are the result of sensory input received by the mind. Our thoughts connect directly to our feelings. It is no use to try and force feelings to occur or to quarantine unpleasant feelings in hopes they’ll go away. If we wish for wonderful feelings then we must open our hearts to receive them. When we take the time to open our hearts we may find obstructions such as holding a grudge, or feelings of resentment. Few living beings are free of such experiences. When touching our feelings it’s important that we recognize that they’re the impression of sensory inputs taken in by the mind. What we experience is in a way information. It’s essential that we remember this so that we may have neutrality about our states, whatever they may be. We possess no wrong feelings, even if they are unpleasant. If there’s a wrong in the domain of contemplation, it’s in the demonizing of feelings that we have. There are valid reasons for the way we feel. If we wish to no longer experience unpleasant feelings, the way to meet that aim is to allow all feelings their turn, and respect that they have a reason for being there. Feel what you feel, give yourself lots of compassion when your feelings are challenging, and you may notice that under the light of your compassion the tough ones dissipate in time.
Diving into our feelings we begin seeing what’s on the surface: curiosity, hope, gratitude, skepticism, anger, disappointment, enthusiasm, or whatever may be in your heart. Sit with your feelings for a while, then ask yourself where you feel them in your body. Neurological scientist and researcher Candace Pert tells us that the body is the subconscious mind. Bessel Vander Kolk’s best selling book The Body Keeps The Score details a process for linking the emotional and physical bodies as a path to trauma recovery. When you’ve located your feelings in your body, breathe gently into those places while extending self compassion to each area that calls for attention. In contemplative practice, whether it’s dreaming, meditating, or chanting mantras, it’s important to remember that our experiences don’t need to feel groundbreaking to be relevant. The truth reveals itself to us in small ways that often do not seem surprising or new.