Most of the modern fatigue does not come from physical exhaustion, but from emotional drain.
Sometimes, you may feel exhausted and fatigued even though you haven’t done much throughout the day, unable to enjoy the present. Anxiety and irritability are like dark clouds above your head, blocking the sunlight and slowing down your efficiency in getting things done.
How to properly deal with emotions has become a compulsory lesson for everyone.
Today, we will dive deeper into how emotions arise and how to reduce the occurrence of emotions from the root!
The Root of Emotions — Perspective
Imagine someone looking at you and saying: “You are naughty.”
How would you feel when you hear this?
Teacher Baoju once conducted this experiment in class. She said this sentence to the participants, and some of them felt uncomfortable, some didn’t feel anything, while others felt happy.
The same sentence, heard by different people, can evoke different emotions. This often happens in our daily lives.
You may notice that, around us, there are always people who eat the same food, receive the same education, and do the same job, but they live a more joyful and healthy life than we do.
What is the root cause of this? What makes each person respond to different situations with different emotions, thus leading to different life experiences?
The answer is — cognitive perspective.
What is a cognitive perspective? Simply put, it refers to the various standards in our minds: what is right or wrong, what should or shouldn’t be done, what must be done, and what must not be done.
Our emotions in daily life are actually triggered when external factors touch on these internal perspectives.
For example, a person with obsessive-compulsive disorder may think that after washing their hands, they must wipe all the water spots on the counter clean. If they see someone else not doing this, anger will arise within them.
When we have too many fixed perspectives and standards in our minds, as soon as something slightly deviates from these standards, our bodies begin to secrete chemicals that stimulate the brain’s nerves, and emotions rise from there.
Just like a child with a fixed view of what is right and wrong, even if a situation doesn’t truly violate moral standards, they will still feel uneasy, depressed, or angry.
If you want to achieve inner peace, the first step is to abandon these fixed standards, be more relaxed, and learn to see things from multiple perspectives.
If we are overly attached to a specific perspective, our emotions will never truly find calm.
How to Change Perspectives
Now, everyone understands that the root of emotions is perspective. To reduce the occurrence of emotions at the root, one needs to identify and let go of their perspective. How should we do this specifically?
The method is — Awareness.
What is awareness? The simplest understanding is — noticing and knowing.
For example, when you are reading this article right now, your attention is not only on the content of the article but also on “knowing that you are reading the article.”
At the same time, you can also be aware of the various thoughts that arise in your mind during the reading process.
In Buddhist scriptures, it is said that a person can generate thousands of thoughts in a second. But the ones we can capture and be aware of are very limited because most of the time, people are in a state of ignorance and unawareness.
Many times, we live in unconscious reactions: getting angry, cursing immediately, without being aware of the root cause of the anger;
When facing a problem, we unconsciously respond in habitual ways, only to find that similar problems keep occurring, never solved…
Unaware, we have been living in various patterns, experiencing the same pain from different people, with the same situations repeatedly happening. This is what is called “samsara.”
Awareness helps us notice these patterns, emotions, and inertia in every moment, enabling us to make different choices and reactions, thus breaking the “samsara.”
For example, when you feel angry about something, if you can recognize that it’s just an emotion and then use the correct method to release this emotion, as we discussed earlier, you can prevent the conflict from escalating.
Going deeper, can you become aware of the underlying fixed perspectives and standards behind your emotions? Are you willing to let go of this perspective and embrace others’ viewpoints, accepting both their differences and your own?
In fact, when repressed emotions are released, people are often more willing to accept and forgive. At this point, the conflict has a chance to be completely resolved.
Thus, by using awareness, we break the patterns, transform our perspectives, and open our hearts further.
Mindfulness training is the core practice throughout our online and offline courses, as well as our on-the-ground implementation system. It helps people truly transcend emotions, cultivate a peaceful mind, and improve focus, creativity, and memory.
It is the ultimate practice for attaining inner peace, harmonious relationships, a healthy body, career success, and improving the quality of life.
Mindfulness Practice
How to practice mindfulness and enhance mindfulness? We have a mantra: Know when there is a thought, know when there is no thought, just know.
That is: when a thought arises, just know it is a thought. Knowing itself will bring you back to mindfulness without being attached to the content of the thought.
For example, you are sitting here and unconsciously start reminiscing about something that happened yesterday. Then, you suddenly realize you are reminiscing about it, and “realizing” itself brings you back to the present moment. Knowing is enough.
There is no need to generate another thought like “I must let go of this thought or interrupt it,” just stop responding to the thought.
Beginners can start by setting aside a small amount of time each day to practice mindfulness. There is no need to sit cross-legged; you can sit, stand, or lie down, as long as the body is relaxed and the mind is calm.
You can start with 10 minutes each day and gradually increase to 40 minutes or more. Additionally, gradually practice applying mindfulness in daily life.
When you first start practicing, you may feel that there are so many thoughts and it’s all chaotic. In fact, the mind naturally has so many thoughts; now, you’re simply able to see them because you’ve quieted down.
We may have many thoughts and only suddenly realize that we are lost in them. It’s okay; continue practicing.
Gradually, awareness will become a habit, and the frequency of returning to awareness will increase. You’ll feel clearer, and eventually, you’ll be able to stabilize your attention in awareness, not in your thoughts, for a period of time.
At this point, you will have many incredible experiences, opening up a new possibility for life.
Live in awareness, and you will not be in the cycle of reincarnation.
Let go of your angles and standards, let go of “self-clinging,” and you will not be swayed by emotions, leading to physical and mental freedom.
As for the practice of awareness, the article can only express so much,If you want to go deeper and experience it, you’re welcome to join “Between Thoughts” mindfulness practice at Yue Zhendong and participate in offline life solitude meditation activities.