Tag Archives: emotion

PROMPT: Negative Feelings

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Daily writing prompt
What strategies do you use to cope with negative feelings?
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Feel them, but don’t feed them. By that I mean take time to be aware of the feelings, but do not let the mind go into its default mode of fixation upon the object informing these sensations and worst-case scenario building. Give the feelings your attention but recognize that you influence your experience of the world and don’t give the mind free reign to build an illusory scenario that it accepts as its reality. (i.e. Remember what Mark Twain said, “I’ve had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened.”)

The biggest problem with negative feelings is that the go-to modern strategy is attempted distraction (by vice, by entertainment, by activity, etc.) this leads the body to turn up the heat. If you give the sensations your attention without adding value judgements, it becomes impossible to obsess. For yoga practitioners who’ve done Yoga Nidra (Yogic sleep) the experience will be familiar. One often begins by being attentive to sounds, by giving the sounds attention without judgement, your mind starts to lose interest and it becomes harder for those sounds to distract you throughout the practice. This approach to negative feelings is much the same.

Also, breathwork that extends the exhalation component of breath will shift the balance toward rest and digest activity.

Ultimately, realize that these feelings are just sensations your body and brain use to turn your attention in certain directions. They have no more power than that, other than what one grants them. They are not identical to — or inextricably linked with — the events of the world that triggered them, and — therefore — you get to be the master of, and not the slave to, your feelings.

The next time you find yourself getting bogged down by a negative feeling, give the feeling a minute or two of pure undivided attention, and then think, “This is a wonderful opportunity to learn how my body and mind work.” See what happens.

Let it Float [Lyric Poem]

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Sans fear of dying,
 The angst of trying
   Is felt and left
      To float.

“Sorrow” by Edna St. Vincent Millay [w/ Audio]

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Sorrow like a ceaseless rain
   Beats upon my heart.
 People twist and scream in pain, --
   Dawn will find them still again;
 This has neither wax nor wane,
   Neither stop nor start.

People dress and go to town;
   I sit in my chair.
 All my thoughts are slow and brown:
   Standing up or sitting down
   Little matters, or what gown
      Or what shoes I wear.

“A Divine Image” by William Blake [w/ Audio]

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Cruelty has a Human Heart,
 And Jealousy a Human Face;
 Terror the Human Form Divine,
 And Secrecy the Human Dress.

The Human Dress is forged Iron,
 The Human Form a fiery Forge,
 The Human Face a Furnace seal'd,
 The Human Heart its hungry Gorge.

“Fortune-teller’s Song” by Su Shi [w/ Audio]

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The crescent moon hangs on a barren tree.
  The water clock has stopped and all is still.
  Who sees the sad man pace the shore alone?
  His shadow slants and curls into a swan.

The startled man stiffens and turns to look;
  His grief remains unseen by anyone.
  He passes on a seat of fallen log,
  And plops down on the wet and cold sandbank.

NOTE: The original title is: 卜算子.

“The Bridge” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow [w/ Audio]

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I stood on the bridge at midnight,
   As the clocks were striking the hour,
 And the moon rose o’er the city,
   Behind the dark church-tower.

I saw her bright reflection
   In the waters under me,
 Like a golden goblet filling
   And sinking into the sea.

And far in the hazy distance 
   Of that lovely night in June,
 The blaze of the flaming furnace
   Gleamed redder than the moon.

Among the long, black rafters 
   The wavering shadows lay,
 And the current that came from the ocean
   Seemed to lift and bear them away;

As, sweeping and eddying through them,
   Rose the belated tide,
 And, streaming into the moonlight,
   The seaweed floated wide.

And like those waters rushing
   Among the wooden piers,
 A flood of thoughts came o'er me
   That filled my eyes with tears.

How often, O, how often,
   In the days that had gone by,
 I had stood on that bridge at midnight
   And gazed on that wave and sky!

How often, O, how often,
   I had wished that the ebbing tide
 Would bear me away on its bosom
   O'er the ocean wild and wide!

For my heart was hot and restless,
   And my life was full of care,
 And the burden laid upon me 
   Seemed greater than I could bear.

But now it has fallen from me,
   It is buried in the sea;
 And only the sorrow of others
   Throws its shadow over me.

Yet whenever I cross the river
   On its bridge with wooden piers,
 Like the odor of brine from the ocean
   Comes the thought of other years.

And I think how many thousands
   Of care-encumbered men,
 Each bearing his burden of sorrow,
   Have crossed the bridge since then.

I see the long procession
   Still passing to and fro,
 The young heart hot and restless,
   And the old subdued and slow!

And forever and forever,
   As long as the river flows,
 As long as the heart has passions,
   As long as life has woes;

The moon and its broken reflection
   And its shadows shall appear,
 As the symbol of love in heaven,
   And its wavering image here.

“Sad” [Poetry Style #19 (悲慨)] by Sikong Tu [w/ Audio]

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Strong winds ripple water;
  Forest trees are laid low...
  A bitter urge to die --
  One can't come; one can't go.
 Ten decades flow, stream-like;
  Riches are cold, gray ash.
 Life 's a death procession --
  Unless you're adept and brash,
  And can take up the sword
  To hasten the anguish...
 No rustling dry leaves, or
 Leaky roof as you languish.

NOTE: The late Tang Dynasty poet, Sikong Tu (a.k.a. Ssŭ-k‘ung T‘u,) wrote an ars poetica entitled Twenty-Four Styles of Poetry. It presents twenty-four poems that are each in a different tone, reflecting varied concepts from Taoist philosophy and aesthetics. Above is a crude translation of the nineteenth of the twenty-four poems. This poem’s Chinese title is 悲慨, and it has been translated as: “Despondent,” and “Sorrowful.”

PROMPT: Grudge

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Are you holding a grudge? About?
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No. It’s not that I’m insufficiently petty, but rather that I lack the requisite memory and passion for such things.

I once read about a psychopath who claimed that when he was wronged, he would hold onto it, bide his time, and get his nemesis with a commensurate reply at a later date — often years later when other person had completely forgotten about the matter. Quite frankly, I don’t know how he had the mental energy.

PROMPT: Tear of Joy

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What brings a tear of joy to your eye?
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Mac-n-Cheese.

But seriously, I don’t think I’m acquainted with the experience.

PROMPT: Fears

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What fears have you overcome and how?
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For example: being punched in the face and swimming in open waters.

As for how, to my knowledge there’s only one way to overcome any fear and that’s exposure to the fearful stimulus. e.g. One loses (at least greatly reduces) fear of being hit by sparring.