Vipassana meditation is very similar to some of the practices that I’ve developed. I love to learn and to expand my own understanding. I’ve gained insights from Vipassana that have enabled me to further expand or develop my own practices. I have also studied or trained in a number of systems or disciplines and have developed the ability to observe the effects of different kinds of spiritual practices as I look into the body and mind of an individual. I have worked with a number of Vipassana practitioners. The practice of observing our feelings and sensations can be very powerful, but I’ve noticed that many practitioners that I’ve encountered are still not that rooted in their own bodies or connected to the emotions that are acting as the underlying driving force behind their own dysfunctional behaviors.

I heard a quote from John Bradshaw years ago that says "You can’t heal it if you can’t feel it." It’s much easier for us to remain separate or disconnected from something that we are only observing. The best way to learn about our feelings is to actually experience them. I encourage people to take the process of observation one step further by fully immersing their awareness within the sensations, feelings or emotions that arise. Breathing softly and deeply as we immerse our awareness in the middle of what we feel helps us to digest our feelings and to heal and integrate the parts of ourselves that are wounded or that have shut down.

I’ve encountered many people who have expressed frustration over being stuck in their lives. I can often feel their anger, frustration or the sense of stuckness that they’re experiencing. I’ll ask them where they’re experiencing those feelings within their bodies. In many instances the person can’t tell me and yet they continue to react to their circumstances. They cannot access or digest their feelings and so nothing really changes.

Many of us are living so far up in our heads and so we’re always trying to think or talk our way out of our problems. Our attempt to grasp what’s going on in our lives and maintain some sense of control often leaves us spinning around and around in circles. We believe that we are perceiving what’s going on in our reality when in actuality our thoughts are just an interpretation of what’s happening.

Living in the world of our thoughts desensitizes us by drawing our attention away from what we’re actually feeling and experiencing. In many instances we become so caught up in our defenses, desires and fantasies, but that creates barriers which prevent us from being present to what’s really happening in our lives. We lose that sense of newness and wonderment and then everything around us begins to feel "same old". Learning to focus our attention on our feelings and sensations in the midst of what we’re doing will help us to become more fully engaged in our lives. We begin to experience a sense of newness within every moment as that happens.

Many of the difficulties that we experience in our lives stem from our unwillingness to face our own suffering. We go through so much of our lives trying to escape from our feelings. We refuse to acknowledge the presence of the feelings and realities of our lives that we don’t want to face by pushing them out of our awareness. We resist painful feelings and memories connected to the past and then we’re resisting our present moment reality and much of what we anticipate will happen in the future.

There’s no point in running because our feelings will only intensify. Avoidance or resistance just reinforces the very things that we struggle against by further binding them to us. The issues and emotions that we are avoiding will become more deeply entrenched and that gives them even greater influence over our lives. Turning away from the pain that we experience will invariably create some form of secondary suffering. The suffering that we create usually perpetuates itself indefinitely and causes us to live in a state of contraction and constricted awareness. Resisting our feelings, or the issues and realities of our lives only digs the rut deeper and that further restricts our freedom.

Our resistance to the things that have caused us pain create a set of filters that blind us to much of what’s happening. The accumulation of unresolved issues and emotions that we hold within also distorts our perception of ourselves, others people, our circumstances and the world in which we live.

We may have been forced to avoid or resist certain feelings and realities as a means of coping during some of the more difficult periods of our lives. But at some point our avoidance and resistance can become a form of dishonesty. We’re not really being present or honest with ourselves and therefore we cannot be with anyone else. Staying connected to what we truly sense and feel puts us in touch with our authentic selves and that allows us to express ourselves in a way that is more honest.

I see the impact that stress is having upon people as I look into their bodies and minds. Highly charged emotions and other stresses that are not digested often damage the circuitry or hardware of the brain-mind that facilitates consciousness. I can see and feel how that deadens people’s awareness and distorts their perceptions.

We often find ourselves stuck in dysfunctional patterns that repeat themselves over the course of our lives. Buried feelings are the cement that holds our dysfunctional patterns in place. Breathing into our sensations and feelings opens a doorway into the mind. We begin to access the thoughts and feelings operating within our subconscious that act as the driving force behind our dysfunction. Bringing our attention to the fixated parts of our mind-body consciousness causes them to soften and dissolve. Habitual patterns of thought and behavior begin to lose their grip as we process our feelings. Limiting story lines that we have constructed to define ourselves and our lives begin to fall apart. Our minds become more flexible and that makes it easier for us to learn and grow and to adapt to life’s ever changing circumstances.

Our natural impulse is to resist anything that feels painful and it can take a lot of time and effort to recondition this pattern. Our mind’s defense mechanisms have an amazing ability to conceal anything that it perceives of as being painful or threatening. Because of that we end up disconnecting from parts of ourselves. Our feelings can sometimes be very difficult to access because we have denied, resisted and judged these parts of ourselves for so long. We will find it much easier to gain access to what we’re really feeling when we can come from a place of total acceptance. It’s so important for us to acknowledge and then to be present with any feelings or sensations that emerge including our feelings of resistance. Fully immersing our consciousness in the middle of our feelings and emotions gives us access to the underlying forces that determine how we think, feel and react. We begin to recognize the processes that are operating within our minds and understand how our thoughts evoke certain feelings and how our feelings shape our perceptions.

We need to digest our feelings and issues so the parts of our consciousness holding the emotional charge can integrate. That can only happen when we allow ourselves to fully experience our true feelings. Breathing into our sensations and feelings helps us to bridge the gap between our body and mind. Feelings and memories held within the body that have operated outside of our normal waking consciousness begin to make their way into our awareness. A process of digestion takes place as we breathe into our feelings. Our feelings and issues begin to sort themselves out and the conflicted parts of our selves come to a place of reconciliation. This process helps us to clear up the confusion and misunderstanding in our lives. The conscious and subconscious minds come into alignment and we experience a greater sense of integration. Fears and anxieties dissipate, the parts of us that are hurting begin to heal and that enables us to grow and mature.

Our minds extend throughout our physical and subtle bodies. Breathing into our feelings and sensations helps to awaken the innate healing intelligence that resides within our body-mind. Our intuition grows stronger and we become more present within our bodies and our immediate experience. A body that is more alive possesses greater creative intelligence and is more likely to present us with the solutions that are needed to meet the demands of our daily lives. Our minds become more flexible and that makes it easier for us to adapt to our current circumstances.

One of the most important lessons we will ever learn is that our feelings will stop being so painful when we stop resisting them. Our discomforts will lessen and we will experience a whole lot more enjoyment. It’s important for us to come from a place of acceptance for any feelings, issues, or memories that surface. Coming from a place of acceptance makes it easier for us to be present with anything we feel or sense in the midst of whatever is happening in our lives. Learning to be truly present with our feelings brings us to a place where we can experience greater love, compassion and appreciation for ourselves and others.

We need to connect with what we feel at the deepest levels to really facilitate change within ourselves. Breathing into our feelings helps us to develop the strength to contain strong feelings and emotions and to remain present in the midst of difficult or challenging situations. We learn to experience our fears, anxieties and feelings of frustration, anger, resentment or our sense of vulnerability without becoming overwhelmed out shutting down. These feelings will gradually dissolve and work their way through us as we continue to breathe into them and that frees up our minds to come up with more appropriate and effective responses. Our blinders will come off and then we can really see and feel the patterns that we are enacting in our lives.

It’s so easy for us to get caught up in the dramas that play out in our lives and slip into unconsciousness when we forget to pay attention. Reacting to situations reinforces the feelings that are making us so uncomfortable. This is why it’s so important for us to really pay attention. Staying in touch with ourselves is a fulltime process of developing a greater awareness of everything that we sense or feel within our bodies. Continual attention to our feelings and sensations enables us to be that much more present to the realities of our lives as they are while deepening our connection to what matters the most.

It’s so important to take time out to digest what’s happening in your life. There are times when you will need to just stop what you’re doing and allow yourself to become really present with any issues or concerns that are affecting you. Sit comfortably, close your eyes, bring the issues or concerns to the forefront of your awareness and then breathe into any feelings or sensations that make their way into your awareness. Center your awareness in the middle of the feelings and sensations that are emerging. Allow the feelings and sensations to be what they are without trying to change them. Follow the feelings and sensations as they go through their progression.

It’s not always convenient to sit with your eyes closed. Sometimes you need to be present to and even participate in what’s going on in your immediate reality. Start noticing how you feel or what you sense while you’re going about your day. Notice how you feel while you’re at work, or sitting in class or conversing with another person. Pay attention to how you feel within your body in the midst of whatever you are doing.

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