Mindfulness,  Resources

Mindfulness and Acceptance

I found this in the Amazon blog of the guy who was the editor of the
Mindfulness and Acceptance book…

(snip)
Acceptance, mindfulness, values – how do we use them in dealing with
our emotions? We need to:

Learn to accept our feelings, without being dictated to by them and
without quickly acting to remove ones we do not like. Trying to get
rid of feelings only drives them underground, while simultaneously
giving them more capacity to control behavior without our awareness.
Acceptance of emotion requires another step, however.

Learn to watch our thoughts, without reflexively adopting the
worldview mindlessly structured by them. Thoughts are easily
programmed, and they are nothing to be right about – or wrong about.
They are just thoughts. Some of those thoughts will not be attractive,
because they are constantly being programmed by sources we do not
control. We will hear in our own minds the echoes of judgment, bias or
prejudice to which we are exposed nearly every day.

The point is not to “feel bad” about the existence of such thoughts in
our heads, nor to feel self-righteous about the thoughts that we agree
with – the point is to be more conscious, open and flexible in how we
translate thoughts into action. Knowing how to do that requires a
final step.

While staying aware of our feelings and thoughts, make mindful choices
about what we’ll actually do based on chosen values. Our emotions are
a legacy of our entire development as a species, and our thoughts are
an echo of our history. Fear, anger and desire are part of the human
condition. They can sensitize us to what is going on in the moment –
but we have to learn how to have them without being had by them.

The emotional imperative of “now” is just too automatic and mindless
to be trusted. We need to learn to be guided by our values and
choices, not just our emotional and cognitive programming. Human
beings are the only animals who can interpose mindful awareness and
values-based choice between urges and actions. Now, more than ever,
that is what we need.

If we do not learn how to be wiser, we have a difficult road ahead of
us as a species: expanding waistlines and expanding hate; indulgence
and suppression; rigidity and loss of control. Feel-goodism meets the
technologically expanded capacity for dehumanization. All linked to
the demand to change the emotion now.

We are conscious beings riding in a primitive emotional vehicle
programmed for another day and time. That vehicle is careering down a
mountain road with only a prayer to save us. Unless we learn to drive.
(unsnip)

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