Zen BenMar 27, 2024
Often, behind a "#negative" emotion, some deeper #insight or #wisdom - a #treasure - is hidden. So let’s go #treasurehunting! 🕵️‍♂️💎
One common tendency when encountering something unpleasant is to "shy away from it": avoid engaging with it. This is one of the basic movements all of us do all the time when engaging with an #experience, such as an emotion.
Show threadZen Ben
#Pleasant, e.g., spending time with a loved one translates into moving towards that experience and person. #Unpleasant, e.g., fear from a passing car, translates into us moving away from the car and experience.
In that sense, human beings are like amoeba, single-celled organisms that optimize their existence by moving towards pleasant and away from unpleasant states. The joy of being #human is that we have more #complexity layered onto this basic process. 🧠🔄
Mar 27, 2024 at 11:43amWeb
Show threadZen BenMar 27, 2024
How does this relate to an unpleasant experience and how can we unearth what lies behind it?
Firstly, becoming aware of this process of shying away from what’s unpleasant and looking at it can render the unpleasantness of an experience invalid. It simply isn’t unpleasant anymore but it IS. This can then allow what stands behind it to come to the fore, we can look at it, and then act on it if necessary. #awareness
Show threadZen BenMar 27, 2024
Secondly, it’s easy to buy into stories (in #Buddhism these would be delusions) – explanatory models. The mind thinks and with this thinking comes cause and effect and a story is spun between these two. This is a powerful tool to interact with one’s world, but it’s also easy to get fooled by it! This morning, I was sad and thought I knew the reason for being sad.
Show threadZen BenMar 27, 2024
After I spoke with my teaching #ZenMaster, she pointed the sadness out and asked me to look at it more thoroughly to discover the treasure behind it. Once I dropped the #story – my assumed reason – for being sad I discovered what’s really caused the #sadness: a new story, so to speak. That resulted in some release and insight. I then acted on it.