Perhaps you have experienced feelings of being shut down, being “tuned out” or disengaged which you use as a defense or coping mechanism.
Some of us do this actively, but I venture to say that most of us do this without conscious intent.
Let’s explore some other healthier and more effective options.
Through meditation, one can learn to train the mind. Just like a glass of muddy water will become clear if allowed to settle, our emotions and thoughts will also become quieter, more manageable, and peaceful through the practice of meditation. Meditation is not about blissing out or blocking thoughts, rather it is a technique in which one learns to watch the mind and then work with what occurs in the mind.
When we learn to meditate, we start with small steps. Just like you would not go to the gym and lift a very heavy weight without having trained in lifting smaller weights first, meditation starts with using an object to stabilize the mind. The first and easiest supports are either sound or the breath. Meditation is done in a safe, quiet environment in which one will not be disturbed
Once a person has had some experience with stabilizing and becoming familiar with the mind, a person can start looking at emotions. The first step is to observe the emotion. While doing so we might notice discomfort in our body. We can also recognize our desire to run away from this experience. If we look very closely we might see hidden emotions that lie underneath the main emotion.
Once we become used to looking at our emotions in a safe environment then we can begin to explore this in our daily life. Eventually we can face our emotions, and not shut down. We can learn to allow emotions to come up without causing harm to ourselves and to others. Our emotions are an expression of ourselves and these emotions have positive qualities that can be accessed.
The following video discusses the basics of meditation: