This week, I am face to face with the violence in our world. There are times when I am overwhelmed by empathy for my fellow humans.

When circumstances stir up strong emotions, being able to regulate and transmute them becomes a key asset. But the word ‘regulation’ comes across as ‘to control or manage’, to which I want to offer an alternative.

When situations in life become too much to bear, many people numb themselves and continue to function unconsciously. Some cope with their emotions through various practices like breathwork, journaling etc.

There is a different way that I offer to you today – one of intentional presence. Of being able to notice what is happening with full consciousness. Emotions are energy moving in our body as much as thoughts in our mind. Instead of dissociation and numbing, we can relax into our natural presence, and enjoy this motion of energy.

Even the most uncomfortable emotions can be enjoyed when you bring awareness to them. When you are simply aware, there is an acceptance that allows them to move freely and move quickly. They reveal themselves as your own capacities rather than as an invasion of unwanted feelings.

This recognition helps you embrace all the discomforting emotions as part of you, rather than repressing them or trying to get over them. What you will notice is how quickly this energy can move and change within you, as one continuous movement, like an in-breath and an out-breath.

You wouldn’t have a preference for breathing in rather than breathing out, would you?

Rather than seeing our emotions as separate and disjointed, if we perceive them in real-time as one continuous movement, then we lose our craving for one over the other, and we allow ourselves to enjoy what is.

Paradoxically, in allowing that, we end up finding more and more emotions that we do enjoy effortlessly.

If this sounds like a theory or a fantasy, I invite you to experience it yourself. When you do, I am sure you will enjoy the experience.