How to Sit With Difficult Feelings - Guided Meditation with Zen Master Henry Shukman #637
The episode features Zen master Henry Shukman guiding a meditation on how to welcome and host emotions that arise during practice, rather than pushing them away. Dr. Rangan Chatterjee introduces a 30-day meditation challenge using Henry's app, The Way.
Deep Dive Analysis
6 Topic Outline
Introduction to the Meditation Challenge and App
The Importance of Hosting Emotions in Meditation
Rumi's 'The Guest House' Poem
Guided Meditation: Settling and Body Awareness
Guided Meditation: Welcoming and Allowing Emotions
Concluding the Meditation Practice
2 Key Concepts
Hosting Emotion in Meditation
During meditation, it is critical to allow and welcome any emotions that arise, rather than pushing them away or trying to fix them. This approach helps to defuse uncomfortable feelings and is seen as a way to be kind and patient with oneself, recognizing that emotions are part of who we are.
The Guest House Metaphor
This concept, from a Rumi poem, likens being human to a guest house where every emotion—joy, depression, meanness—is an unexpected visitor. The practice encourages welcoming and entertaining all these visitors, as each is considered a guide, rather than rejecting uncomfortable feelings.
4 Questions Answered
Meditation involves letting go of the usual ways we hold ourselves together, allowing a deeper side to emerge, which may bring emotions. Being able to 'host' and allow these emotions helps to defuse them rather than increasing stress by trying to push them away.
'The Guest House' is a poem by Rumi that encourages welcoming all emotions—joy, depression, meanness—as unexpected visitors, rather than rejecting them. This metaphor suggests treating one's field of experience as a guest house where everything that comes can be welcomed and allowed.
Meditation is usually done seated, but it can also be done lying down or reclining. The most important aspect is to be in a comfortable position, using ordinary furniture like a kitchen chair, desk chair, or the edge of a bed or couch.
Instead of trying to fix uncomfortable feelings, one can allow them to be present and welcome them. This involves bringing a sense of warmth and tenderness, perhaps into the chest and belly, and resting with a compassionate awareness, knowing that these feelings are part of who we are.
7 Actionable Insights
1. Host All Emotions
Welcome and allow any emotions that arise during meditation, rather than trying to fix or push them away, because hosting them helps defuse their intensity and reduces stress.
2. Cultivate Body Warmth
Bring a sense of warmth and softness into your chest, belly, and upper body, imagining them as warm wax, to create a tender and welcoming internal space for any feelings.
3. Ensure Physical Comfort
Meditate in a comfortable position—seated, lying down, or reclining—and adjust your body as needed, as ease in the body supports deeper practice and no special equipment is required.
4. Soften Your Entire Body
Allow a subtle softness to pervade your whole body during meditation, releasing any tension or contractiveness to foster a state of ease.
5. Adjust Eye Gaze
Close your eyes during meditation or lower your gaze if they remain open, which helps to focus your attention inward and minimize external distractions.
6. Transition Gently
Conclude meditation by slowly bringing movement back into your hands and feet, raising your gaze, and stretching if it feels supportive, to ease your return to daily activity.
7. Acknowledge Your Practice
Congratulate and thank yourself after meditating for dedicating time to the practice, recognizing the benefit of connecting with your true self.
3 Key Quotes
This being human is a Guest House. Every morning, a new arrival, a joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all because each has been sent as a guide from the beyond.
Rumi (quoted by Henry Shukman)
It may only increase stress to try to push stress away.
Henry Shukman
This is the heart of meditation. Being with who we really are.
Henry Shukman
1 Protocols
Henry Shukman's Guided Meditation for Welcoming Emotions
Henry Shukman- Get into a comfortable position (seated, lying down, or reclining). No special equipment needed; an ordinary chair or bed edge is fine.
- Check in with your body and adjust for comfort, helping yourself to be at ease.
- Close your eyes or lower your gaze, and feel your body in its posture.
- Allow your whole body to become soft, letting a subtle softness pervade it.
- Check how you are feeling (open, spacious, tight, stressed) without judgment.
- Allow any uncomfortable emotions to be present, welcoming them as a host would welcome guests, rather than trying to fix them.
- Bring a kind of warmth into your chest area, or perhaps your whole upper body and belly, letting them be warm and soft, like warm wax with tenderness.
- Allow this warm tenderness to welcome whatever feelings and emotions are present, simply allowing them without having to do anything about them, resting with all of who you are.
- Turn a light of kindness and compassionate awareness onto yourself, resting in a state of allowing and kindness.
- Gently come out of the meditation by bringing movement into hands and feet, raising your gaze, and stretching if it feels supportive.