Dharana 93 of 112 · verse 101

Stop the Mind Inside the Emotion

In the grip of a strong emotion, stop — and look at what the emotion is made of.

00:00Ready

6 minutes. Anywhere.

Advanced6 min

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Before you try this

Stopping is not swallowing. If an emotion is overwhelming, or connected to trauma, this is not the moment for a technique — move, breathe, or talk to someone.

The practice

When desire, anger, greed, infatuation or jealousy has genuinely taken hold, stop the mind where it is. Do not act, do not suppress, do not narrate. Stay inside the emotion with the thinking halted and look at what is underneath it.

What it works on

The text treats a strong emotion as concentrated energy that is already gathered — which is exactly what meditation usually has to spend twenty minutes producing. The whole practice is refusing to spend it in the usual way.

Notes

  • The stopping has to happen while the emotion is live. Afterwards there is nothing to work with.
  • This is difficult and you will miss most opportunities. Missing them is normal.

Practise gently

Shoonyaka offers educational and contemplative material, not medical, psychological or religious authority. Nothing here diagnoses or treats any condition. Stop any practice that leaves you dizzy, frightened or unwell, and treat a strong reaction as a reason to rest rather than to push on.