Mindfulness practice engenders emotional honesty; we see more clearly what is truly happening in our hearts. When we start meditating, we may feel like we experience more afflictive emotions. Students say, “I was never angry before, and now I’m angry all the time.” Well, we likely were angry before but repressed it or sublimated it into other emotions. Busy running around with a myriad of things to contend with, we easily miss what is true for us. When we sit down and connect directly with body, heart, and mind, we can feel our emotional life and heal, integrate, and free the heart.

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From Down to Earth Dharma: Insight Meditation to Awaken the Heart by Rebecca Bradshaw © 2024. Reprinted in arrangement with Shambhala Publications, Inc.

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