Emotions Archives - Minding The Bedside

Meditate on Suffering – The Power of Engaging What Bothers Us

Imagine meditating while you're suffering, what does that feel like? What if, instead of trying to run away from your disturbing emotions, you engage with them and see them for what they really are, temporary and impermanent? How do you think your life would change if you were able to be with whatever arises within your mind in a state of grace and peace, instead of constantly running after the good thoughts and fleeing what makes you suffer? Would your life be different?

2021-09-26T23:06:21-06:00By Jerome Stone|Meditation Tip of the Week|11 Comments

Meditate When You’re Broken…

Meditation is about being different from who you usually are in your habitual patterns. It's about saying "no" to the way that you usually do things; reacting to anger with anger, reacting to disappointment with despair, reacting to joy with mindless abandon. Meditation is about saying "yes" to all that life offers, no matter how happy or sad you are.

2019-10-24T14:00:53-06:00By Jerome Stone|Meditation Tip of the Week|11 Comments

Meditation for Depression, A Guest Post

This week's post will be the first in a series of guest-posts, written by readers of this blog. Marcela De Vivo is a freelance health writer in Southern California. In this post, she shares an intimate view into how meditation has helped her to deal with her son's illness and with the depression that has arisen in her life around his care.

2013-10-28T13:22:38-06:00By Jerome Stone|Guest Post|5 Comments

How to Meditate: Meditate on Anger

What if I said that you could actually meditate in a state of anger to learn how to loosen its hold on your mind? Does that sound impossible or difficult? Actually, that's exactly what I'm going to show you how to do. But, before we begin with that…

2015-03-19T15:38:33-06:00By Jerome Stone|Meditation|Comments Off

Why Meditate? Are You Tired of Being Angry, Sad, Jealous, or…Exhausted?

Do your feelings and emotions rule you? If you're like me or if...you're human, then you've probably experienced anger, sadness, jealousy (or envy?), or emotional exhaustion. And, if you're like me, you're happy and grateful when those emotional states and feelings go away, right?! What do you do when you experience strong emotions? How do you deal with difficult feelings that just won't go away? What do you do when these experiences persist even when you try to push them away?

2012-12-06T19:49:41-07:00By Jerome Stone|Meditation|4 Comments

How To Meditate: Don’t Focus on the Emotion

Do You Get Caught Up In Emotions? How often do you find yourself caught up in an emotion, seemingly stuck in a box with no way out? How often do you wish with all of your might that you could free yourself from the grips of strong emotions? Can meditation help you to deal with emotions? What you formally practice in meditation should prepare you for everything that you encounter in your daily life...shouldn't it? Despite many hours of practice, many meditators - myself very much included - find that although their meditation feels stable, when a sudden, unexpected and [...]

2015-01-20T15:07:05-07:00By Jerome Stone|Meditation|2 Comments

On Meditation and Compassion: Is it Only a Dream…That There’ll Be No More Turning Away….?

What Stops You in Your Tracks? I've always been a sucker for guitar solos, especially ones that invoke a strong emotion of sadness or intensity. For me, when the message of the music hits the heart of the lyrics, it brings me to a state of stillness or reflection...similar to meditation. When I think of something that can stop me in my tracks, something that causes me to catch a glimpse of something beyond myself, music stands out clearly in my mind. What about you? James Joyce used the phrase of "aesthetic arrest" to describe a state where [...]

2015-02-03T13:13:10-07:00By Jerome Stone|Compassion|2 Comments

Meditation and Compassion, Part 4: Meditating on Suicide

(Photo courtesy of Audrey Nadia Rubenstein) At first I felt as though my heart had been ripped open. Then my mind went into a state of disbelief and confusion. I felt a sort of numbness and despair. Finally, my heart and mind came to rest in a state of meditation and compassion… and I didn’t even know her. I just learned of the suicide of a brilliant young woman, Sharoni Stern Siegel, a local artist who was beloved by those who knew her and had shared in her art and her passion for life. Her Facebook page has [...]

2014-08-25T17:37:54-06:00By Jerome Stone|Compassion, Meditation|6 Comments

Meditation and Compassion, Part 2: Get Real!

In last week's post, Meditation and Compassion, Part I: The Man in the Mirror, we discussed the need to examine ourselves and the nature of who we call the "self" as a means to entering into an understanding of the relationship between meditation and compassion. This week we'll continue with that theme and "get real" with ourselves as a means to engaging in our most compassionate nature. What does "getting real" mean to you? Does it mean getting honest? I know that sometimes when someone says "get real," I think of honesty...to the point of being "brutally" honest. But, what [...]

2014-08-25T17:39:58-06:00By Jerome Stone|Compassion, Meditation|1 Comment