focus - alive why

focus

we are able to train our minds
in many ways
this is obvious:
to learn a musical instrument or language
so why not in the most important area?
the area of emotions
the dalai lama and similar authorities are convinced of this
if our minds KNOW what they are doing...
things might be better
this entails the process of having
...a clear FOCUS on the question:
is this thought driven by cortex or amygdala?
then the possibility of emotional storms and hijack
becomes lessened
this should happen progressively with practice
so you are using a neural network that is watching the other networks
like an overview programme
this doesn't give immunity from emotional hijack
but it does make it less likely and less powerful

at least part of this point is that
while your mind is saying
'"which area is this thought coming from?"
and then giving it a name, eg emotion
then your mind is occupied
and so it is less likely to be sucked into an emotional cascade
once you have labelled the thought as emotion
you learn to treat it with with care

the emotion has a message but needs to be treated carefully
not as a master but as a mentor
not as a weapon but as a warning
you then look for the message
eg my daughter is behaving like a monster
because
she is at the adolescent age
where emotions are in anarchy
then you realize that
screaming at her will just
increase her emotional distress
and escalate the situation