Weathering the Storms of Emotion
With gentle mindful awareness and soothing visualisation
“Look at strong emotions as a kind of storm. If we know weatherproofing techniques we can come out of it in tact. A storm may last an hour, several hours, or a day. If we master the ways of calming and steadying our mind, we can pass through the storms of emotion with relative ease.”
Peace is every breath, Thich Hhat Hahn
Hello dear one,
As someone who has experienced a wide range of challenging emotions and felt so overwhelmed by them, I would like to share some ways to navigate those difficult emotions in a kind and gentle way.
It all begins with learning to understand ourselves better.
A natural human response
When we have an emotional reaction, it’s because our bodies are flooded with chemicals caused by stress, this is a completely natural human response and not something to judge or blame ourselves for.
Our human brain has evolved to keep us alive, so we have a negativity bias, where we look for danger and see the most negative aspects of a situation in order to stay safe.
The good news is, we don’t have to get stuck in this process of anxiety and negative thinking. With a few simple methods we can learn to calm our emotions, soothe our feelings and change our perspective.
Negative responses are natural, but we can learn to manage them. With a little mindfulness and compassion, we can develop our awareness and begin to make positive changes.
Begin with awareness
Our emotions arise when we react to people or situations that have an affect on us, but we also create our own emotions by being hard on ourselves. If we give ourselves a hard time when we are unable to do something, or call ourselves names when we make a mistake, we end up constantly criticising ourselves for not achieving what we hoped to. We might have certain expectations of ourselves, then get angry, frustrated and annoyed when we don’t achieve those expectations.
Difficult emotions can be overwhelming but with mindful meditation we can meet those emotions with curiosity and kindness, and begin to see them in a different light.
“First of all, you need to know that an emotion is only that - an emotion - even though it may be a big, strong one. You are so much bigger, so much more than this emotion.”
Peace is every breath, Thich Hhat Hahn
Create a sacred pause
Can you create a space, where you feel safe and can go gently with yourself?
When you are ready, take a moment to pause and breathe. Then allow yourself to begin breathing a little deeper, down into your abdomen. Slowly resting the body, breathing slower, breathing deeper. This helps to settle the body, mind and emotions and takes your awareness down into your abdomen, away from your thoughts.
“When trees get hit by a storm, the treetops are thrashed around and run the highest risk of being damaged. The trunk of a tree is more stable and solid; it has many roots reaching deep into the Earth. The treetops are like your own head, your thinking mind. When a storm comes up in you, get out of the treetop and go down to the trunk for safety.”
Peace is every breath, Thich Hhat Hahn
Name the emotion
Once you feel a little more settled, you may like to take some time to notice your emotions, reminding yourself that no matter what the emotion is and how big or difficult it seems, it is still just an emotion.
As you continue breathing, gently, slowly, begin to softly name the emotion you are feeling. Treat it like a friend, being kind to yourself and taking care of it with love. You can say, for example; “Hello Fear, How are you today?” or “Hello, my little anger. I know you are there. I will take good care of you”. Both are lovely examples of how Thich Hahn Hahn suggests we work with our emotions.
With practise you can start to recognise, understand and befriend your emotions, so they don’t overwhelm you as much.
Visualise a calm, relaxing place
Another way to soften your emotions is to visualise a peaceful place, so that you can calm and soothe the feelings you are working with.
Start by creating some space around the emotion, watching it and observing the feelings it brings rather than being completely involved with it. Notice it’s there with curiosity and kindness, let it flow and move through you in order to release it.
Think of emotions just as thoughts, notice them, without trying to suppress them, allow the feeling to surface and then gently release. With practise you can really begin to feel more in control of your life, feeling more balanced, relaxed and happy, even in difficult situations. This is due to feeling more confident in your ability to deal with your own emotions and release them with less fear.
The French pharmacist Émile Coué, believed that our thoughts become reality. If we think sad thoughts then we will become unhappy and if we have anxious thoughts we will be tense. He found that if we replace those thoughts with positive, healing images, we can become calmer, happier and more relaxed.
To create these positive thoughts you can visualise a calm and relaxing place, such as a beach, meadow or mountain and begin to notice the smells, sounds and sights around you. As you wander through your imagined landscape your thoughts are calm and your body begins to relax.
Using positive visualisation can really enhance your relaxation, so if you use images of calm and peaceful places this creates feelings of happiness and security, these emotions and images are sent to the subconscious, which automatically starts to tell the body to relax.
This is a nice easy way to come to terms with your emotions and feel more relaxed and at ease.
A Heart Practice
I also really like the Buddhist meditation that soothes and heals your heart, when faced with challenging emotions. The Tibetan book of living and dying describes “A Heart Practice”, where you invoke in the sky in front of you the presence of an enlightened being, feel their presence deeply and invoke their infinite power, compassion and blessing. Once you have done this you can open your heart and let all your pain and suffering out, crying if you need to. Feel that the enlightened being is fully there for you understanding and filling you with love and compassion.
May You Find Peace
May you find the blessings of calm, peace and happiness, through these restful, kind and patient meditation practices, and may you be free from suffering, feeling more at ease within yourself.
Learn, Release, and Relax
If you’d like to be guided through some calming meditation practices, I invite you to join my Soulful Seedlings community, where you’ll find guided meditations to help you begin your journey—and many more to come, including my own visualisation meditations.
You can also explore my Mindful Living Membership, which includes relaxing recordings in The Comfort Zone and our Cosy Corner Conversations in The Mindful Living Community —perfect for creating peaceful moments at home.
🌸 Try a free Cosy Corner Taster
My Mindful Living Course takes you on a journey of transformation—helping you shift from unhelpful thoughts to more peaceful, positive, and supportive ones.
If you’d like to explore Buddhist meditation, you can join me on Friday mornings—either online or in person.
Plus, you may like my special Sacred Pause - Woodland Day Retreat - a day of soothing meditation, gentle movement and deep relaxation in a beautiful woodland setting. Coming soon!
🌸 Visit my website to learn more
Wishing you deep peace and gentle strength along the way.