Jack: To continue to develop the basic mindfulness practice we'll now include a powerful tool, the naming of emotions. It's easy to see that our emotions are complex and constantly changing. We can have many different feelings about the same person. Sometimes at the same time, love, care, anxiety, resentment, tenderness, attachment, frustration, compassion. In a single morning at work, or school, we can experience a whole variety of strong feelings and emotions. Emily Dickinson calls these, the “mob within the heart.” If we were to believe and act on each one, we'd be tossed around like a boat without a rudder. Instead, with mindfulness and loving awareness, we can receive and learn from our emotions while keeping a steady heart and mind. Although emotions often affect our behavior, sometimes we're not even aware of what we're feeling. Others might notice our emotional states more clearly than we do.

They may ask, “Are you upset? Are you worried? Are you feeling hurt, angry, tired?” And then, we too notice, “Oh yes, I'm feeling hurt, I'm upset, I'm frustrated.” When we aren't aware of what we're feeling and act anyway, it can increase our conflicts and problems. We can begin to notice the ever-changing flow of our emotions. Being able to identify them with words allows us to acknowledge them with a non-judging mindfulness. Oh, apprehensive feels like this. Belligerent feels like this. Anxious feels like this. Amused feels like this. Since ancient times, shamans have understood that if you can name the dragon, you have a power over it. In the same way, naming feelings and emotions is a way of acknowledging them without being caught by them.
As you practice, you may notice at first, some common feelings such as boredom, sleepiness, frustration, restlessness. 

Each of these dragons can be named sleepy, sleepy. Maybe your body's reminding you that you need rest. No need to judge. Just name the feeling; you might begin to experience common pleasant feelings, such as calm, peacefulness, joy, wellbeing that come as you practice. These can be named as well. Learning to name feelings, especially difficult ones can help you further tame the dragon. Otherwise, when you're bored, or restless, or lonely, what do you do? Often you open the refrigerator, distract yourself, go online because you can't tolerate these feelings. Instead see what happens when you mindfully name your feelings without judgment, bored, bored, or restless, restless. You can let yourself feel lonely without judgment, ah loneliness. It's part of being human, common to us all. And as you gently name feelings and emotions, they gradually lose their power to take you over.

As you sit quietly, sometimes deeper emotions arise. The unfinished business of the heart; you might suddenly find yourself in tears of grief, or loss that you've been too busy to feel, or some conflict, or frustration at work or school might come to mind. Welcome each feeling with mindfulness and compassion, respect them. In some cultures, tears are considered holy, they soften the heart. In the same way, when you're reliving conflict, you can also begin to notice how deeply you care. With mindfulness, whatever arises becomes workable. You're learning to tend feelings wisely. Let's now work with the naming of feelings. Again, begin by taking your seat with graciousness and dignity and bring a kind attention to your body and fill it with the half-smile of kindness. Take two or three deep breaths. And now bring a relaxed and focused attention to the natural rhythm of the breath. Stay with it, gently bringing the puppy back to the next breath, each time, attention wanders.

And now that you've settled a bit with the breath, turn the same careful attention from the breath to notice whatever emotions are present with kindness and interest. Sense what emotions or feelings are present in the body and mind, just now. To deepen your mindfulness, begin to name them softly. See what happens as you do, sad, sad, or peaceful, peaceful, anxious, anxious, or bored, bored. If several feelings are present, simply choose one to name and notice how it is felt, how it changes and notice when it diminishes, or another wave of feeling becomes apparent. Then you can name the next. Sometimes the feelings may be strong, other times soft and subtle. You can name these too, calm, calm, or quiet, or empty. Keep it simple, no need to go into a story and no judgment. Just witnessing with mindfulness and naming the feelings that are present. No search through the dictionary, just named in a simple, easy way. 

Notice too, with difficult feelings like fear, frustration, anger, loneliness, sadness, how there's often hurt or vulnerability, and then a deep caring underneath them.
Now, switch and notice any positive feelings, love, joy, delight, or contentment, and well-being. You can name these, and sense how they move, and affect body and mind. Sometimes people are afraid of pleasure, and have more difficulty acknowledging positive feelings. They touch an unworthiness or vulnerability, just notice.
And now, let's combine the acknowledging of feelings with the central practice of mindfulness, return your attention to your breath or anchor. And as you do, if a strong body sensation or emotion pulls your attention from the anchor, let go of this focus, and receive with the same kind attention, the emotion or sensation, name it softly. Notice how it changes as you attend. And after a time, when it's diminished or you are at ease with it, return back to the breath or anchor until another strong feeling or sensation arises. Try this now.

This breath, or naming this feeling or sensation, present and balanced; And now, when a strong body sensation or emotion pulls your attention from the anchor, let go of the breath as focus, and bring your mindful attention to the sensation or the emotion, and name it softly. Notice how it changes as you attend, and after a time, when it's diminished or you're at ease with it, return to the breath until another strong feeling or sensation arises.
© Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield