The Lion's Roar
No thought.
No reflection.
No analysis.
No cultivation.
No intention.
Let it settle itself.
- Tilopa
In the center of the hurricane is an eye of stillness that controls and directs the forces that swirl around it. In the same way, within every question lies an answer. Emotional waves crash and roll through our lives. They tumble us through an ever-changing emotional landscape. But even in our moments of greatest helplessness and rage, there is a center of quiet healing intelligence. There are ways to work with the strong emotions that we all experience, and there are ways to find that place of inner calm.
Many of us live our lives in a state of stressful tension. Our systems are so overloaded with present and past stresses that it often doesn’t take much to carry us over the line and into an emotional crises. Emotions set off cascades of chemical reactions inside our bodies. It’s easy to get lost in an emotion, easy to allow it to have its way with us, to direct our thoughts into brooding, or to run self-justifying storylines in our minds. We can try to minimize the effects of strong emotions with denial, drugs, overwork, alcohol, stuffing them down, or acting them out. We can have a breakdown, we can blame, provoke, scream, and stamp our feet, or just suffer stoically. None of these will heal the pain of old wounds being singed in the fires of everyday life.
Buddhists refer to “obscurations” – energetic patterns that we carry with us that interfere with enlightened perception. Obscurations can be of many sorts, but they often find expression through our most intense emotions. With their built in patterns of perception and response, they can control our lives. There is an ancient practice called “maitri” which means “unconditional friendship with yourself.” In certain traditions it is considered the first step toward compassionate living. Compassion begins with compassion for ourselves. If you truly desire to be free of your obscurations and to make peace with your emotions, the following practice will be helpful. It is a tool, a way, an approach. You can use this tool at any time to soothe the agitated seas within and to heal old wounds.
When I first heard of this practice that uses my own emotional turmoil for healing, I thought, “Now, that’s something I can use!” And I have used it, extensively. It has touched my physical, emotional, mental and spiritual lives with a healing presence. This “good medicine” has brought deep relief from past traumas and stresses. It is called the Lion’s Roar … and for good reason!
Let’s begin when an emotion emerges. It may be loneliness, grief, anger, rage, guilt, anxiety, depression, despair, or hopelessness. It may emerge of its own accord or be triggered by an experience or an encounter with someone. So now, what’s to be done? With your attention, go to the physical sensations being generated in your body. With careful and kind attention, without judgment, interpretation or analysis, explore and experience the physical sensation going on in your body. Is it hot or cold? Hard, tight, or soft? Is it is vibrating or moving? Is it still? What is the texture of this sensation? What is its shape? What are the edges like? Allow yourself to simply experience the physical, bodily sensations. Let them be what they are. Don’t label your feelings, simply feel them. Ask yourself, “Where do I feel it in my body?” You might say, “In my stomach. And it’s about the size and shape of a grapefruit, or a disc.” Ask yourself, “How deep is it? What is it like inside? What color? Does it have a taste? Is it heavy?” Use all your powers of observation. When your mind wanders away, bring it back to your body and to your felt sense.
Do not run from the lion which is your inner turmoil, but rather go right to its physical component. Let its roar wash over you. It takes courage to be in the mouth of the roaring lion. It isn’t easy to sit in a wave of strong emotion and just to let it be. But the next time that emotion comes, it will be more familiar. Soon the overload of stress begins to lessen as we attend to ourselves with the gentleness of acceptance and allowing.
This work is not about fixing yourself. Its about unconditional acceptance of your state of being at every moment, even your most difficult ones. However, you will find that there is a side-effect to this practice. When you bring your attention to the physical component of an emotion in this way, it will settle. This practice creates a connection between your mind and your body, and a left-brain/right-brain connection. You literally begin to create new neural pathways. You become more of an observer of your emotions, less controlled by your obscurations. This is the freedom that is sought in Buddhist practice. This is where healing really comes from!
There will always be opportunities to practice The Lion’s Roar, and each opportunity shows us our work still to be done. When we are besieged by our emotions, overwhelmed and anxious, we can use these feelings and emotions to initiate a healing response rather than reinforcing old set patterns of stimulus/reaction. Our poisons become our cures.
I like that this practice is done “on the spot.” I have found that going to my body’s wisdom when emotions arise is an effective stabilizing tool in my life. I no longer always react with uncontrolled emotion when a stimulus comes that triggers my past fears of abandonment or betrayal. My obscurations are now less likely to determine my way of being in the world. I can observe my felt sense, be grounded in my body, be present. And presence heals.
This is a method that works. The concept is simple, the work is perhaps the most challenging we may undertake. You will feel immediate benefit, and it is a lifelong study. If you work with this practice you will find that it will help you walk through the world with more balance, less stress and greater joy.
“Befriending emotions or developing compassion for those embarrassing aspects of ourselves, the ones that we think of as sinful, or bad, becomes the raw material, the juicy stuff with which we can work to awaken ourselves.” Pema Chodron, Start Where You Are
* Suggested Reading: A Path With Heart - by Jack Kornfield, Bantam Books; Start Where You Are - by Pema Chodron, Shambhala Press
Many of us live our lives in a state of stressful tension. Our systems are so overloaded with present and past stresses that it often doesn’t take much to carry us over the line and into an emotional crises. Emotions set off cascades of chemical reactions inside our bodies. It’s easy to get lost in an emotion, easy to allow it to have its way with us, to direct our thoughts into brooding, or to run self-justifying storylines in our minds. We can try to minimize the effects of strong emotions with denial, drugs, overwork, alcohol, stuffing them down, or acting them out. We can have a breakdown, we can blame, provoke, scream, and stamp our feet, or just suffer stoically. None of these will heal the pain of old wounds being singed in the fires of everyday life.
Buddhists refer to “obscurations” – energetic patterns that we carry with us that interfere with enlightened perception. Obscurations can be of many sorts, but they often find expression through our most intense emotions. With their built in patterns of perception and response, they can control our lives. There is an ancient practice called “maitri” which means “unconditional friendship with yourself.” In certain traditions it is considered the first step toward compassionate living. Compassion begins with compassion for ourselves. If you truly desire to be free of your obscurations and to make peace with your emotions, the following practice will be helpful. It is a tool, a way, an approach. You can use this tool at any time to soothe the agitated seas within and to heal old wounds.
When I first heard of this practice that uses my own emotional turmoil for healing, I thought, “Now, that’s something I can use!” And I have used it, extensively. It has touched my physical, emotional, mental and spiritual lives with a healing presence. This “good medicine” has brought deep relief from past traumas and stresses. It is called the Lion’s Roar … and for good reason!
Let’s begin when an emotion emerges. It may be loneliness, grief, anger, rage, guilt, anxiety, depression, despair, or hopelessness. It may emerge of its own accord or be triggered by an experience or an encounter with someone. So now, what’s to be done? With your attention, go to the physical sensations being generated in your body. With careful and kind attention, without judgment, interpretation or analysis, explore and experience the physical sensation going on in your body. Is it hot or cold? Hard, tight, or soft? Is it is vibrating or moving? Is it still? What is the texture of this sensation? What is its shape? What are the edges like? Allow yourself to simply experience the physical, bodily sensations. Let them be what they are. Don’t label your feelings, simply feel them. Ask yourself, “Where do I feel it in my body?” You might say, “In my stomach. And it’s about the size and shape of a grapefruit, or a disc.” Ask yourself, “How deep is it? What is it like inside? What color? Does it have a taste? Is it heavy?” Use all your powers of observation. When your mind wanders away, bring it back to your body and to your felt sense.
Do not run from the lion which is your inner turmoil, but rather go right to its physical component. Let its roar wash over you. It takes courage to be in the mouth of the roaring lion. It isn’t easy to sit in a wave of strong emotion and just to let it be. But the next time that emotion comes, it will be more familiar. Soon the overload of stress begins to lessen as we attend to ourselves with the gentleness of acceptance and allowing.
This work is not about fixing yourself. Its about unconditional acceptance of your state of being at every moment, even your most difficult ones. However, you will find that there is a side-effect to this practice. When you bring your attention to the physical component of an emotion in this way, it will settle. This practice creates a connection between your mind and your body, and a left-brain/right-brain connection. You literally begin to create new neural pathways. You become more of an observer of your emotions, less controlled by your obscurations. This is the freedom that is sought in Buddhist practice. This is where healing really comes from!
There will always be opportunities to practice The Lion’s Roar, and each opportunity shows us our work still to be done. When we are besieged by our emotions, overwhelmed and anxious, we can use these feelings and emotions to initiate a healing response rather than reinforcing old set patterns of stimulus/reaction. Our poisons become our cures.
I like that this practice is done “on the spot.” I have found that going to my body’s wisdom when emotions arise is an effective stabilizing tool in my life. I no longer always react with uncontrolled emotion when a stimulus comes that triggers my past fears of abandonment or betrayal. My obscurations are now less likely to determine my way of being in the world. I can observe my felt sense, be grounded in my body, be present. And presence heals.
This is a method that works. The concept is simple, the work is perhaps the most challenging we may undertake. You will feel immediate benefit, and it is a lifelong study. If you work with this practice you will find that it will help you walk through the world with more balance, less stress and greater joy.
“Befriending emotions or developing compassion for those embarrassing aspects of ourselves, the ones that we think of as sinful, or bad, becomes the raw material, the juicy stuff with which we can work to awaken ourselves.” Pema Chodron, Start Where You Are
* Suggested Reading: A Path With Heart - by Jack Kornfield, Bantam Books; Start Where You Are - by Pema Chodron, Shambhala Press
By Neil Pinholster RCST and Alexa MacDonald