The goal isn't to be a robot, so if emotions and feelings arise, simply feel them. It's the reflective self-referential function of mind that starts thinking about feelings after they arise. It's what makes us second-guess what's going on. Stick with what's real, and give the imaginary a wide berth.
We all know how thinking can generate feelings (ie. "Every time I think about (remember) what he said to me, I get mad!), but one of Jan's points was that feelings often precede thinking and result from a direct interaction with reality. IOW, feelings are real, and what happens afterwards depends upon whether the feelings are simply felt or the mind decides to get into the game. I'll write more about this later, and try to give a lot of specific examples.
Ram Dass's advice, somewhat modified, seems applicable, "Be here now, non-reflectively." Imagine living the same life you're living now without any thought of yourself. Pure action, pure awareness, pure being, pure love--watching your children play, playing with your children, going to work, interacting with people at work, looking at the world while driving home, walking into the house, helping your wife in the kitchen, talking to her, loving her, ---just being what you are without reflection. No Max at all; just THIS! If life is lived like this, feelings and emotions will definitely arise and be expressed through the body/mind (probably with greater intensity than usual).
We all know how thinking can generate feelings (ie. "Every time I think about (remember) what he said to me, I get mad!), but one of Jan's points was that feelings often precede thinking and result from a direct interaction with reality. IOW, feelings are real, and what happens afterwards depends upon whether the feelings are simply felt or the mind decides to get into the game. I'll write more about this later, and try to give a lot of specific examples.
Ram Dass's advice, somewhat modified, seems applicable, "Be here now, non-reflectively." Imagine living the same life you're living now without any thought of yourself. Pure action, pure awareness, pure being, pure love--watching your children play, playing with your children, going to work, interacting with people at work, looking at the world while driving home, walking into the house, helping your wife in the kitchen, talking to her, loving her, ---just being what you are without reflection. No Max at all; just THIS! If life is lived like this, feelings and emotions will definitely arise and be expressed through the body/mind (probably with greater intensity than usual).
