FINDING THE FEELING

Introduction:
As we begin this activity, find a comfortable position and get as quiet at possible. If you would
like, close your eyes.
Feel your breath in your body and just feel it's movement for three breaths.
(Short Pause.)
We'll be practicing paying attention to what we are feeling on the inside.
We'll pay special attention to where the feelings show up in the body.
Remember that we are just observing the sensations of the body aa they reflect the energy of
the feelings. We are not trying to change or cover up anything.
Remember that feeling are like waves that come and go. We can surf their waves.
Remember, too, that at any time you can bring you mind back to focus on your breath, using
your breath as an anchor to calm yourself.

Happiness:
Let's start with happiness.
See if you can experience what happiness feels like in your body.
To help you do this, you might remember a time when you felt happy.
(Pause.)
Notice the sensations in your body, perhaps in the area of the heart.
What are these sensations like?
Are they …warm, …light, …bright, …loud, or …soft like a whisper?
(Pause.)
As you sit here feeling happiness, be curious about this feeling.
Notice if it gets stronger or if it fades away.

Worry/Anger:
Now choose to investigate a mild but uncomfortable feeling, maybe worry or anger.
See if you can begin to experience worry or anger in your body.
Notice any sensations.
Perhaps in your belly, in your shoulders or back, in your forehead or jaw.
(Pause.)
What are the sensations like?
Are they …hot, …tight, …burning, …cold, …sharp?
Do they move around, or are they fixed?
(Pause.)
As you sit here, be curious about this feeling.
Notice if it gets stronger or if it fades away.
See if you can just observe it without covering it up.

Peacefulness:
Now bring to mind the feeling of peacefulness.
See if you can experience what peacefulness feels like in your body.
To do this, you might remember a time when you felt peaceful.
Notice the sensations in your body.
What are the sensations like?
Are they in one place or throughout your body?
(Pause.)
Be curious about this feeling.
Notice if it gets stronger or if it fades away.

Closing:
Notice the connections between your feelings and the sensations in your body.
Perhaps different feelings are connected to different sensations.
We can learn to notice the feelings and sensations, and watch them move and change.
We can also return our attention to a safe place, like the breath, when we want to feel more
balanced and secure.
Now return your attention to you breath, and focus on the movements of the breath at your
belly.

Afterward: Discuss the experience. Do not ask or expect adolescents to disclose the content of
any memories. Focus on the experience of emotions and bodily feelings. Ask the students to
recall if the emotion changed over the course of the practice or if they noticed different
sensations for different emotions.

MINDFULNESS OF FEELINGS
Now we are going to spend some time doing a short mindfulness practice to cultivate present-
moment attention. We’ll be paying attention to our breath.
We’ll also be practicing noticing and letting go of thoughts and feelings as we repeatedly bring
our attention back to our breath.
Remember that cultivating your attention will take practice. When you find that your attention
has wandered from your breath, gently but firmly escort it back to your breath—no matter how
often it happens.
We are practicing steadiness and balance.
So, putting down anything you might be holding—including any thoughts, worries, plans, or
images that are in your mind right now—sit back in your chair with your head, back, and neck
straight but not too stiff,
…with your shoulders relaxed and your hands comfortably placed in your lap,
…gently closing your eyes when your feel ready.
(Pause.)
Now becoming aware of the breath moving into and our of your body.
…just notice it wherever you can feel it in your body;
perhaps the sensations of breath moving past your nostrils,
…perhaps the rising and falling of your chest,
…perhaps the feeling of your belly expanding gently on each in-breath and deflating on each
out-breath
…just feeling the breath as it comes in and as it goes out,
…without trying to control the breath in any way,
…just letting the breath be as it is.
(Pause.)
Try to maintain awareness of the full breath from the beginning of the in-breath to the end of
the out-breath,
…and if your mind wanders, as it will, just bring your attention back to your nostrils or your
belly,
…being fully present and aware of each new breath.
(Pause.)
As your sit here watching your breath, you may notice thoughts coming into your mind.
You may also notice feeling arising.
See if you can notice when a feeling arises, perhaps a feeling related to an earlier activity.
See if you can notice the feeling in some part of your shoulders, your throat. Whenever it is,
just be aware of it.
(Longer Pause.)
Watch how it arises, is present for a while, and then passes away.
Be aware of how the feelings shift and change as you pay attention to them in your body.
(Longer Pause.)
You might think of feelings as surges of energy in your body,
…sometimes soft and quiet
…sometimes strong and intense,
…sometimes sharp and fast,
…sometimes slow.
Just see if you can observe all of these energies without getting too caught up in them.
As best you can right now, try not to react to judge any of your thoughts of feelings, but you
observe whatever comes into the space of your mind.
(Longer Pause.)
Just sit here as thoughts and feelings arise, are present for a while, and then fade away.