Day Thirty-Two: Going for Real Emotional Peace and Freedom

We have had various experiences, and usually have ourselves locked into a narrow box, our interpretation of that experience. What if we began to uses our imaginations to stretch our heart and feeling and understanding of these events? Could that lead to an amazing inner peace?

Take some event in your life that was a “little bit” on the “bad” side. Not a major trouble area, but something that you have in the category of Not So Great. Or maybe Sort of Awful.

For that event write a very, very short 3 to 5 sentence rundown of what happened in this Not So Great event.

Then look at your sentences and feel what you usually feel. Write down your overall impression of that event.

Now, look at these sentences and give yourself another way of perceiving this than what you have sentenced yourself to all along.

Look at this event as interesting. Look at it as tragic. Look at it as amusing. Look at it as wonderful. Look at it as awful. Look at it is funny. Look at it as a big mistake. Look at it as a Gift. Look at it as a setback. Look at it as a great stimulus.

Obviously, different viewpoints will be a hard fit, and so what, this is to stretch us. Change means change means change.

If we always perceive things as we always perceived this, we are stuck. High functioning robot. Low functioning robot. Somewhere in between. But not free. Not awake. Not fully alive.

Anyway, look at the “sort of bad” event in many ways, and then come back to your body and your breathing and sensing yourself, and try to, play with this: look at the event just as What Is. Or What Was. Just as an event, without any up down or sideways take on it. Just pure experience.

And then take a little rest. Walk. Breathe. Smile. Drink some water.

Okay, now take an event that was “Sort of Good.” And run it through all the possibilities.

Then look at this event without any interpretation.

Rest between sections. Maybe walk. Maybe re-do one of the awareness and movement games we’ve done so far in this book.

Next: take a “Medium Bad” episode and run it through the options. Be sure to include, this was a Curse. And this was a Blessing. Then look at this event without any interpretation.


Rest, walk, move, draw, garden.

Back: Take a “Medium Good” time, and see it as Grand, as Awful, as Liberating, as Stifling, and as all the above possibilities and more you can think of. Then look at this event without any interpretation.

Rest. And if you are ready, take a “Really Bad” event, and let it go through your mind as Awful, and a Curse, and Wonderful and a Blessing. As the Worst thing that ever happened to you. And as the Best thing that ever happened to you. As tragedy. As comedy. As crippling. As liberating. As punishment. As gift.

Then look at this event without any interpretation. Make breathing and knowing your are breathing and sensing and being present the highest priority, from which you can scan back as see this event as just pure “happening.”


And now, after another rest, go about your day looking at everything as either something you can interpret one two three or more ways, and as something you can just experience without interpretation.

Judge not that ye not be judged. Somehow this fits in here. See if you can grasp this in a deep and nonverbal way.

Good.