"Reconciliation: Healing the Inner Child" by Thich Nhat Hanh.
The Function of Mindfulness
"First function of mindfulness is to recognize and NOT TO FIGHT. We can stop at any time and become aware of the child within us. When we recognize the wounded child for the first time, all we need to do is be aware of him or her and say hello. That's all. Perhaps this child is sad. If we notice this we can just breathe in and say to ourselves, "breathing in, I know that sorrow has manifested in me. Hello, my sorrow. Breathing out, I will take good care of you."
"Once we have recognized our inner child, the second function of mindfulness is to embrace him or her. This isa very pleasant practice. Instead of fighting our emotions, we are taking good care of ourselves. Mindfulness brings with her an ally - concentration. The first few minutes of recognizing and embracing our inner child with tenderness will bring some relief. The difficult emotions will still be there, but we won't suffer as much anymore."
"After recognizing and embracing our inner child, the third function of mindfulness is to soothe and relieve our difficult emotions. Just by holding this child gently we are soothing our difficult emotions and we can begin to feel at ease. When we embrace our strong emotions with mindfulness and concentration, we'll be able to see the roots of these mental formations. We'll know where our suffering has come from. When we see the roots of things our suffering will lessen. So mindfulness recognizes, embraces and relieves."
"The energy of mindfulness contains energy of concentration as well as the energy of insight. Concentration helps us focus on just one thing. With concentration, the energy of looking becomes more powerful and insight is possible. Insight always has the power of liberating us. If mindfulness is there, and we know how to keep mindfulness alive, concentration will be there, too. And if we know how to keep concentration alive, insight will also come. The energy of mindfulness enables us to look deeply and gain the insight we need that transformation is possible." Thich Nhat Hanh
Wow. I love that mindfulness brings concentration and concentration brings insight!
