How Intense Emotions can be no problem
- Bob Chiang
- Feb 12
- 2 min read
There is a great talk by Shinzen Young, recorded by Stephanie Nash, on how intense emotions can be no problem.
In the talk, Shinzen talks about the flavours of emotion. Before we can work skilfully with difficult emotions, we first have to be willing to allow them, to let the experience distil into its essential qualities.
For most people, when something unpleasant or challenging arises e.g. grief, fear, anxiety, even something as ordinary as impatience. The natural reaction is to push it away. We tighten against it. We resist.
Yet the ability to remain present with strong emotion lies at the heart of emotional intelligence, and mindfulness practice cultivates the skills that allow us to respond differently.
Shinzen describes how challenging emotions can feel overwhelming, as if they are everywhere, continuous through time, saturating our whole being. In those moments, it seems as though the emotion is us.
But when we learn to allow, to experience them fully, something begins to change.
If we stay present long enough for the experience to distil into its essence, that essence can begin to change, and convert into energy — an effervescent flow.
Instead of a solid, oppressive “thing,” the emotion reveals itself as movement.
Effortlessly arising.
Effortlessly collapsing.
What once felt fixed becomes fluid.
In this way, intense emotion need not be a problem. It becomes a process.
Not something to suppress.
Not something to dramatise.
But something to experience completely.
And in that completeness, there is freedom.
For the YouTube talk:
If you like the above article, and would like to learn to strengthen your emotional resilience through mindfulness, get in touch to enquire about coaching.
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