Meditating During A Freakout!

Have you ever had a freakout? Have you ever been on the recieving end of someone elses freakout? A common example is "road rage" which anyone stuck in traffic for a long time can probably palpate. Sometimes it is someone close to us who triggers our freakout or freaks out on us. I don't think I need to define freakout. Unless you come from another planet, you probably know what I'm talking about.

The question for meditators is... what use is sitting meditation and mindfulness in those situations? Does sitting and following your breath have an value in those moments? Well the answer seems to be that it can, yet that is up to us. For example, when you are in a driving freakout, or working with someone in a difficult situation of any kind, there is a tendency to enter a state of high anxiety with lots of mental activity and thoughts. Sometimes the thoughts become overwhelming and we may think "terrible" things. Meditation comes into play on a couple of levels.


Body

Connecting with body: it is possible to notice the state of your body in the middle of a freakout. You can notice the tension in your shoulders and face, the restriction in breathing, you can notice the environment. It is quite possible. Once you notice your state of physical tension, it is also possible to relax. You just have to take a breath and do it. Let the physical tension soften. There still may be a situation, yet our position in it has suddenly shifted by choosing to relax tension. This doesn't mean you stop relating to it, you may still be acting in response to a situation. The difference will be that rather than "re-acting", you can be "responding".

Mind

One thing about a freakout that is helpful, is that thoughts can get really LOUD. Sometimes we have to sit to see our thougths because they are kind of subtle. In sitting we can see them and relax, let go and observe the breath. It often takes sitting to develop clear seeing and relaxation with one's mindstream. Luckily, during a freakout the thoughts are SO LOUD that you don't need to sit to see them. Yet we can apply the recogition of the nature of thoughts in that moment. It is something we train in during sitting, which you can apply in the middle of the choas. So when the thougths get loud you can see then and say "A HA,  that's a thought". There is a gap suddenly between you and your thought, you can see it and see what it is. Then we don't have to act on the impulsive thoughts that tend to come up during a freakout which would be harmful. So, in a way, a freakout creates the intesity of mind that might allow you to recognize the nature of mind. You have to choose to practice with it.

So in short ... during a freak out

• notice your body tension
• breathe
• relax the physical tension 
•  look at your mind 

As to what effect this has during a freakout, there is only one way to find out.


Resource:
Link for instructions on sitting meditation:
http://nalandabodhi.org/courses/path-of-meditation/how-to-meditate