The work of Emotional Wisdom examines internal experiences and its impact on ethical action. The work is an awareness practice that fosters presence, allowing us to reflect on our lives lovingly and develop our capacity to be more wise, human, and responsible in our interactions. One measure of Emotional Wisdom is our consistent capacity to establish and maintain clarity, stability, and wellbeing during difficult times.

Stress is fed through unawareness and inattention, and our response to emotional distress is often rooted in a deep groove of social programing. For example, when we find ourselves snagged in patterns of conflict with others or within our own minds, our perspective narrows as does our capacity to see and connect. We go into "I," "me," or "us and them" lockdown, and we can’t always figure out the distress on our own. Yet such discomfort can be a profound teacher. Why? Because it gets our attention.

Our practice then is to give our emotional distress wise attention. Without wise attention, or mindfulness, we habitually - and temporarily - relieve our distress by impulsively acting out or shutting down because we can't bear what is happening. In such reactivity, we interfere with and interrupt the opportunity to learn from the distress.

Another measure of Emotional Wisdom is our consistent capacity to recognize, tolerate, and welcome goodness, joy, and ease in our lives. This requires practices that soothe and rewire our mental programing and nervous system, allowing us to rest more in our own skin. Read More...