THE TREE TRUNK 1

When I recognize a negativity arise - irritation or aggravation perhaps - and wish to stop it growing into anger or furious rage - I have developed the ability to remain calm, and blow it away. I can then deal with the situation without any emotions dealing with me.

With other negatives, it is sometimes harder to recognize them. I can usually see hatred or terror, but their seeds such as dislike, preference, anxiety, concern, and unease, are more difficult for me. This is where the tree comes in handy for my Buddhist practice.


I simply focus my mind on a solid tree trunk. I try to keep my mental actions as stable and unmoving as the trunk of the tree I visualize. This helps me to let the emotions and bad thoughts flow past, without moving me to wrong actions or thoughts.

As an example - my instant reaction to cooking a disaster instead of a pizza might be disgust, dislike, and not wanting to eat the meal - but if I 'tree-trunk' my mind I can take it bite by bite, without worrying myself about "Ew, that tomato is too hot, that cheese is too sloppy, the base is totally disgusting, I don't like cucumber on pizza".