Control of emotions has been an essential part of human education throughout our history being an essential factor for the survival of the human population and culture. Such education was mostly based on religious authority or other ideological foundations. However, in the 20th century the authority of such ideologies were strongly undermined along with their moral codes. Expressing certain formerly suppressed emotions became a kind of a norm. As a result, the skills required to deal with our emotions was lost. In the West today, living in a relatively safe environment without much physical hardship has made disturbing emotions the front-runner among our negative experiences. Hypersensitivity to emotions and our inability to handle them leads to accepting a victim position, while the role of the executor is unconsciously projected onto someone who seems to directly or indirectly provoke these emotions. Almost automatically it brings an aggressive reaction towards the "offender" and an endless war begins… even though the emotion itself remains inside and its painful consequences are not relieved.

This workshop presents the basic principles and techniques of dealing with one's own emotions through the contemplative approach. This allows us to separate our internal experience from those external factors that seems to provoke disturbing emotions. By treating them as just another internal event, we accept the position of an explorer of our emotions rather than its victim. Gradually we can learn to discover & recognize the signals that help us to discriminate, to study and finally to approach our experience in a skillful way, healing & relieving pain rather than fighting it. To apply this method, we need to develop such qualities as a stable mindful presence, discipline and finally the courage to face our own demons single-handed.