Question: How do you interrupt strong feelings of anger/emotion in the moment?

Is it possible to use mindfulness techniques to interrupt my emotions? Is that a bad thing to do? I've been meditating for a year but I still find myself triggered by strong emotions. 

First of all, not matter how long you have been practicing mindfulness, you are going to have strong emotions. Strong emotions are what make life wonderful and beautiful. You can not have high wonderful feelings like love without their inverse. That is to be human and is beautiful. 

But, it is no fun to be trapped in negative emotions and our thinking when we are angry is not to be trusted at all. Thoughts when angry might sound correct, but they should be trusted about as much as you trust thoughts when you are very drunk, totally high or in any other very strongly altered state. 

Here is what I do. I sometimes use a hand tally counter for my thoughts when I meditate. (f you don't know what a hand tally counter is, do a google image search). I will use the hand counter tally for 10 minutes while I meditate. I find that when I do that I am aware of how many different thoughts I can have in 10 minutes. Easily 30 or more! 

So when I notice anger coming up and I notice I'm stuck on a thought I loosen my mind. I remember that normally my thoughts flow freely in and out of my mind. I choose to let myself step off the anger train and back into the place where thoughts originate. 

 From all my experience of letting go of an average of one thought every 3-5 seconds, I know that anger is just another thought and that I can let go. 

My anger (and therefore angry feelings) may come back at another time, but I know if there’s wisdom in it I’m going to feel a sense of calm and peace and rightness about the thought which is different, even if there is still is also some calm anger with the thought.

The feelings are just a shadow of the thought. I don't need to pay attention to how they feel. I can acknowledge them and then know they will pass after my thoughts return to their babbling state. 

But it’s not like I can try to force it. It’s more just the awareness that allows me to allow it happen by letting go of "my" personal thoughts are returning to a meditative state. Unlike meditation (which is like training wheels) it will happen when it does and might take time. That's just life. 

And if there is one thing that helps me be more regular with meditation is that I know it is the gym for my brain. It is where I teach myself that I can let go of thoughts. And feelings are only thoughts. So I can also let go of feelings. This is why I practice meditation. 

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