“Your Daily Dose” is a quick two minute read packed with bite-sized wisdom from all the great teachers. But you could also choose to turn it into something more… a powerful daily practice for personal growth. Give it a try!
A message from today’s meditation:
Imagine holding a precious gem up to the light. You turn it slowly, inspecting its every facet, its beauty unveiled with each new angle. This is what it’s like to become the effortless observer – the practice of being able to hold your thoughts and emotions up to the light, and by turning them over being able to see them from all perspectives.
“The observer” is the strongest and wisest part of YOU, that empowers you to navigate your inner world and also the world around you, with newfound freedom.
“In the beginning you will fall into the gaps in between thoughts – after practicing for years, you become the gap.” – J. Kleykamp
“When you’re centered, your emotions are not hijacking you.” – Ray Dalio
The goal is not to manage your emotions. The goal is to manage how you respond to your emotions. – pierre –
If you were not able to change the fact that you experience emotions… if for the foreseeable future you are likely to continue feeling the exact same feelings that you do… would you be able to make peace with that reality?
Let me shine the light from a slightly different angle – if you continue to experience the same emotions but you have managed to change how you feel toward those emotions… would that be helpful?
Ray Dalio’s words about not being hijacked by your emotions doesn’t mean not feeling the “feels”, but being in a space where you can take a step back and look at those feelings, without being captured by them. Like holding a gem up to the light so you can inspect it from all the angles.
How do you find that space? The space of freedom in which you can hold up a feeling and take an honest look at it, not to judge it but to understand it?
This is the space that J. Kleykamp talks about: “falling into the gaps between thought”. Realizing that a thought is something we can stand apart from and observe. It is from this space between thoughts – where we realize “the thought is not who I am” – that we can take a look at the thought and the emotion, and become interested in understanding how this is created. And by looking, and understanding, a new/different response to our emotions becomes possible. With practice that space grows bigger until we become the gap, and being the curious observer of our thoughts and feelings becomes our default state. There are many possible paths to this destination, but the most guaranteed route that I know is daily meditation. Becoming the effortless observer of your own emotional state, is a sure outcome if you stick to it.
Mantras for self-reflection:
- “I am not my thoughts or emotions; I am the observer of them.”
- “Today, I will choose to observe my emotions with curiosity, not judgment.”
- “With each breath, I create space to understand myself better.”
By committing to daily self-observation, you’ll unlock a new level of freedom. You’ll become the master of your emotional landscape, responding with grace and wisdom instead of being hijacked by your feelings. Remember, this is a journey, not a destination. Embrace the process, and enjoy the ever-expanding space of awareness that awaits you.
Have a beautiful day gorgeous humans!
– pierre –
Today’s LIVE meditation is: The observer.
https://youtu.be/4m7VWnSoqmg 2026
https://youtu.be/eWML312xcoY 2024
https://youtu.be/Ao_boSuahLk 2023
https://youtu.be/3fuVerxb-2M 2022
Today’s LIVE meditation
Practice the “Daily Dose”
Let’s put it into practice! Choose what works for you – daily, once a week or whenever inspiration strikes. Putting pen to paper wires the neural pathways that will create your new habits.
1 – Affirmation
Write down your favourite affirmation on a sticky note and place it somewhere that you’ll be able to see it the whole day.
- “I am not my thoughts or emotions; I am the observer of them.”
- “Today, I will choose to observe my emotions with curiosity, not judgment.”
- “With each breath, I create space to understand myself better.”
2 – A moment of reflection
Use today’s question as a journal prompt. If you don’t have the time to sit down and write, just take a moment to reflect on your response.
The author asks, “…if you continue to experience the same emotions but you have managed to change how you feel toward those emotions… would that be helpful?” Reflect on this question. Can you identify an emotion you currently experience that might feel less overwhelming if you could simply shift your internal attitude or perspective towards it, without the emotion itself changing?
3 – Quotes to share
Send a quote to someone who needs it, or share them all on social media to spread the good vibes!
4 – Q&A for deeper learning
Read through the questions and answers and write down at least one “aha moment” that clicked for you.
Q1. What does it mean to be an “effortless observer” of my emotional state?
Being an effortless observer means you can notice your emotions without immediately getting caught up in them. Like holding a gem up to the light, you can turn your attention to your feelings, inspect their different facets, and understand them with a sense of detachment and curiosity, rather than being overwhelmed by them.
Q2. How does the idea of “falling into the gaps between thoughts” relate to observing emotions?
“Falling into the gaps between thoughts,” as J. Kleykamp describes, refers to becoming aware of the space between your thoughts. This space allows you to realize that a thought or an emotion is something you can stand apart from and observe, rather than identifying with it completely. From this space, you can look at your emotions with more clarity and understanding.
Q3. The article mentions managing responses to emotions rather than managing the emotions themselves. What’s the difference?
Managing emotions often implies trying to control or suppress what you feel. Managing your response to emotions means acknowledging the feeling without judgment and then consciously choosing how you react. Even if you can’t change the emotion itself, you can change your behavior and your internal experience related to that emotion.
Q4. What if I feel like I can’t change the emotions I experience? How can this perspective help me?
The article suggests considering whether you could make peace with experiencing the same emotions if you could change how you feel towards those emotions. This shift in focus can be empowering. Instead of fighting the feelings themselves, which can be exhausting, you can work on developing a more accepting and understanding relationship with them.
Q5. How can daily meditation help me become a better observer of my emotions?
Daily meditation trains your ability to focus and be present. Through practice, you become more attuned to your internal states, including your thoughts and emotions, as they arise. This consistent practice helps to create the “gap” between you and your feelings, allowing you to observe them with more ease and less attachment.
Q6. What does it mean to say, “I am not my thoughts or emotions; I am the observer of them”?
This mantra highlights the idea that your identity is separate from the transient thoughts and feelings that pass through you. You are the awareness, the space in which these experiences occur. Recognizing this distinction can create a sense of freedom and prevent you from being defined or controlled by your emotional states.
Q7. What is the ultimate goal of practicing this kind of self-observation?
The goal is to unlock a new level of freedom in your emotional landscape. By becoming the effortless observer, you can move from being “hijacked” by your feelings to responding with greater grace and wisdom. With practice, being the curious observer becomes your default state, allowing you to navigate your inner and outer world with more presence and understanding.