Week 49 - Email as Practice

Week 49 Activity 

EMAIL AS PRACTICE 

Email is now such an integral part of our lives that it's a 

great activity to use as "practice." Whether personal or 

work-related, an email is a message from another person, 

which lands in our personal space without warning. This 

may be a pleasant surprise if it's someone we want to hear 

from, but less welcome messages can tip us into a difficult place. 

And, of course, some emails are just routine and 

don't affect us either way. 

Using email as practice is an opportunity for us to pay close attention to those sensations of liking, not liking, and being neutral. Once we have brought that moment of interpretation into awareness, we are more likely to be able to choose how we respond and so affect what happens what next. This is helpful in terms of our relationship with the senders of the email, but also has a wider benefit in terms of our practice in general, as it is an opportunity to practice being with and responding to a range of emotions.

When you look at those unread emails in your Inbox, with different subjects and senders, notice how you are responding. Is it with a lift of the heart or a smile, or perhaps a clenching in the stomach and a tightening of the shoulders? Ask yourself what is happening in the body, and what you are noticing in terms of thoughts and emotions. Naming what is present can be helpful, as can keeping the attention on the breath and the feet on the floor if you notice a strong response.

Notice how you interpret particular emails. Staying in the present moment can help to ground us and remind us that our interpretation is influenced by our frame of mind, so if we are feeling stressed or down we are more likely to interpret something negatively (and vice versa, if we are feeling happy). If you notice a particularly negative train of thought with a harsh, judgmental tone, that's a red flag, reminding you to step back and ask yourself whether your response is appropriate.

Use body awareness as a cue so that you become aware of your posture. For example, you might be hammering out a reply. Notice, then pause. If you can, type a reply and keep it in draft form until you have a chance to re-read it in a more positive frame of mind.

It can be helpful to remind ourselves that people often write emails on the move, not necessarily taking care with words or phrases and often not reading things back before sending. Different nationalities also follow different email etiquette. Consequently, the content might be read very differently from the way the sender intended. This is also important to remember when you are sending or reading emails on your phone or tablet, or when you are writing to people of different nationalities.

Make a note of what you discover.

Here is the link to The Breathing Space, Page  88.