imperial psychologist

Chapter 84 The Man in Shackles
Berlin continued, "In mindfulness practice, we have a default premise—the problem itself is not the problem, but our perception of the problem creates the problem."

Qu's eyes drooped slightly, and he silently recited this sentence several times in his heart.

Seemingly suddenly, she faintly sensed something, but couldn't say why for a while, so she looked at Bai Ling more intently, waiting for her next words.

"Taking the example just now, the problem we encountered was that Lu Yu's friend ignored our overtures. This incident itself was nothing, but our interpretation of it aroused various emotions in us. This kind of interpretation is extremely fast, it is not the result of our rational thinking, but more inclined to our emotional instinct.

"Such unreasonable beliefs will arouse our anger, embarrassment, and anxiety before we realize what the event itself means... This kind of automatic thinking that flows down the river directly brings about many unpleasant things. The necessary painful experience can even lead to real contradictions and dilemmas."

"Ah..." Baoyuan looked at Bai Ling in front of him, "Sometimes it happens like this, when encountering some trivial matters, I get annoyed all at once..."

"Yes." Bo Ling said with a smile, "Now, we can continue to look at the guidance of mindfulness. I think the purpose of this exercise is easy to understand at this moment, so let's take this part Tell me—”

Bo Ling pointed to a certain part of the guide, and several people lowered their heads to look at it.

……
-
Turn your attention to your calves, and stay here for a moment;
-
Be aware of the contact between the calf and the ground, the surface of the skin, the inside of the calf... be aware of all sensations in the limbs;
-
Now, inhale deeply, and as you exhale, bring your attention to your knees, not with "thinking", but directly with all the sensations in your knees;-
Then take another deep breath, and as you exhale, let your attention go from your knees to your thighs—
What do you notice here? -
Maybe you find that what you are visualizing at this moment is already something else, such as a certain sound around you at this moment?Or is it a heaviness and discomfort somewhere in the body?It's okay, just be aware of the thought in the moment, let it go, and bring your attention back to your breath.

……

Zheng Shu and Bao Yuan quickly glanced over the part Bo Ling pointed out, and both of them frowned because of their concentration.

Bo Ling: "Actually, if you think about it carefully, during the whole body scanning process, you are doing the same thing from the beginning to the end - that is, follow the prompts, concentrate on and feel your breath or a certain part of your body uninterrupted. Part. This matter is easy to say, but since you have practiced with the empress this afternoon, you should already know how difficult it is."

"That's right," Bao Yuan nodded, "I'm always distracted, or dozed off halfway through..."

"Then you can try to practice standing up next time, so you won't fall asleep easily." Bai Ling said with a smile, "This exercise is very important, because its real core essence is actually to let you understand all the thoughts that are flowing in your mind at the moment, This is what makes it most difficult for beginners."

Be aware.

Qu Shi was thoughtful, and slightly closed his eyes.

Bo Ling said again, "Look, during this process, the guide will constantly remind you where you should focus your attention at this moment, and it will constantly make you realize that every time you wander, you are thinking What—this kind of reminder will allow you to see clearly those thoughts that suddenly arise in your inadvertently. And the awareness of these thoughts is itself an interruption of automatic thinking.”

Qu's eyes lighted up slightly, and she couldn't explain her unclear thoughts just now, but she finally became clear at this moment, she sighed with emotion for a moment, and said softly, "People always have to see clearly how they are trapped before they can escape from some kind of shackles. Liberation..."

Bai Ling laughed in surprise, "Your Majesty understood it really quickly."

"This...is it useful?" Zheng Shu touched it for a while, "After practicing this, will you be able to stay calm?"

Bo Ling smiled, "Of course not."

Zheng Shu showed a embarrassed expression, "Then what's the use of being aware of your own thoughts."

"It will set you free," Burling replied.

free……?
Zheng Shu's eyes became a little puzzled again, but before she could ask again, Qu Shi who was on the side had already let out a long sigh.

"Ma'am, what's the matter?" Bao Yuan asked.

"It's okay, I just feel..." Qu's voice gradually lowered, and suddenly stopped there. She looked at Bai Ling, and for a moment she didn't know how to express what was in her heart.

"Your Majesty, do you think—"

"Grandma Shu," Bai Ling interrupted with a smile, "give your mother a little time, let her think about it first?"

Zheng Shu was slightly startled, but she had no choice but to nod her head, swallowing what she wanted to say.

This feeling made Zheng Shu strange and a little nervous.

Perhaps she didn't even realize that she, who had been immersed in the palace for many years, was almost instinctively afraid of such a long silence in the conversation.

When the masters are speechless, how does she, as a servant, handle the situation skillfully, reveal what the masters didn't say clearly, how to whitewash the peace with the most insignificant words... For her, , is already a deep-rooted instinct.

This is not only a housekeeping skill as a servant, but also a life-saving method that can teach people how to survive in a critical moment.

But here and now, she could only endure the flustered panic, and waited with Bai Ling for the concubine's own answer.

This time, Qu thought for a long time.

"I was just wondering what you mean by 'freedom'..." Qu said suddenly.

Bai Ling nodded, "What do you think the empress means?"

Qu slowly sat up straight, her gaze passed through the three people in front of her, and she looked towards the window.

"Anything in this world, 'I can only do this' is completely different from 'I choose to do this'. Being coerced to move forward is also completely different from gritting your teeth and choosing to move forward..."

Qu's voice was very low, she sighed again, then looked back at Bo Ling, "Is freedom in shackles still freedom?"

"This question is difficult to answer." Bo Ling said slowly, "But I remembered a sentence I heard before."

"what?"

"'The more you understand, the more you suffer. The more you know, the more you tear... But one has a clarity that corresponds to pain, and a tenacity that balances despair'..."

As soon as Bai Ling finished speaking, Qu Shi had already started laughing. She lowered her eyes and said softly, "Maybe, but... Maybe there is no one in the world who doesn't wear shackles."

After staying in Qu's bedroom for about half an hour, Bo Ling came out alone with the wine.

Today, Zheng Shu and Bao Yuan are still sleeping in the same room as the imperial concubine, so she can temporarily stay in the bedroom of the east side hall for another night.

Back in the house, Bo Ling didn’t turn on the lights, but walked towards the window on the east side in the dark — outside there was the thick wall of Chengqian Palace. The grass in the cracks overturned.

Bo Ling opened the window, put the wine on the window sill, and imitated the voice of the lark, calling a few times to the night sky above his head.

(End of this chapter)