The ability to stay with the experience of our emotions as feelings. This involves allowing our attention to stay with the raw sensation of emotional energy without diverting off into thinking about, or acting out.

This involves allowing space in breath, posture and awareness. This “suffering out”, as Myokyo-ni described the process, allows us to stay present to our situation. Our emotional energy remains to fulfil the potential of the moment rather than being teased away into some explicating “issue”.

At it’s best FF becomes a play of engaged emotion. This requires of the players, at least during these moments, the ability of emotional capacitance, a staying-with our feeling.

This then is a training. A training we may both carry into, and from our lives outside the practice space.

When my reaction to feeling is to slip into thought that is when I slip out of touch with both you and I. The play falters.

Of course, this happens time and again to us as we play, but the challenge, and the discipline of FF, is to throw my self back into the savouring of feeling as soon as I notice this slippage.