Yogi: I was calm and watching thoughts come and go; suddenly there was a negative thought about my daily life. I felt and saw the aversion and nothing special happened – I was happy about that.

Then the mind said that the thought would come again and again and the calm would go down.

I would like to rehearse and prepare for this repeating negative thought. Whenever I’m in that situation, I lose the calm and wise way of seeing it – I don’t want to have it and get impatient with it.

Is it possible to rehearse going through it again and again and discover all layers of what is going on?

Sayadaw: It will keep coming until you understand it. Welcome it so that you can understand it.

You won’t lose, you will profit from it. Let it come and you’ll learn something from it.

Just even being aware of it is a profit. Whether we’re aware of it or not, it’ll come.

Yogi: Can I rehearse it because I’m afraid of falling in the old patterns because I’m so used to reacting that way?

Sayadaw: Yes, you can rehearse but you’ll still find yourself getting carried away, but it is okay. Don’t be afraid – we’ve already got carried away so many times.

Now, you’ve set up an intention – you’ll remember to come out of it faster. You lose yourself and you’ll remember faster and you’ll remember faster and faster. And then, you’ll understand more and more.

Be willing to face it and then it’ll get better.