'What do you mean by feel the feelings that arise? How do I do that?' Listener question

All this talk in the REST course of sitting with discomfort and feeling what is asking to be felt has made me realize that I really haven’t a clue how exactly to do this.

From my earliest childhood I remember my emotions were problematic for my mother who often told me, “Don’t be like that.” I could see my emotions were frequently in turn annoying or too needy or overwhelming or terrifying for her to deal with. My father, while kind, was mostly emotionally absent in my life. 

Having no real role models for dealing with feelings, I turned to food at a young age and still use it to numb and cope. 

Another strategy I’ve employed my whole life is to journal about feelings. 

Now when I hear you talk about exploring the edges of the identified mind’s comfort zones, I’m wondering how exactly to do this? 

When I try to sit with  feelings I find myself trying to name them and narrating the experience. Or I write about them and similarly find myself involved with choosing the closest labels. Inevitably this leads to writing words that invent and describe the psychology of the system, complete with numerous finger-pointing stories.

Intuitively this feels more removed than what you’re describing. That the words are a dodge, a movement away from feeling them.

It is a little embarrassing to ask, but what do you mean by and how to feel the feelings that arise? How are they witnessed when they’ve been blocked out by the system for most of my life?  I would appreciate any pointers you could offer.