When the world feels like it is caving in around you

When the world feels like it is caving in around you, take a few slow deep breaths and step back. Everything seems so solid and real, but nothing is. We feel so solid and concrete, but we are not. Everything is like a dream. Things appear one way, but exist in another. This is similar to an image of a dear friend in a dream as we wake up. Where is my friend? She seemed so present. Oh, it was just a dream! This is the experience when one has studied and meditated on emptiness daily for many years. Coming out of meditation, things appear, but a deep conviction inside tells us they are not real. They take on an illusory-like quality. Everything is similar to a lucid dream where we know we are dreaming. This is freedom from the destructive emotions, without suppressing them.