There is a concept that we can use which has to do with how we talk to ourselves in our own heads. Emotions, both negative and positive come up for us. It is said that emotions that are positivive are based on love and those that are negative and feel bad are from fear. Ultimately there are only two emotions, love and fear. Often we fear the future of dwell on the past in our heads. We have emotions come up within our daily lives and which sometimes do not feel good. We may want these emotions to simply go away. We may even push them down by distracting ourselves or pretending they are not there. But the more we do not accept an emotion we are having, the bigger the emotion has to impact us in order to get our attention. The static or discord from negative emotion will be louder in our being so we notice, and emotion is serving a purpose.
How to Deal with Challenging Emotions as They Come Up
“Emotional unconditionality” is a way to work with our emotions, to shift them, and also honor them and honor ourselves for having them, whatever they are. We have a unique emotional history that leads us to a feeling we have in a moment, ie our emotional experience. Our emotional feeling is a direct result of where we have been on our journey in our life and whatever the emotion is, and it is perfect for us and being an indicator. An indicator is something to take note of that tells us about ourselves. Also, emotion is not who we are. It is not static, or permanent. Emotion is visiting, being an indicator and giving us something to move through. We absolutely will move through it.
Bringing awareness to our emotional state of being, and noticing it is the first thing. The second thing is to be curious, to be an observer of the self having the emotion, as a witness to ourselves feeling yet also completely neutral without judging the emotion or ourselves. Now the most important part in this is “emotional unconditionality” which means to simply unconditionally love ourselves in the moment we are experiencing a difficult emotion. Too often, when we feel something, we judge ourselves. We think we are wrong for feeling whatever it is we are feeling. We feel guilty or wrong for emotion that we are having which is often the result of emotional pain within.
Energy in Motion
What helps us move emotion? Emotion has been called e-motion as in "energy in motion." Loving ourselves with a load of self-compassion for our feelings while not making them wrong is a means to moving the energy. Emotion is showing where energy is stuck inside of us. It is not who we are. It is not wrong.
Perhaps we feel that we need to be or present as a positive person, a high vibrational person who doesn't feel anger, sadness, grief, despair, sorry for ourselves, jealousy, or frustration. As humans, we feel these and more. We have wide emotional spectrums of feeling. See them as colors of the rainbow, and experiences for us to have in our human form. Our human self may be struggling with them, yet our soul self or higher non-physical self might enjoy the juiciness of the emotion that we are feeling because it takes us deep. Emotions are visitors that come and then go. All that arises is on its way out.
The Guest House
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice.
meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.
Be grateful for whatever comes.
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
— Jellaludin Rumi,
translation by Coleman Barks
I love how feelings are guides in this poem. I love how feeling something clears the way for more delight. Meeting a feeling laughing is to meet the feeling with some lightness, as if you are watching yourself and also having the feeling. No need to own emotion. Just welcome it, learn from it and move through it, as e-motion, or energy in motion.
Wishing everyone a wonderful new year with many joyous spaces and authentic being who you are and celebrating yourself in all that you are,
Shivrael Luminance River
http://www.akashicintuitive.com blog, and with a New Akashic Workshop in Guatemala happening soon.
