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A great friend of mine recently told me about his approach to dealing with traumatic personal experiences. When his emotions are running hot during an intense period in his life, he finds it helpful to let himself feel the given emotion quite physically; like, he really feels it in his body. Whatever emotion is raised -- be it anger, anxiety, fear, stress, whatever -- he lets it settle into his body wherever it feels the most natural and then without judgement, or trying to dispel the feeling, he lets it work itself through his body however it sees fit. Sometimes it's painful, sometimes it's liberating. It all depends on the quality of the emotion and how tightly it's wrapped around our consciousness.
It's a useful visualization. For those of us who feel like we're stuck in the muck; unable to change; hung up on events, however traumatic, from our past; crippled by a perceived inability to move forward in our lives -- maybe there's some latent emotion that hasn't had the opportunity to work its way all the way through our system yet. It's probably something deep down that we've suppressed from our past, maybe even for years. We have to let that emotion come up, see the light of day, realize itself fully in our wakeful consciousness, and fulfill its natural course before ultimately leaving us.
It does eventually have to leave us, though. At some point, we have to let it go. If it doesn't leave us, if it doesn't release its hold on our ongoing thoughts, habits and actions, then we remain stuck. And we bring to a halt any apparent forward momentum we may have been building up over time. Not letting go of these suppressed emotions can cripple us indefinitely: it can impair our judgement, impede our clear seeing, and hold us back from realizing our natural potential. At some point, we must let go. And be free.
It's a useful visualization. For those of us who feel like we're stuck in the muck; unable to change; hung up on events, however traumatic, from our past; crippled by a perceived inability to move forward in our lives -- maybe there's some latent emotion that hasn't had the opportunity to work its way all the way through our system yet. It's probably something deep down that we've suppressed from our past, maybe even for years. We have to let that emotion come up, see the light of day, realize itself fully in our wakeful consciousness, and fulfill its natural course before ultimately leaving us.
It does eventually have to leave us, though. At some point, we have to let it go. If it doesn't leave us, if it doesn't release its hold on our ongoing thoughts, habits and actions, then we remain stuck. And we bring to a halt any apparent forward momentum we may have been building up over time. Not letting go of these suppressed emotions can cripple us indefinitely: it can impair our judgement, impede our clear seeing, and hold us back from realizing our natural potential. At some point, we must let go. And be free.
