We spontaneously breathe in and out without effort but if we try and hold our breath, as Deepak Chopra always reminds me during meditations, we will suffocate. It is a similar process with emotion which causes feelings and sensations that naturally rise and fall naturally in our bodies. Sometimes we stifle this process, we hang onto emotion, particularly the stronger ones like anger, sadness, overwhelm, grief or fear. This is the equivalent of suffocation, the emotion is then held in our body, often causing tension, aches and pains. This emotion can overpower us, keep us stuck and ultimately will impact on our health.
So, how do we approach intense emotions so that they are acknowledged, processed and released, I hear you ask?
In my book Calm Through Chaos, there is a process which helped me understand and release my emotions. I hope that this (or an aspect of it) will assist you in your journey. If you are struggling please don’t hesitate to get professional help with processing your emotions.
Acknowledge the emotion – simply stop and admit that you are experiencing emotion/s.
Identify the emotion – name the emotion or emotions that you are experiencing.
Examine it – where is it sitting in your body? How does it feel? What is its temperature? Is it pulsating or still? Really explore it. Be curious about it.
Progress it – write about it, do a physical activity such as walking, or get some help with processing it either from a professional or a friend or family member, spend some time using aids such as essential oils or music to help you work out what is going on or try an energy healing modality such as kinesiology, reiki or sound healing.
Messages – does it have a message for you? What can you learn from it?
Release – let it go, I find an exercise of picking a handful of seeds, pods, leaves etc. and throwing them away, to be symbolic of the process of releasing and I usually speak out loud about what I am doing and what it is that I am releasing. I do this on my walks, but you can do it anywhere.
Consciousness/Awareness – finding a new level of awareness and understanding that propels you forward.
Humour – a good sense of humour is critical throughout this process, I tend to get too serious, or like to think that my wicked sense of humour takes a holiday, so this is often an add-on for me, a reminder that jolts me out of my seriousness, brings my humour back from vacation and results in a deep belly laugh that is probably the best medicine ever and can be a great release. Remember this when you are processing your emotions (often these are the heavier emotions, don’t forget your lighter emotions and use them to help along the way). Keep things light! Light! Light! There is always a lighter or a funnier side to things. Find it!
Calm Through Chaos, Tracy Busse
Love always
Tracy
e-mail: tracy@waveformconsulting.com
Waveform Consulting 