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03/10/2004
Entry: "What Are You Feeling?-Lesson 2."
Some people wallow in feelings that just "come over" them and seem to be the only reality they can deal with. Some people seem to operate solely from their mind without feelings at all. Most people are somewhere in between those two polarities. Neither your thoughts nor your feelings are who you really are, but you can bet that when you are stuck in a problem of some kind, you are in a TRANCE, having the experience of BEING your thinking or BEING your feelings (or both). There is a way to become unstuck and achieve the best possible state of awareness and effectiveness. First you must break the TRANCE no matter how intense it is and no matter how much you are experiencing it as "reality."
We dealt with thinking last time. This time we will work with feelings. First, feelings are neither bad nor good. They are just part of our guidance system in life. When we are experiencing our feelings, we are in touch with a higher wisdom telling us we need to address some situation outside ourself or some internal experience that needs healing. Whenever a feeling seems unusually large or small in relationship to the problem at hand, there is usually an inner wound from the past adding energy to the emotion and creating a more difficult situation. Because the extra energy is from the past (not the now) and because it is so big that it overpowers our personality and runs the show, I call that a TRANCE. It limits our responses to a regressed mode of operation. When we are centered in peace, our feelings are manageable and the best possible actions result. We continue to evolve into a higher state of awareness and personal power. That does not mean we don't have emotions regarding our situations. It simply means we are NOT our feelings. AND yet our feelings are indicating a need to pay attention and center ourselves in a relaxed body. Doing so allows our minds to devise a healthy strategy for addressing the problem or getting appropriate help from someone outside the problem. It also allows us to discern who has the knowledge and skills to elevate the resolution to its best possible course rather than taking sides or making us right.
As before you must be able to OBSERVE your emotional state rather than being that state. Observing your emotional state, put a one-word label on it. Sad, Angry, Afraid,Ashamed, Shy,etc.
Lesson 2.
This week spend time each day to OBSERVE your feelings in a present situation or one from the past 24 hours. Before you begin, STOP (Take a time-out), BREATHE (slowly and deeply a few times) CENTER yourself by relaxing and focusing on your body till all your parts are free of tension (progressive relaxation). Then imagine you are watching a movie of the problematic scene. Observe yourself without judgments. When judgments pop up, just notice them and release them. Continue to observe yourself. What one word describes the feeling you are experiencing in that scene? Now in your imagination, step into that picture and FEEL the full intensity of the feeling. On a scale of 0 to 10 notice how large it feels. Step back out of the scene and back into your relaxed body (in the now), just focusing on your body for a moment to break the TRANCE. Now, relaxing, OBSERVE the picture from a distance again, as if you were an objective observer, and discern the level of importance of the interaction in the context of your whole life. From 0 to 10 notice the size of the problem. Notice if your emotions and the problem are of equal power. You are gathering information, awareness - not judgment. You don't have to do or change anything now. Just observe. Sit in relaxing peace as you release the scene and clear your mind. For now this is all there is to do. Practice this each day for at least a week till it is easy for you. If you feel the urge to do something now to fix yourself or a problem, stop. You have time to learn new behaviors. Peace and awaress are the primary concern now. Next lesson we will continue the process of changing your mind and changing your life. Till then, practice the affirmation from your center of peace in meditation.
AFFIRMATION:
Today I allow myself to feel my emotions without reacting. I STOP, BREATHE, CENTER and CHOOSE to be free of TRANCE-actions. I am peace and I am in the now without having to do or say anything til it is for the betterment of myself and all concerned.
