I have a tendency to spend a lot of time in my head, playing
around with my thoughts. For the most part I’m conscious of the thoughts that
go through my mind and I have ensured that they are supportive, positive, and
uplifting. But the challenge I face, especially as my life gets busier, is
making sure that I am allowing myself to feel. My ultimate goal is to stay in a
healthy balance between my feelings and thoughts.
My body is a wonderful source of guidance and always has a
unique way of telling me when something is off. So I took time to disconnect
from everyone and everything and be with myself in order to find out what was
going on.
To my surprise, the first thing I experienced was an
enormous surge of self- love flowing through me. For the first time in a while
I felt sustained moments of stillness, peace, and tranquility. This was the
gateway back to my heart. I gave myself permission to open my heart more and
feel all that was inside. I was thrilled to find so much love, respect, and
appreciation waiting to greet me. I had spent a lot of time this past year
opening up my heart, and consciously re-programming my thoughts, words, and
actions to embody more self-love, respect, and appreciation—but I hadn’t given
myself enough time to really FEEL everything.
My unconscious reaction was to immediately try and
understand these new feelings and explain it to someone else. Being a speaker,
it comes naturally to me to want to talk about and share what I am
experiencing. This time around, however, I made a conscious effort to do
something different. Instead, I stayed silent and really absorbed all that I
was feeling. The experience was truly remarkable! For an entire weekend I spoke
very little and allowed myself to feel A LOT more. As a result I integrated a
lesson I already knew in my head, but hadn’t yet felt in my heart.
Growing up, I was taught that expressing and feeling emotion
was a bad thing or a sign of weakness. I spent a lot of time fighting this
belief, but somewhere along the way I gave in. I closed off my heart and began
to use my mind the majority of the time.
But in the last few years, I have been dedicated to
reopening and awakening my heart from its slumber and giving myself permission
to feel my emotions more. This hasn’t been easy, and I’ve fluctuated back and
forth a lot. Emotions can be scary, and even painful. However, there is always
something empowering that emerges. If we give ourselves permission to feel
these emotions long enough, their lessons become clear.
When we allow ourselves to feel what we are feeling—without
trying to understand it, explain it, or judge it—we reach a point where the
true wisdom reveals itself. I put this into practice in my own life and really experienced
the beauty of feeling at a whole new depth. I truly believe that I will now be
able to flow from my head into my heart with a lot more ease, compassion, and
grace.
I encourage you to try it for yourself. Give yourself
permission to feel ALL of your emotions. Have the courage to move through and
break down the barriers around your heart, and trust that in the peak of the
storm, true wisdom is revealed.
Feeling:
To help us practice feeling our emotions more frequently, I
propose making every “Feeling.” Once you are not felling well, let’s make an
effort to get in touch with and express our emotions in a more freeing, healthy
and responsible way.
Here are three ways to help you on Feeling:
Unleash Your Creativity
Creativity is a wonderful gateway to your heart. There are
many ways to unleash your creativity. Some options include drawing, painting,
acting, singing, dancing, writing and so on. Put aside your routine, think
outside the box, and be spontaneous. The more you get your creativity flowing,
the easier it will become to feel and express your emotions.
Practice Stillness / Quiet Your Mind
Finding a practice of stillness. The more you are able to
find stillness in your life, the more you will begin to feel your emotions more
comfortably.
Trigger Your Emotions with Sound and Music
Music has a unique way of triggering all kinds of emotions.
If you feel like you need a good cry, put on a song that is melancholy. If you
feel like you need more joy, put on an upbeat song that will get you singing
along with glee. Try playing around with a musical instrument even if you think
you aren’t very good at it. Let yourself play freely. You can also use your own
voice. It is amazing how much emotion will surface through simple chanting,
singing or sound making. Just find your peace.
